Guardians and Yankees meet in ALDS as polar opposites

Fresh off playing a team with a similar composition in the Rays, the Guardians will face a polar opposite when the American League Division Series opens Tuesday night in New York. Cleveland and its gang of young small-ballers are up against a massive challenge in the heavyweight Yankees, with few giving the Guardians a chance of advancing past big-spending and power-packed New York. Then again, few gave Cleveland a chance to win the Central Division — and look where it is now. "You know, we are kind of what we are, and we know it," Guardians manager Terry Francona told reporters Monday prior to a workout at Yankee Stadium. "We don't hit the ball out of the ballpark very often. It's a hard way to win. It doesn't mean you can't, and we're trying to prove that. "We would gladly take three-run homers. It's just kind of not really how we're built right now. So you can either whine about it or you can try to figure out a way to win. Fortunately, our guys are on board with, 'let's see if we can win.'" Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn't underestimating the Guardians and expects a challenge from them, regardless of their payroll or home run rankings. "They do a lot of things really well," said Boone, who played for Cleveland from 2005-06. "They are athletic. They have a number of guys that run really well and run the bases really well. They can catch the ball. They can pitch. They have got a really good closer and a really good back end of the bullpen. "And I think you're seeing a young team that's kind of continued to get better and better and better, and played a lot of meaningful games down the stretch and went and took that division. They grabbed it. So they are a team playing with a lot of confidence right now and we certainly understand that we have to play really well to beat them." The regular-season series was a mismatch. The Yankees spanked the young Guardians in five of six meetings, outscoring them 38-14. Of the five wins, three were by five runs or more. The Guardians didn't score more than four runs in any of the six games. The Yankees pitching staff handled Cleveland's All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez, who went 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts and failed to drive in a run. "We know this is a big market and a big fan base and we know what they are going to do, but in reality we cannot put too much attention to that," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "I trust a lot in my teammates. I know they are really young but I trust what they can do. Just got to play the game." On the other side, New York's Aaron Judge, a strong MVP candidate after breaking the AL record with 62 home runs and leading the AL with 132 RBIs — in front of second-ranked Ramirez (126) — wasn't great, either. He went 4-for-17 with three RBIs, but did show his threatening potential by hitting two homers in the first game of the season series. "There's a lot of good hitters in our league. If you overthink every single hitter, it can lead to more problems than solutions," said Cleveland right-hander Cal Quantrill, who will make his first postseason start Tuesday night against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. "We are aware of what he's capable of. We will do our best to make sure we are managing him. "That said, we will have a game plan. We are not just going to allow him to walk all over us hopefully and we are not going to allow him to dictate the entire approach to the lineup. We'll adjust as we go and we'll try and get him out." Francona said the Guardians would attack Judge the same way they did during the regular season. "Certainly your preparation is deeper and more in-depth in a series like this," he said. "Saying that, every game we play is really meaningful to us. We played them back in April. Those games are important. If I thought it was right or not right to do it then, if the situation dictated now, I wouldn't change it because it's a playoff game. If I thought it was right, I'd do it. "(He's) part of why they are good. Sometimes, though, you have to get good hitters out. You keep walking people, you're going to give up runs." Yankees fans are known as some of the most unruly around, and the Guardians have firsthand knowledge. During a three-game series in the Bronx on April 22-24, center fielder Myles Straw climbed the outfield wall and got into a shouting match with fans. "This is New York, man. That's part of the fun of being here," said Francona, who as manager of the Red Sox experienced the most heated rivalry in baseball. "It's not like maybe the old Yankee Stadium. But, shoot, in the old stadium, you almost wore it as a badge of honor. During the national anthem, people would be (mocking me) ... besides my nose, the lack of hair. It's not quite like that anymore. "Myles was kind of sticking up for one of his teammates. I'd be very surprised if that has anything to do with this series we're going to play." Catcher Austin Hedges agreed with his manager. "One of the reasons why coming and playing in New York is special is because of how much the fans care," said Hedges. "It was a pretty crazy experience we had here in April, but it's not the only one we've had. We've got to play three series against the White Sox in the South Side. That's a hostile environment. Playing teams like that all the time, it helps prepare you for moments like this. It was a great learning experience for us at the beginning of the year." There may not be another scene like there was in April, but Boone is expecting the crowd to be at a fever pitch in support of Judge and his teammates. "Yankee Stadium in the playoffs, it's going to be pretty raucous, I would imagine," Boone said. "A lot of energy in the building and a lot of anticipation, certainly when Aaron is up because it's Aaron Judge and what he can do." The Guardians are hoping it won't be enough to beat them. Moving pieces The Guardians made a couple roster moves Monday, replacing RHP Nick Sandlin and LHP Kirk McCarty with RHPs Aaron Civale and Cody Morris. Cleveland was counting on late-inning appearances from Sandlin (5-2, 2.25 ERA in 46 games), who was placed on the injured list with an upper-back strain. "They are pretty dangerous right-hand hitters," Francona said of the Yankees. "(Sandlin) would be, what we (had) hoped would be, a huge weapon. Obviously that's not going to happen. I kind of feel more for him. I always feel like we'll figure it out." Next up RHP Shane Bieber goes for Cleveland in Game 2 on Thursday (7:37 p.m.) against RHP Nestor Cortes. RHP Triston McKenzie will pitch Game 3 in Cleveland (TBA), while the Yankees counter with RHP Luis Severino. All the games will be televised by TBS. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.