On Friday, October 16, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim invade the Bronx to face the New York Yankees in a best of seven championship series.  The prize is a trip to the World Series to take on either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Los Angeles Dodgers who begin their own quests for the ultimate reward on Thursday in Los Angeles.

This series has oodles of side stories to it.  The Angels are the only team to have a historical winning record against the Yankees.  They hold 319-267 advantage over New York, and their fans and news media point that out to their opposite numbers quite frequently.  They also like to point out how much money the Yankees spend to “buy championships,” even though the Yankees haven’t tasted World Series champagne in 8 seasons.

There is also the emotional connection with Nick Adenhart  whose number every member of the Angels squad wears on his jersey in remembrance of the 22-yearl old pitcher who was tragically killed by a drunk driver on April 10, 2009 after pitching the best game of his short career against the Oakland Athletics.  The Angels dedicated their season to Adenhart and his jersey hangs in the dugout at every game.  The fans even erected a memorial for Adenhart in front of the stadium between the two, red, giant batting helmets adorning the Angels’ home.  It is a very touching scene.

The Angels also come into the ALCS brimming with confidence.  After being ousted from the ALDS in 2004, 2007-08 by the Boston Red Sox the Halos exacted revenge by sweeping the Red Sox from this year’s divisional playoffs setting off a celebration in the middle of Fenway Park before a stunned home crowd.

They also have assurance in knowing they have had playoff dominance over the Yankees as well.  In 2002 and 2005 the Angels eliminated the Bombers in the divisional series to send them packing for an early October vacation.

However, for all the success the Angels have enjoyed by making the playoffs in six of the last eight seasons they have only converted it once into a World Series trophy.  That was in 2002 when the Angels miraculously came back from a 5-0 deficit in Game 6 of the Series against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the game 6-5 and then closed it out with a 4-1 victory to become the King of the Hill.

Indeed, the 2009 season has been an poignant, up-and-down, rollercoaster ride for the Angels.

So how do the Yankees counter all this sentiment and history?

First off, it won’t be easy, but it can be done.  The Yankees themselves are riding an emotional high this season.  After 85 years playing across the street they opened a new ballpark in the Bronx and signed three of the most highly prized and sought after free agents in the off season.

The new Yankee Stadium opened to rave reviews.  It is a visual masterpiece that captured the new advances and technology of the 21^st Century while capturing the magic of the old stadium.  Additionally, the Bombers signed CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira and the three of them have contributed mightily to the Yankees success of posting the best record in the majors this year, along with a return to the playoffs after missing them in 2008.

This topic is also a sore subject with the players, especially those who’ve been around since before the four championship seasons in 1996 and 1998-2000.  The Yankees had made the playoffs every year from 1995 through 2007.  Every season, except 1995, was under the guidance of manager Joe Torre.  Torre left after the 2007 for Los Angeles and the Yankees hired ex-Yankees catcher Joe Girardi as the new skipper.  Girardi’s team suffered numerous injuries throughout the season and there were also player issues that affected the clubhouse.  It was too much to overcome and the Yankees failed to reach the post season after 13 straight years.  It was an embarrassment for a franchise whose sole goal is to win the World Series every year.  Anything less than that is viewed as an unsuccessful season.

What made it doubly humiliating was the fact that Torre went across the country to manage the Dodgers, and he guided them in his first season as manager to the post season. The Dodgers beat the favored Chicago Cubs in the divisional series before falling to the Phillies in the NL championship round.

By missing the playoffs Girardi came under the sights of the Yankees management, specifically George, Hal and Hank Steinbrenner.  The start of the 2009 campaign didn’t help Girardi’s chances either.  The Yankees, hamstrung by Alex Rodriguez’s well documented connection with steroids and other off the field scandals, started off the season very slowly.  On top of all that, A-Rod underwent surgery on March 9 to remove a cyst and repair a torn labrum in his right hip.  It wasn’t looking good for the Yankees.

Rodriguez returned to the lineup on May 8 and it was a shot of adrenalin to the team, and especially to Teixeira who was mired in a month+ long hitting slump.  Although, New York began to improve with A-Rod’s presence in the order there were still things not going quite right.

