The Twins are coming off a split with the Chicago White Sox after a fabulous April start from Johan Santana and a 3-run homer from Justin Morneau on Sunday. The Twins sit atop the AL Central standing with a 4-1 record (2 wins ahead of Cleveland who hasn’t been able to play due to weather). The Yankees are off to a bit of a rough start, similar to last year. They’ll begin their first road trip tonight at the dome after a 2-3 homestand against weaker teams like the Devil Rays and Orioles.

Their rotation is somewhat of a mess. They’ve now gone through their full rotation (keep in mind that Chien-Ming Wang is on the DL) and these have been the results:

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Carl Pavano	4.1	6	5	4	2	2
Andy Pettitte	4.0	6	4	2	3	2
Mike Mussina	4.0	8	6	6	3	4
Kei Igawa	5.0	8	7	7	3	2
Darrell Rasner	4.1	8	5	5	2	2

They have an offense that can make up for a couple bad starts though, so they’re still a dangerous team. The Twins will get the top of the Yankees rotation with Pavano starting tonight and Pettitte and Mussina pitching the final two games. The Twins will throw Sidney Ponson out on the mound to face his former team tonight. Boof Bonser and Ramon Ortiz should give the Twins a good shot to take the series in the final two games.

The Yankee lineup, though still strong, is a little beat up at the moment. Johnny Damon has yet to start a game this season due to a sore right calf, but he has done some pinch hitting and could see starts in this series. Hideki Matsui went down over the weekend with a pulled hamstring, but Melky Cabrera has been a able replacement in the past. Bobby Abreu also has a sore knee, but he hasn’t missed any playing time because of it. The Twins outfield is also a bit banged up with Rondell White missing the past two games in Chicago due to an injured calf. It doesn’t sound like White will be back for at least a another couple days; he’s day-to-day.

Most Twins fans should remember the Twins series victory over the Yankees last April (it was one of the few highlights of that month Game 1 - Win, Game 2 - Win, Game 3 - Loss). The Twins were lucky to catch the Yankees when they weren’t strong, and the same might be true this year.

The Yankees started off slow last season, but ended up with a large lead in the AL East. I still think they’re the team to beat in the East. What’s your outlook on the Yankees?

Yankee Blogs

• nomaas.org
• Pinstripe Alley
• Replacement Level Yankee Weblog