With 18 regular season games in the books between the New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles; there is a lot of familiarity between the teams (and their fans) as the Yanks and O’s begin Game 1 of their American League Division Series tonight at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Still, you can always learn more. With that in-mind, Baltimore Sports and Life has reached out to Mike Axisa, who runs the quality Yankee site River Avenue Blues for his thoughts.

Mike Axisa on Twitter: @mikeaxisa
River Avenue Blues on Twitter: @RiverAveBlues

Our thanks to Axisa for taking the time to quickly turn back some questions on the Yankees.

Baltimore Sports and Life: “If I was a New York fan, I would be irritated that the Yankees reward for winning the American League East, was beginning the Division Series on the road. Do you feel the 2-3 format is unfair for the Yankees? New York will have had 3 full days off leading up to Game 1 of the ALDS. Do you think that rest helps the roster, or interrupts the flow?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “I don’t like the 2-3 format just because I think the team with the better record should start at home, and I’ve felt like that since the new system was announced months ago. It’s not a huge deal because they’re going back to the 2-2-1 format next season, but it still kinda stinks.

I don’t think the three days off really hurts anyone, if anything it’s probably good for the Yankees. They do have an older roster and I’m sure some of those guys can use the extra rest, plus some players (Jayson Nix, Derek Jeter) are banged up and could use some time off. The bullpen has been worked hard down the stretch, and those guys need as much rest as they can get this time of year.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “How will the rotation line-up behind Sabathia? What is the current confidence level in Kuroda, Hughes, Nova, and Pettitte? Which starters will be joining the pen?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “They’re going Pettitte in Game Two, Kuroda in Game Three, and Hughes in Game Four. There’s a good chance Nova will be left of the roster entirely because he pitched so poorly in the second half.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Obviously the losses of Pineda to the shoulder injury, and Rivera to the ACL received a lot of attention. Gardner’s absence from the lineup (he played in just 16 games, and had only 31 ab’s) was not mentioned as often. I saw he received 3 ab’s in the Yankee’s last series vs. Boston. Will he be part of the Playoff roster? Do you see the Yanks carrying 4 or 5 bench players?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “The Yankees will carry five bench players and trim the staff down to 11 pitchers. Gardner was just cleared by doctors to begin swinging a bat again, so he’ll definitely make the roster now. Even before that they were probably going to take him as a defensive replacement/pinch-runner. He’s not going to start with Ichiro, Granderson, and Swisher all playing well in the outfield, so he’s basically just a strategic pair of legs.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch in late July, Alex Rodriguez missed all of August. When Rodriguez returned to the lineup in September, he posted a .685 OPS in 100 ab’s for the Month. However, he now has three 2 hit games in his last 4 games played. How does he look to you? Eric Chavez has a .908 OPS against RHP. Will Chavez start at 3rd against righties, with Rodriguez at DH?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “Ibanez has hit too well to lose at-bats to Chavez, so he’ll DH and A-Rod will play third in the postseason. Chavez will just pinch-hit, and that’s probably best. He cooled down a bit later in the season.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Teixeira was back for the Boston series after being out for several weeks with the calf injury. His wOBA was .402 during his first year with the Yankees in 2009, and has dropped each year since (.344 in ’12). Seeing him regularly, what are your current thoughts on him?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “He’s frustrating because I feel like he can still be a much better hitter. He sells out for power a lot and it’s cost him batting average points, and this year he isn’t walking as much either. Teixeira is still a really productive hitter and a great defender, but he’s very one dimensional on offense.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Soriano had his first 2 inning save of the year in New York’s last game of the regular season. Do think he will be asked to do more of that in the ALDS? Like Soriano, Robertson has had an excellent year. With Logan, and Chamberlain; are you feeling confident about the bullpen (and Girardi’s usage) as a whole?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “The bullpen isn’t as strong as it has been in the past, but I’m still fairly confident in them. I’m curious to see how Girardi uses David Phelps, who I’ve felt could be a valuable multi-inning reliever. Robertson and Soriano at the end of the game is as good as it gets, and I could definitely see Girardi asking them to combine for eight or nine outs in a big game. Maybe not every game, but if they have a chance to clinch (or get eliminated) I could see it.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “These two teams matched-up 18 times during the regular season, with each team winning 9 games, and the Yankees only having a 2 run run-advantage. Any takeaways you had from the regular season series?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “That the Yankees need to score early. The Orioles have a great bullpen and really seem to know how to play in tight games, so jumping out and scoring early is important.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “The x-factor in this series for New York will be what? Series prediction?”

River Avenue Blues / Mike Axisa: “I feel like the x-factor for the Yankees is both Jeter and Ichiro atop the lineup. They need to be on-base as much as possible to force the Orioles to pitch to Robinson Cano. Jeter has struggled in the post season the last two years and Ichiro had a sub-.300 OBP for 1200 PA before joining the Yankees, but both hit well down the stretch and I hope they’ll continue. My biased prediction is Yankees in four.”

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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