Baseball

Yankees seek reverse of '02

New York says it has no concerns taking to the road against the Angels in the ALDS.

By wire services
Published October 4, 2005

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The last time the New York Yankees traveled here for the postseason, their pitchers got pounded and they headed home for the winter frustrated after a first-round exit.

The players on each roster who were around for that 2002 American League division series are few and far between, and both clubs are drastically different as they prepare to meet again.

"We're familiar with them and they're familiar with us, so the best team over the next five games will win," said Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who bruised his right knee during Sunday's regular-season finale at Fenway Park but plans to play in Game 1 tonight.

"The Angels are playing as well as any team in baseball. I think it's what people are expecting for it to come down to, the Yankees and Red Sox, but we have our work cut out for both of us."

The Angels were the first AL team to clinch a playoff berth when they beat Oakland on Sept.27, so they've had several days to set their rotation and rest their regulars heading into the opener.

On Monday, Angels manager Mike Scioscia switched his Game 3 starter to Paul Byrd and moved left-hander Jarrod Washburn to Game 4 to give him an extra day to rest his tender elbow.

The Yankees wrapped up another AL East title Saturday by winning in Boston. But New York's loss Sunday cost it homefield advantage in this series and sent the team trekking across the country. "After what we've needed to do to get here, I don't think we have a problem dealing with whatever we have to deal with," manager Joe Torre said. "It really wasn't a letdown for us."

Los Angeles will go with 21-game winner Bartolo Colon in Game 1 against Mike Mussina, who certainly can recall the way the Yankees were beat up here in 2002. The right-hander allowed four runs in four innings of New York's 9-6 loss in Game 3. The Angels took the series 3-1 after dropping the opener at Yankee Stadium.

Torre announced his rotation for the series and his lineup for the opener, but hadn't finalized the playoff roster after the team's early evening workout. He expects to carry 11 pitchers, to 10 for the Angels.

After Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang will start Game 2, followed by Randy Johnson and Shawn Chacon.

While the Yankees' pitching is more sketchy now, the free-swinging Angels aren't nearly as dangerous on offense as they were when they beat San Francisco to win the 2002 World Series. They hit .376 and scored 31 runs in the series against the Yankees that year - with a rally monkey bouncing around on the scoreboard all the while.

Scioscia refuses to believe any of that matters - although Los Angeles is the only team with a winning record (49-48) against the Yankees since Torre became manager in 1996. The Angels took six of 10 this season.

"I don't think what happened in 2002 is going to affect what will happen in this series," Scioscia said. "We're playing at a high level right now, and that's what we're going to focus on."

Los Angeles won 14 of its final 16 games to finish 95-67. New York has the same record, but lost the tiebreaker for homefield based on head-to-head record.

"We're a team that's played extremely well on the road," Alex Rodriguez said. "In a five-game series, I don't see it making a lot of difference in terms of homefield advantage."

New York is barely better than .500 outside the Bronx, going 42-39 on the road this season. The last three postseasons, the Yankees were knocked out in the series in which they started with homefield advantage.

[Last modified October 4, 2005, 02:15:30]