Here kitty, kitty . . .

So here we are again, 12 straight playoff appearances and it doesn’t really ever get old.

I’ve seen the sentiment captured many places – but Alex Belth said it best in a pinch-hitting appearance on Deadspin.com:

[A]fter losing star players like Godzilla Matsui and Gary Sheffield early in the year—not to mention All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano for six weeks—the Bronx Bombers became, if not exactly underdogs, then at least not exactly the favorites anymore.

Well, I think those times are behind us now and to consider the Yankees anything but, at worst, co-favorites to win not just the American League pennant, but the World Series, is probably not wise.

To wit, just feast your eyes on the Bombers’ Game One lineup (courtesy Peter Abraham’s transcendent blog)

Johnny Damon leads off, plays center;
Derek Jeter hits second, plays short;
Bobby Abreu hits third, plays right;
Gary Sheffield cleanup, first base;
Jason Giambi five-hole, DH;
A-Rod is the greatest No. 6 hitter of all time, plays third;
Hideki Matsui hits seventh, plays left;
Jorge Posada catches, hits eighth; and
Cano, he of the .340 batting average hits last, plays second.

Anything can happen in baseball – that’s what makes it great – but, I can’t help feeling sorry for Nate Robertson come Tuesday night.

Some are seeing the A-Rod drop down as a slight against him, I don’t. In this lineup, someone’s gotta hit everywhere, and the difference between sixth and fourth or fifth is nominal at best. In fact, the Yankees have created a circular lineup of sorts. The Bombers have three sets of 3-4-5 hitters in their lineup – a lineup that combined to hit 177 homers this season (that’s just this starting nine, the Yanks promise to have an additional 31 homers coming off their playoff bench – which consists of Melky, Bernie, Sal Fasano, Andy Phillips and Miguel Cario).

However, save for pinch running for Giambi and possible defensive tweaks around Matsui and Sheffield, I see this bench getting very little run this postseason.

Looking at the Tigers, they are the very definition of backing into the playoffs – squandering a 9.5 game lead on the Twins since Aug. 1 by going 24-32 since then. The lost out on the chance to win their division by one game by losing five in a row to close out the regular slate – including a sweep at the hands of the Royals.

The sprint to the finish left the Motor City Kitties unable to set their rotation – leaving Nate Robertson to start the opener opposite Chien-Ming Wang. Mike Mussina and Justin Verlander tussle in Game Two and in the Old Cranky Lefties Bowl: Kenny Rogers matches up with Randy Johnson and his bad back in what could be the only postseason game in Comerica this season.

New York finished the season 5-2 versus the feel-good Tigers, winning both series against Detroit and coming dangerously close to a sweep of the season series.

How close?

Well, on June 1, the Yankees held a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth and had won three in a row against the team with, at the time, the best record in baseball, when Kyle Farnsworth came into close the game out. Mariano Rivera was rested, but tweaked his back putting on his spikes that morning, so it was former Tiger Farnsworth in to shut the door. A walk and three one-out singles later and it was a 7-6 win for Detroit.

An Aug. 29 rainout spawned a twinbill the next day. New York won the first rather convincingly, with Chien-Ming Wang, Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera combining on a four-hit shutout. In the night cap, the Yanks again held the lead – this time 3-2, when Joe Torre called for Proctor to pull double-duty and go for his first-ever save. The resulting two-out, first-pitch homer game the Tigers a 5-3 win.

So, to recap – Joe’s lousy bullpen management cost the Yanks two wins in seven games against Detroit. Considering how Joe usually goes to Mariano in the playoffs, I doubt Proctor or Farnsworth will be given the opportunity to blow many games close and late.

Speaking of the bullpen, like the lineup, it appears loaded.

From the right side you have two long relievers/starters in Cory Lidle and Jaret Wright, a trio of power arms (Proctor, Farnsworth and Brian Bruney) and a pair of serviceable lefties (Mike Myers and Ron Villone).

Based on how they’ve pitched down the stretch, I’d guess that Wright gets a possible Game Four start and Villone is relegated to last guy in the ‘pen duty for the duration of the playoffs.

That essentially gives Joe a fairly good approximation of his glory days bullpens of Stanton and Nelson. Go to Bruney first, then Proctor and Farnsworth – with Myers available for a tough lefty in a tough spot.

All told, I feel very good about this Yankee team heading into the ALDS (and I feel even better about trading surging Minnesota for slumping Detroit). I’ll refrain from making a Yanks in ___ games prediction, and just say, that for the past few years, I’ve hoped for good things in the playoffs but this year, I expect them.