AL East

I've been pretty hard on Mark Teixeira this year.

This can happen when a star slugger of your favorite team also happens to be the No. 1 pick in your big-money fantasy baseball league. It's kind of like doubling down in black jack—payoff is double the pleasure, but losing hurts twice as bad as winning feels good.

Many of us remember the game-winning, walk-off home run that Mark Teixeira launched in Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS against the Twins.

Many more of us are having trouble forgetting the rest of the 2009 playoffs, where Teixeira was practically a no-show. He had just a .180 batting average with a .593 OPS last postseason. He capped it off with a pathetic .136 hitting performance in the World Series that left many Yankee fans thankful for Alex Rodriguez and the clutch performances of Hideki Matsui.

Last night’s win over the Twins was exciting, but attention must immediately turn toward tonight’s matchup of Andy Pettitte against former Yankees disabled list mainstay Carl Pavano.

Here are some notes:

It wouldn’t be a Yankees—Twins playoff game if the Yankees didn’t fall behind early only to victimize the Twinkies late in the game to come out ahead for their seventh consecutive playoff victory, 6-4, against Minnesota.

Here are some highlights:

The Boston Red Sox missed the postseason this year for the first time since 2006, after injuries to key players like Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Josh Beckett derailed their chances at a good season.

But despite plugging up their lineup with an assortment of minor league veterans (Darnell McDonald, Eric Patterson) and rookies (Daniel Nava, Ryan Kalish), the Red Sox still managed 89 wins.

Not good enough for Red Sox Nation.

On a night where ace CC Sabathia did not have his best stuff, The New York Yankees still managed to squeeze out a victory at Target Stadium in game 1 of The ALDS. CC Sabathia was not himself, but managed to get out of jams and kept The Yankees in the ball game.

In the first playoff game at brand-new Target Field in Minnesota, the Yankees' quest for a repeat of a World Series Championship began successfully Wednesday night against the Twins with a 6-4 win.

The Yankees sent ace CC Sabathia to square off against Twins' ace Francisco Liriano in Game 1 of the ALDS.

Talk about Tim Welke screwing Carlos Pena. Talk about the Rays struggling on offense. Talk about Joe Maddon’s bizarre decision to play Rocco Baldelli as the designated hitter.

Those played a role in the Rays’s 5-1 loss to the Rangers, but that wasn’t the reason why the Rays lost the playoff opener.

They lost because David Price did not pitch well. Price’s job was to keep up with Cliff Lee in every inning, but it did not happen yesterday.

Statistics can prove anything, but more often than not, they mean nothing. I enjoy bits of trivia, not because I want to win a bet with my friends, but because they can shed light on trends and highlight new things. As a baseball fan and sports junkie, I love hearing something and saying, "Wow, I never knew that."

Keeping that in mind, here are a collection of stats, facts, and notes about your American League playoff teams, thanks to Elias Sports Bureau, SABR, press officers, and media reps. Enjoy the information overload.

During the regular season, quality baseball, consistent pitching, and measured tactics are the key to victory. Come October, and these methods go out the door. It's all about who can hit the most homeruns. Outside of simply including the Yankees starting nine, here are the most prolific power hitters in the 2010 postseason.

Begin Slideshow