Three Quick Questions Before the Start of the ALCS

I had a few thoughts in my head before we start the ALCS in less than two hours. If you have the answers, feel free to put it in the comments below.

Have you heard the Yankees 2010 theme?



As 'Duk from Big League Stew says, this is Empire State of Mind for 2010. Anyone who has been near New Orleans lately knows that this is much closer to the Saints Black and Gold: Who Dat? phenomenon.

Why is Austin Kearns on the ALCS Roster?

I like Austin Kearns. I really liked the acquisition. With Nick Swisher's knee injury bothering him down the stretch, I didn't have him on the ALDS roster. And I have no objections with Brett Gardner starting over Austin Kearns against lefties. But why the heck is Austin Kearns on the roster if he's not going to start against lefties? Would there be a situation where he would pinch hit? Wouldn't Eduardo Nunez be a more valuable bench player in a long series? Or another bullpen arm for Joe Girardi who loves to make pitching changes? Austin Kearns is a veteran but Freddy Guzman has more postseason ABs than him and Greg Golson has played in more games. It's not a huge deal, but it seems like the bench spot could be used more useful.

Are you worried about Derek Jeter?

Because I'm not. Someone at work asked me this today. I'm feeling fine about El Capitan. He's looking better and although past success doesn't predict future results, I like this blog post from ESPN's Mark Simon which shows that Jeter is due in this series to break out. A bad regular season will be forgotten if he brings the Yankees another pennant. Jeter has had success against all the Rangers pitchers, but none more important than against Cliff Lee. Jeter has a .432 batting average and 1.081 OPS against Lee and his ability to set the tone at the top of the lineup will be key in this series.

What else?

Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus has a great summary of what to expect in this series. ESPN's Buster Olney on the Yankees countermeasures against Lee. ESPN's Rob Neyer and Baseball Think Factory on why the Rangers are going to win.

The Quest for 28 continues tonight.