In the first 8 meetings with the Red Sox the Yankees lost every game and just before the All-Star break the Yankees traveled to Anaheim for a 3-game series with the Halos.  The Yankees had beaten the Angels 2-of-3 (one rainout) in May at Yankee Stadium, and had won 13 of their last 15 prior to coming to Anaheim.  That didn’t impress the Angels much as they swept the Yankees going into the break.  It was another embarrassing setback.

Starting with the 2^nd half the Yankees were 55-34 and trailing the Red Sox by 3 games.  The rumors were flying that Girardi’s job was on the line.  Then somebody threw “the switch.”

Beginning in Detroit the Yankees went on an 8-0 run, bypassing the Sox to lead the division by 2.5 games.  By the time the Sox and Yankees met for the first time in the 2^nd half in a 4-game set, on August 6, at Yankee Stadium New York led the division and the Sox by 2.5 games.

This proved to be a turning point in the Yankees season.  Get swept and they’d fall  one half game behind Boston.  Sweep and they’d expand their lead to 6.5 games.  The Yankees swept.

In fact, in the remaining 10 games played in the second half the Yankees went 9-1 against the Red Sox to tie the season series at 9 games apiece.  A Herculean feat that no one thought was possible given New York was down 8-0 in the first half.

The Yankees had similar, albeit a rare, success against the Angels.  New York beat the Halos on September 14 in a makeup game from a rainout in May and then traveled to Anaheim to take 2-of-3 from the Angels in September to split the season series 5-5.  The stat the Yankees point to is the reality they took 3 of the last 4 from them.

The Yankees finished the season 103-59.  They were the only team to top the century mark in victories.  They had 7 players with 20 or more home runs to tie a major league mark.  CC Sabathia was tied for the major league lead in victories with 19 and is in the hunt for the Cy Young Award. Mark Teixeira tied Carlos Pena for the AL lead in home runs with 39 and he lead the AL with 122 RBI. He will be battling Minnesota’s Joe Mauer for MVP honors.  Derek Jeter  hit .334 this season and topped 200 hits (212) for the 7^th time.  Alex Rodriguez who entered the final game of the season with 28 HR and 93 RBI hit two bombs and drove in 7 to finish the year at 30 and 100.  That was the 13^th time he had reached that plateau in his career.  Sabathia, Burnett and Andy Pettitte all reached double figures in wins.

The Yankees have as much to point to for momentum as the do the Angels.  This is going to be a heavyweight confrontation with the two best teams in baseball (sorry Dodgers and Phillies) throwing haymakers at each other.  The last team standing from this contest should have no problem dispatching their NL opponent for the World Series trophy.

One word of caution to the Halos.  Don’t rely too heavily on emotion.  The Yankees were dealing with the biggest shot of emotion provided this decade when the Twin Towers were felled by the acts of Al Qaeda terrorists.  That year everyone, even fans in Boston, became New Yorkers and pulled for the Yankees.  Still, it wasn’t enough as the Arizona Diamondbacks had other ideas and ruined a parade down the Canyon of Heroes by beating the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Enough talking.  Let the games begin and may the best team win.

It was he Yankees 21^st win in their last 26 games and they retained their 2-1/2 game lead over second place Boston in the AL East.  Right hander pitcher Joba Chamberlain (6-2) won his third straight decision He went seven innings, allowed two hit and a run. He did not allow a hit to the last 20 batters faced following Ryan Sweeney’s second inning single.

Derek Jeter recorded his team high 19^th game of three or more hits and Melky Cabrera recorded a season high tying three hits for the third time, going 3-for-4. Phil Coke and David Robertson followed Chamberlain.

“He has strikeout stuff and learning as he goes,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Yankees starters have now gone 6-0 with a 2.35 ERA in eight games since the All-Star break and have held their opponents to three earned runs or less in each outing.

Game three of the series is Saturday afternoon in the Bronx at 1:05pm.  Left hander Andy Pettite (8-5) opposes Athletics left hander Gio Gonzalez (1-2).

Unfortunately, Adenhart died only hours after shutting down the Oakland Athletics; pitching six scoreless innings in the process. It was the best performance of his short career.

Adenhart was a passenger in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse that was broadsided by a red van apparently blowing through a red light in Fullerton.  The horrific crash not only killed the young pitcher, but also claimed the lives of the driver, another passenger, and sent a third passenger to the hospital in critical condition.

