New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers: Top 5 ALCS Weekend Storylines

As the American League Championship Series approaches, baseball has seen quite the divisional series round in both leagues.

With all four series going to a game five, it seems like the playing field is pretty level throughout the MLB postseason.

In looking at the ALCS, there are a few key points going into the series that should not be overlooked.

These points could be instrumental in swaying the outcome of every game and even the whole series. Or, they could mean absolutely nothing. But then again, that's the MLB postseason, and that's what these games are all about.

Let's take a look at a few key issues concerning the upcoming series between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

No Number Ones

After both pitching masterful complete games in their respective Game 5s, Detroit ace Justin Verlander (pictured) and New York lefty CC Sabathia won't be able to go on Saturday in the ALCS opener.

In a way, that won't matter much, since both clubs will be without their aces in that game. They can match up their No. 2 starters as if they were their aces, and then their No. 3s  as if they're the No. 2s and so on.

In this case, the two pitchers to open the ALCS will be Detroit's Doug Fister and New York's Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte, as everyone knows, is one of the best postseason pitchers ever. However, Fister is no slouch. And, obviously, Pettitte is not the same caliber of pitcher that he used to be.

It should prove to be a solid matchup.

Renewed Rivalry

Surely, the Yankees will be looking for a little payback after the Tigers knocked the team out in five in last year's ALDS.

Oh, that series ended in the Bronx, where this year's ALCS is starting.

Yep, it's almost as if the Baseball Gods wrote the Yanks a card saying, "Here's your payback opportunity. Do with it what you will."

The Yankees, I guarantee you, are chomping at the bit to get started on this payback run, while the Tigers are simply getting hungrier and hungrier as a franchise after having been contenders for the last seven years but having yet to win a World Series.

What to Do with A-Rod

When Alex Rodriguez was pinch hit for in the bottom of the ninth in Wednesday's game, he said following the win that he understood the move.

When he was pinch hit for in the bottom of the ninth in Thursday's game, he was visibly annoyed.

When he wasn't even in Friday's lineup, watching Eric Chavez go 0-for-3 in his place, Rodriguez was anything but happy.

But the thing is, A-Rod was hardly better, going 2-for-16 (.125) in his four ALDS games, and outside of the 2009 postseason, that's vintage A-Rod production in the playoffs.

Rodriguez needs to understand he's not the player he used to be, and especially in the postseason, he makes it a lot harder for Joe Girardi to manage the aging star's playing time and ego.

It'll be interesting to see what the Yankee manager does with Rodriguez during the ALCS.

Big Offense

Both teams have big offenses.

Strangely enough, the Yankees offense was absolutely putrid in the series with Baltimore, and the Tigers have some of their own issues.

Many of the Yanks big-name guys (Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, A-Rod) look lost at the plate right now, and Detroit's Prince Fielder (pictured) didn't have the kind of ALDS he had hoped for.

Maybe a change of opposing pitchers will help to lift these guys out of their funks. Or maybe it'll just make their funks worse.

Is Home Field an Advantage?

One always assumes that home-field advantage really is an advantage in a playoff game for any sport.

In baseball, it's often referred to as being able to have a "tenth man" on the field. In other words, the fans get into the heads of the opposing players enough to cause a significant difference in the outcome of the game.

In the ALDS, the Tigers took both of their home games from the Oakland Athletics, then went on to lose two before finishing off the A's in game five.

Similarly, the Yankees split the two games in Baltimore with the O's, and then split the first two games in the Bronx, before finally knocking out their opponents out in the deciding game.

Therefore, it would seem as though home-field advantage could play a big role in determining which way this series goes—but one can never be sure. Like I said, the Tigers beat the Yankees in last year's ALDS Game Five in New York.

We won't know until the series has been played out, and that will most certainly be fun to watch.