The New York Yankees vs. LA Angels Series Holds World Series Implications

The Los Angeles Angels head into New York to start a three games series tonight.  The Angels and the Yankees both find themselves 1 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West and AL East, respectively.  However, the Angels have a lot more interest in getting to the top of the AL West, as the Yankees hold a comfortable 7 1/2 game lead over the Angels for the AL Wild Card.  

But, the Yankees will want to take the series from the Angels, not only to extend their Wild Card lead, but to avoid seeing the Angels win the AL West and enter the playoffs. 

The 2011 Angels shouldn't be here.  Their best hitter, Kendry Morales, has not and will not see the field the entire year; their biggest offseason acquisition, Vernon Wells, has been a huge disappointment (.212/.246/.383), and their veteran hitters, such as Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter, are beginning to show their age, sporting a .709 and .716 OPS, respectively. 

The team as a whole has a .695 OPS, good for 10th in the American League, while they have only crossed the plate 441 times, 13th in the AL. However, just like last year's World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, the Angels have been carried by their pitching staff—a staff that has the potential to do what the 2010 Giants' staff did last year in the playoffs.

Jered Weaver has been dominant. If he closes the season with an ERA under 2.00 (it is currently 1.78) he will become the first person to do so since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 ERA in 2000. Before that, Martinez completed the feat in 1997 posting a 1.90 ERA, becoming the third pitcher in four consecutive years to do it (Greg Maddux had a 1.56 and a 1.63 ERA in 1994 and 1995, followed by Kevin Brown's 1.89 ERA in 1996).  Weaver is having a historic season and is the first pitcher the Angels will offer in a playoff series.

Weaver's amazing year has overshadowed Dan Haren's brilliant season.  Haren was arguably the biggest snub from the 2011 All-Star game.  His 2.81 ERA and .97 WHIP land him sixth and fourth in AL rankings, respectively.  Other than a bit of a rough June (4.45 ERA and 1.25 WHIP), Haren has been consistently dominant.

Ervin Santana has literally improved as the year progressed, lowering his ERA each month.  His recent no-hitter has highlighted his seven-start stretch through July and August, which may mark the most dominant stretch of pitching by any Angels pitcher this season.

For a team like the Angels, the hardest part of becoming World Series Champions is making the playoffs.  That's why this week's series against the Yankees is so important for them.  On the other hand, this series isn't a must-win for the Yankees, but the next three games are important for the Yankees and all the AL playoff contenders. No team in the AL will want to face the Weaver, Haren and Santana triumvirate in the playoffs. As the Giants proved last year, pitching alone can win you a World Series.