From Bob Klapisch:While the Yankees will stick to a façade of neutrality as the Central Division race comes down to a 163rd game today, all logical roads lead to one conclusion: The Bombers are pulling hard for the Twins, hoping to avoid Justin Verlander and his high 90s fastball.The Tigers’ ace, who led the American League in strikeouts, is capable of smothering the Yankees’ offense – indeed, he could change the entire calculus of the division series, even though he wouldn’t pitch until Game 2. But that would create even greater pressure on CC Sabathia to win Game 1, while still putting Verlander in position to break the Bombers’ hearts in Game 5.Better for the Yankees to take their chances on the Twins, their astute manager, Ron Gardenhire, and the very noisy Metrodome. The Twins made an impressive, 11th-hour sprint to force today’s one-game playoff, but their momentum aside, there isn’t much about Minnesota’s portfolio that should worry the Yankees other than the random unpredict...
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