Alex Rodriguez

There were five other at bats that played out eerily similar to those of Alex Rodriguez's past postseason failures. 

He came up empty in his first four plate appearances, where only once did the ball leave the infield. Then there was his weak pop-out to shallow center that left the bases loaded in the 12th inning as the rain picked up and the temperatures dropped in the wee hours of the morning at the new Yankee Stadium.

But there were no boos from the exhausted New York fans afterwards and it wasn't because their jaws were frozen shut. 

New York Yankees superstars have come out to play in baseball’s postseason led by predictable, indomitable shortstop Derek Jeter and redeeming performances from third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Despite cold, rainy conditions, these superstars are shining and the Yankees are up 2-0 in the American League Championship Series after New York’s highly-paid duo paved the way to a 4-3, 13-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels in Game Two.

Heavy rain was expected in the forecast for Saturday night. Most didn't even think Game Two would be played and expected it to be moved to Sunday at 4 p.m.

But Joe Girardi and Mike Scioscia opted to have Game Two be played on the scheduled night and it was a good thing, because baseball all around the world got a classic of a playoff game.

The Yankees had A.J. Burnett on the mound, making only his second career playoff start, while the Angels countered with Joe Saunders, who hadn't pitched in two weeks and was making his first start of the 2009 playoffs.

NEW YORK—We’re imploring and dreaming of an epic classic, a spectacle that’s enticing enough to discard all the steroid bust that has disappointed us for much of the season. Right now, baseball happens to have a dream series in mind, as many are thinking blue and wishing for pinstripes.

Yes, our eyes are set on a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, and to predict a series, it has the makings for a historic and memorable classic in ages.

The first road game for the Yankees in the 2009 Playoffs was taking on the red-hot Minnesota Twins.

After three games of dominating pitching and late-inning clutch hitting, the Yankees disposed of Minnesota in a series sweep and moved on in the playoffs.

Starting on Friday, the Yankees will take on the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Championship Series.

The Angels are no strangers to the Yankees in the playoffs, and quite frankly, have been a pain in the Yankees' rear-ends in recent time.

During the 2009 regular season, Alex Rodriguez posted up good numbers overall. Unlike previous seasons, he did not head the team in home-runs and runs batted in. The 2009 campaign was Alex Rodriguez's way to say that he was now a team player.

After admitting to using steroids in the past, while with the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez began to preach the fact that he was now focused on winning more as a team than just for himself.

As a Mets fan, this has been a long, terrible season, and yet, for me personally, it all came together with one blast off the bat of Alex Rodriguez.

I went to see the Mets on opening day, the first time all of the rivals came to Citi Field, and I was fortunate enough to see the team finish the season with a 10-7 record at my games.

He knew it was gone the moment he hit it.

It was one more in a long series of moments that have Yankee fans everywhere believing that this is one of those special teams that will go down in history. One more long shot paying off for a team that, for all its talent and gaudy statistics, for all the money it cost to put together, is building its legacy as a team that refused to lie down.

"Start spreading the newsss, Im leaving todayyy
I want to be a part of it—New york, New yorkkkk...

These vagabond shoessss, are longing to strayyyy
Right through the very heart of it—New york, New yorkkkk..." - Frank Sinatra

There is nothing quite like the sound of Mr. Sinatra. There is nothing in baseball quite like a walk-off win. There is nothing in baseball quite like the Yankees. There is nothing in baseball quite like the playoffs in New York.

By Ryan of The Sportmeisters

About The Minnesota Twins:

A day after clinching the AL Central in a one-game playoff, the Twins travel to the Big Apple to take on the Yankees. At 87-76, the Twins closed a seven-game deficit, going 17-4 over the final month to tie the Detroit Tigers and force the playoff before clinching the AL Central.