Fansided

5 reasons the Yankees will beat the Twins yet again

By Joshua Sadlock

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 21: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees reacts at second base after his fourth inning RBI double against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 21: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees reacts at second base after his fourth inning RBI double against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Sorry to all of the Minnesota Twins fans out there, but the New York Yankees are about to break your hearts in the ALDS for the fifth straight time.

From 2003 to 2010, the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees matched up in the ALDS four times. The Yankees, at the height of their Evil Empire powers, won all four and lost only two games in the process, outscoring the Twins by 33 runs in 14 total games. To add insult to injury, New York downed Minnesota 8-4 in the 2017 AL Wild Card Game after spotting them three runs in the first inning.

The Yankees and Twins are set to square off once again in one of the biggest David-vs-Goliath playoff rivalries in baseball history. For the first time, however, both will enter as 100-win teams. They also rank one-two in the American League in runs and home runs, so expect plenty of fireworks in this series.

This is definitely a different Twins team than the squads that were dispatched with ease by the Derek Jeter Yankees of the 2000s, but they are still massive underdogs. The Yankees are the heavy favorite to win the series, and it’s hard to see the Twins fortunes changing this time around. Here are the five key reasons this latest Twins-Yankees ALDS matchup will go down just like the first four.

5. Manager experience

New York managers don’t get nearly the amount of credit they deserve because at the end of the day, they are given a fairly cushy job — huge payroll, limitless resources and a chance to work with arguably the best general manager in the league in Brian Cashman. That does a disservice to the job that Aaron Boone has done leading this squad. The Yankees have dealt with a ton of adversity this year in terms of injury and Boone has done a flawless job navigating his frequently-changing roster.

Boone has also fully mastered the art of managing a modern bullpen for a team that is not supposed to ask its starters for much more than five innings a night. Yankees starters actually averaged fewer than five innings per start this season, fewer than the Baltimore Orioles starters.

The managerial matchup between Twins rookie skipper Rocco Baldelli and Boone is completely tilted in favor of the Yankees. Baldelli had a phenomenal first season, but managing in the playoffs is an entirely different beast.

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