When Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez fires the first pitch of the AL Division Series tonight against the Rangers’ Mark McLemore, there will be a lot more on the line than meets the eyes of a rollicking Yankee Stadium crowd.
Other teams reach the postseason and it’s considered a good year. Not the Yankees. They are built to get to the World Series. If they don’t do that for the second straight October, George Steinbrenner is likely to back a very large truck up to the Stadium’s loading dock.
Among those saying so long could be David Cone, Joe Girardi, Mike Stanton, Hideki Irabu, Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch.
Conversely, if they are riding up the Canyon of Heroes with their 25th World Series title, not much is likely to change.
The Yankees’ title defense starts tonight against a Rangers team that won the AL West and believes it’s better than the team the Yankees swept three from in last year’s Division Series.
While the Yankees have more big-game experience than the Rangers, have three of the possible five games at the tradition-rich Stadium and have much better starting pitching, none of that bothers McLemore.
“We are going to win it, it’s as simple as that,” McLemore brazenly predicted. “We have the right guys.”
Not according to the boys in Las Vegas who have installed the Yankees as an 11-13 favorite to advance to the ALCS.
As always, the reason is pitching. Simply, El Duque, Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Cone are better than tonight’s starter Aaron Sele, Rick Helling and Esteban Loaiza.
What happened last year often has very little to do with this year. Yet, the Rangers can’t get it out of their mind that the Yankees held them to one run in three games last year.
“We feel we have a better ballclub and we are not saying the Yankees have a worse ballclub,” said Texas skipper Johnny Oates, who added stud hitter Rafael Palmeiro to the middle of his lineup. “It’s just a little more realistic that we have a chance to play on the same field with them this year.
“I am hopeful that we can score more than one run with that lineup this year and that maybe this could be our year. I certainly like our chances a whole lot better this year than I did last year.”
The Yankees always love their chances. Who doesn’t? Yes, the starting pitching has been up and down and Tino Martinez didn’t have the type of year expected of him. However, only utilityman Clay Bellinger and reliever Allen Watson haven’t been on a playoff roster among the 25 Yankees who will line up along first base tonight.
“Everybody always talks about playoff experience and World Series experience, so it’s got to mean something,” Chuck Knoblauch said. “It’s got to count and certainly there are a lot of people in this room who have it.”
Yesterday, Torre and his coaches poured over a mountain of scouting reports which were passed onto the players. While it’s nice to know that you can tie up Lee Stevens inside, there is nothing the Rangers and Yankees don’t know about each other after playing a dozen games in which the Yankees won eight.
“We respect each other a great deal,” Torre said. “I feel good about my club. I sensed a relaxation today during batting practice that they are ready to start and I am sure Texas feels the same way.”
According to Darryl Strawberry, who will DH tonight, The Bombers are fine tuned.
“We are ready, no question,” Strawberry said. “We will be ready to go.”
And not just past the Rangers, according to Chili Davis.
“We went to spring training to be the World Champions again,” Davis said. “I don’t think that has changed at all.”
What may have changed is the way the Rangers are approaching the series. Of course, it may be false bravado from a team that knows it’s naked on the mound. Still, the Rangers sound confident.
“The past is the past and you have to live in the present,” Palmeiro said. “I think we are ready and have a shot to win. They are a great team but not the team they were last year. They are still the best team in the AL, we know that. But we are up to the challenge. If we play well, we can win this series.”
And if they do, the faces in Pinstripes in March are going to look a lot different than the ones this October.