After many questions about the the offense and the starting roation, the Yankees found it very easy to sweep the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series.

CC Sabathia was considered the Yankees only hope in the starting rotation.  If Sabathia didn’t do well then the Yankees would be in trouble.  Well guess what, Sabathia didn’t do well.

Sabathia went six innings and gave up five hits, four runs, and three walks.  In that outing alone his ERA was a 4.50.  His command was a little off, but Sabathia was able to pick up the win.

After Sabathia not doing well, everyone feared that the Yankees were in trouble.  What many seemed to forget was that Andy Pettitte was up next, the greatest postseason pitcher in Major League Baseball history.

Pettitte struggled in the first two innings, but came to his normal self after a chat with pitching coach Dave Eiland in between innings.  Overall he went seven innings and gave up five hits, two runs, and one walk and struck out four.

“I’ve never felt so unprepared going into the playoffs,” said Pettitte.  “I felt like I was going to have a good outing.  I felt like I got locked in mechanically, I felt great.  I asked the good Lord to help me get through it. Jorge [Posada] called a great game and it helped me get through it and get comfortable.  We were on the same page.”

I had a lot of confidence and Phil Hughes, but I don’t think anyone saw coming the outing he gave.  Hughes was absolutely stellar going seven innings and giving up just four hits and ZERO runs to close out the series.  He also struck out six Twins with his dominant fastball.  He picked up his first postseason victory in his first October start.

“I felt like from pitch one I had good stuff,” said Hughes.  “It’s just a matter of keeping my emotions in check and making sure I threw strikes and that I was ahead in the count, which I was able to do for the most part.”

“I really loved his stuff tonight,” said manager Joe Girardi of Hughes.  “I was really impressed.”

When the Yankees offense was in question they, too, answered back with a bang.

Curtis Granderson had the best series at the plate.  He went 5-for-11 with three RBI’s and scoring two runs.  He ended the series with a .455 batting average, the best on the team so far.

Lance Berkman had two huge clutch hits in Game 2 by breaking the tie twice.  First he hit a homerun to left center and then broke the tie again with a double to center.

Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher were both looking to end their postseason woes from last year by getting some hits.  In this series they were both able to contribute.

Teixeira was the hero of Game 1 when he hit a two-run home run to give the Yankees the lead and essentially the victory.  Nick Swisher gave big hits in game three, one of which a monster homerun to give the Yankees some insurance in Game 3.

“I think I had more hits in this game than I did in last year’s postseason,” Swisher joked.  He then got serious and said, “It’s a different year for me.  I’ve got a different mindset, and being around these guys and these winners in the locker room, to learn from them, to feed off of them, it’s really helped me out.  I really appreciate it.”

Most Valuable Player awards are not given out in the division series, but if I had to pick one the honor would go to Phil Hughes.  It was his first postseason start in his career and he pitched like a veteran.  To start off the postseason with a 0.00 ERA is pretty impressive, especially for someone his Hughes’ shoes.  I can’t wait to see his next start.