The driver of the van, Andrew Thomas Gallo, 23, split the scene, leaving the wake of destruction behind him.  He was identified by a passenger in his van and Gallo was located and arrested one-half hour later.

According to authorities, Gallo failed a blood-alcohol test and reported his BA level was nearly 3 times the legal limit of .08 in California.  It was also learned that Gallo was driving on suspended license for a previous driving under the influence conviction.

At a news conference Friday Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Gallo was being charged with three counts of second degree murder, felony drunk driving, and felony hit and run.  If convicted, Gallo faces 55 years to life in prison.

This tragedy goes far beyond the accident scene.  Now the Adenhart family is without a son, but it doesn’t end there.  Along with Adenhart, the driver of the Mitsubishi, 20-year old Courtney Frances Stewart, a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton and 25-year old Henry Nigel Pearson are lost to their families too.  The fourth victim, 24-year-old John Wilhite, was critically injured and remains in the hospital.

Gallo’s alleged acts didn’t just affect his victims’ families they also affected his own family as well.  It has to be a gut wrenching feeling knowing that within the Gallo family one of their own is probably responsible for killing three innocent people and that he may spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The worst part of this situation is that it all could have been avoided.

Gallo was convicted in 2006 for drunk driving and his license was suspended.  He knew it was suspended.  He was advised of that in court and it was part of his sentence.  A suspended license means NO DRIVING, unless an exception is made by the court to allow someone to drive to and from work or for some other stipulated hardship.  Other than that, you walk, get a ride or take the bus.  No exclusions.  The second Gallo got into the van and put the key into the ignition he broke his probation and the law.  The now fatal catastrophe was put into motion.

This accident also affects those outside the families that were also close to the victims.  It’s like when you throw a stone in the middle of a still pond and you watch the ripple affect spread out from the point of the splash and get bigger and bigger as it moves away from the center point.  Something like this has a profound impact on more than just the six people who were involved in the collision.

However, out of all the anguish and agony, something positive can come out of this situation.  It can be a profound object lesson to others.

Take Joba Chamberlain for example.  While in his home state of Nebraska in October of 2008 Chamberlain was pulled over by state troopers while driving his 2006 BMV.  After smelling an alcoholic beverage and seeing an open container of Crown Royal on Chamberlain’s seat Chamberlain was busted for DUI.  On April 1, after numerous postponements, Chamberlain pled guilty to driving while drunk in Lincoln, Nebraska.

A few days ago a police video of Chamberlain’s encounter with state troopers surfaced on thesmokinggun.com and it showed Chamberlain poking fun at New York drivers and Yogi Berra’s height, or lack thereof.  Funny how alcohol will make you do and say some pretty stupid things.  Now Chamberlain is answering questions and making apologies about those comments, and he put it this way.

“If I don’t put myself in the situation to begin with, I don’t have to answer any of these questions,” Chamberlain told reporters. “You take it, you understand that’s what it’s about and there are going to be a lot of questions. I’m never going to run from them.”

He also said something very reflective of his situation.

“Life is full of second chances; I got a second chance, and a lot of people don’t in this situation,” Chamberlain said. “I’m very, very thankful for that….I put myself in a bad situation, but came out unharmed. A lot of people don’t get to say that. I’m fortunate enough that nothing happened to me. I can take this and help a lot of people, or maybe even just one person. That’s gratifying for me.”

I can imagine Andrew Gallo was saying or thinking pretty much the same thing when he was convicted in 2006.  He was given a second chance and he blew it.  Now it appears he’ll have the rest of his life behind prison walls to reflect on the decisions that changed the lives and fortunes of so many people.

Nevertheless, his situation can be a sobering reminder to those of us left behind.  Drinking and driving don’t mix.  If you drink, DON”T DRIVE.  That’s a pretty simple rule.  Sadly, there are a lot of people out there who don’t follow it.

It is naïve to think that this will be the last alcohol related incident involving metal and human flesh, but what if just one person who follows this heartbreaking story makes the decision not to get behind the wheel after reading about it?  If that can happen, think of how many sons, daughters, husband, wives, friends and teammates will make it home and walk through their front doors.

Nick Adenhart and his friends died senselessly, but not without purpose.  We can hold these young people up and point them to others to show them they can end up like Mr. Gallo if they contemplate getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking.

If these awful deaths can do that, then there will be a lot less funerals to attend.