Yankees lineup vs. White Sox & American League World Series and pennant odds

The Yankees go for a sweep of the White Sox tonight with CC Sabathia on the mound against Erik Johnson making his MLB debut.

#Yankees lineup vs CWS: Gardner CF, Jeter SS, Cano 2B, Soriano DH, Granderson LF, Rodriguez 3B, Ichiro RF, Overbay 1B, Romine C, Sabathia P

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 4, 2013

Hey, a good lineup! There is really nothing to complain about here. Austin Romine gets the start over Chris Stewart and the outfield features the three best defenders on the team without sacrificing the hot bat of Alfonso Soriano. None of the Yankees have ever faced Johnson, obviously, but this team showed last night that they do have the ability to hit even the best MLB has to offer. If they can hit Chris Sale, even if it was only late in the game, they should be able to handle a right-handed pitcher making his debut.

After moving to within 2.5 games of a Wild Card spot, the Yankees' chances of taking home the American League pennant have improved to 12/1, according to the betting site, Bovada.lv. Considering that they were left for dead months ago, that's not too terrible. Their chances are just higher than the Baltimore Orioles' (14/1) and well ahead of the Cleveland Indians' chances (25/1). The two teams they are chasing (Rays and Athletics) both stand at 6/1 odds to represent the AL in the World Series.

As far as the World Series goes, Bovada has the Yankees' chances at winning it all at 25/1, again just ahead of the Orioles' 28/1 odds and just behind the Rays' 14/1 odds. The Dodgers are the absolute favorites to take home Baseball's biggest prize at 13/4 odds. Do you think these sound about right or would you give the Yankees a better or worse chance of making it. as things currently stand? A good series against the Red Sox this weekend could dramatically change the landscape even further, hopefully for the better.

In other Yankees news:

Phil Hughes said he wasn't blindsided by the demotion to the bullpen, but said he was surprised and disappointed.

— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) September 4, 2013

Ivan Nova has been named AL Pitcher of the Month for August.

— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) September 4, 2013

More from Pinstriped Bible:

• Yankees' September call-ups: What to expect from David Adams
• Pinstripe Alley Podcast Episode 22: Come Sale away
• David Huff and reasonable expectations
• How will the Yankees use Phil Hughes out of the bullpen?
• AL Wild Card race: Yankees running down the Rays