Displaced Cleveland Fan

With the help of ex-Indian Cy Young award winner, CC Sabathia, the New York Yankees won their 27th World Series title.

As it turned out, the playoffs were quite predictable from the perspective of a cynical Cleveland fan. When I made my playoff predictions a month ago, my picks were not based on the strength of the team, but on the players on their rosters that left the Indians in either 2008 or 2009. The result? All but one of the picks was correct (I picked the Red Sox with Victor Martinez to beat the Angels).

So in a World Series that began with a pitching match-up of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee (who both won the Cy Young award in consecutive years while in Cleveland), Sabathia and the Evil Empire prevailed.
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The 2009 Major League Baseball postseason began with the Twins beating the Tigers in extra innings to claim first place in the AL Central. The Divisional series begin Wednesday night. These are the matchups:

AL: Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees / Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angelas Angels

NL: Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies / St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angelas Dodgers

If you look at the eight playoff teams, the list is dominated by big market clubs. For the 2009 season, nine teams had a payroll over $100 million. Of these nine teams, five made the playoffs (55.5%) - Yankees (#1), Red Sox (#4), Angels (#6), Phillies (#7), and Dodgers (#9).
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Just looking at the wins & losses, the Indians and Yankees looked like they came out even in the four-game series the two teams just wrapped up. That may be true, but here are three reasons why the Tribe had the better series:

#1 - The Yankees’ first game in their brand new $1.5 billion stadium was an 8-run loss. Not only that, but Cleveland’s reigning Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee got the win. Former Indian and 2007 Cy Young award winner CC Sabathia, despite a new $161 million contract, could not beat his former team. He didn’t pitch bad. But he had to give it up to the bullpen which blew the game by allowing a 9-run 7th inning.
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CC Sabathia has agreed to a contract with the New York Yankees - 7 years, $161 million.
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