The Yankees are out of excuses now that the AL playoffs are no longer in the Central casting

MILWAUKEE – This is shaping up to be a non-Central playoff finale for the Yankees.

They haven't played a game yet, but things couldn't be better. Their October nemesis is out, and what stands in their way is the division – the AL Central – that they pretty much have the deed of; This is their property (especially lately this time of year).

Yes, we know: the short series format makes October a crapshoot. But at some point that's just going to have to be a crappy excuse, especially this year when the Yankees at least don't go to their first World Series since 2009.

They came into the game with the best record in the league and therefore at least had a home advantage through the ALCS – if they survived. Now the enemy that stood in their way, in their minds and under their skin, is gone two days into the playoffs.

Despite their home-field advantage, the Astros were eliminated from the wild-card series with two straight losses to the up-and-coming Tigers. That means their streak of appearing in the ALCS seven years in a row is over.

During that run, the Astros went to the World Series three times – defeating the Yankees in the ALCS in each of those years. Add in the 2015 single-game wild card, and the teams have faced each other four times in the postseason – and Houston won each time.

This is a decade of dominance. Would this year have been different? The Yankees began the season with a four-straight win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park and went 6-1 overall against Houston. But the season ended on May 9th. The Astros went 13-24 in the AL, better than only the White Sox en route to Chicago's historic losing year. From there, the Astros had an MLB-best 75-49.

If they were to wait for the Yanks again in the ALCS, would what happened in March, April and May really be more important than what happened in all these last Octobers?

Now the Yankees don't have to face those ghosts anymore.

And it's not just that the Astros are out – as big as that is. It depends on who is there. Since the Royals also defeated the Orioles in two games, the three non-Yankees teams remaining in the AL playoffs are all from the Central. The Tigers will play the Guardians while the Yankees will host the Royals starting Saturday night.

So the Astros and AL East runners-up Orioles are out. Since 2017, the Yankees have eliminated an AL Central team five times in five attempts, losing to them 12-4. During that same period, they faced the Astros or an AL East team six times, losing all six by a score of 5-15.

The only AL East team the Yankees didn't have a winning record against this season was the Orioles, with a record of 5-8.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were 24/7 against the AL Central, including 13-6 against the Royals, Tigers and Guardians. That was the best record by any team against any division this year.

Are the Royals energized? Sure, Seth Lugo had arguably the best start this season against the Yankees, and Cole Ragans is the type of left-handed hitter who has given the Yanks trouble all year. Bobby Witt Jr. is the majors' best all-around player and Salvador Perez, the final link to the Royals' 2015 World Series win over the Mets, remains a dangerous hitter. The deadline acquisition of Lucas Erceg has left Kansas City rapidly behind.

Despite all that, the Royals were 12-1 against the historically terrible White Sox and 74-75 against every other team this regular season. The Yankees have Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto at their peak, two players (Luis Gil, Austin Wells) who will likely finish in the AL top-5 for rookie of the year, Giancarlo Stanton in his season, in better health than most and home-field advantage until at least the World Series.

No excuses. No crap. Not in a year where they have yet to play a postseason game but are already receiving benefits.

Home or away, the AL playoffs have become their Central Park.