The Associated Press
PITCHER OF RECORD: Roger Clemens won 20 games and lost only three for the Yankees.

The Associated Press
PITCHER OF RECORD: The A's Barry Zito went 17-8 and struck out 205 batters.

The Associated Press
DECISION: Oakland A's manager Art Howe (right) can turn to several solid starting pitchers, including Tim Hudson, who went 18-9 this season.

ATHLETICS-YANKEES AT A GLANCE

The Associated Press

A capsule look at the Athletics-Yankees playoff series:

- Season Series: Oakland won 6-3.

Players

- Athletics offense: Johnny Damon cf (.256, 108 runs, 27 SBs), Miguel Tejada ss (.267, 31, 113), Jason Giambi 1b (.342, 38, 120, 129 walks, 47 2Bs), Jermaine Dye rf (.282, 26, 106), Eric Chavez 3b (.288, 32, 114), Terrence Long lf (.283, 12, 85), Jeremy Giambi dh (.283, 12, 57), Ramon Hernandez c (.254, 15, 60), Frank Menechino 2b (.242, 12, 60).

- Yankees offense: Chuck Knoblauch lf (.250, 38 SBs), Derek Jeter ss (.311, 21, 74, 110 runs, 27 SBs), Bernie Williams cf (.307, 26, 94), Tino Martinez 1b (.280, 34, 113), Jorge Posada c (.277, 22, 95, 18 passed balls), David Justice dh (.241, 18, 51), Paul O'Neill (.267, 21, 70) or Shane Spencer rf (.258, 10, 46), Scott Brosius 3b (.287, 13, 49, 22 errors), Alfonso Soriano 2b (.268, 18, 73, 43 SBs).

- Athletics pitching: LH Mark Mulder (21-8, 3.45 ERA), RH Tim Hudson (18-9, 3.37), LH Barry Zito (17-8, 3.49, 205 Ks), RH Cory Lidle (13-6, 3.59), RH Jason Isringhausen (4-3, 2.65, 34/43 saves), RH Jim Mecir (2-8, 3.43, 2), RH Jeff Tam (2-4, 3.01, 3), LH Mike Magnante (3-1, 2.77), LH Mark Guthrie (6-2, 4.47, 1), RH Erik Hiljus (5-0, 3.41), RH Luis Vizcaino (2-1, 4.54, 1).

- Yankees pitching: RH Roger Clemens (20-3, 3.51, 213 Ks), LH Andy Pettitte (15-10, 3.99), RH Mike Mussina (17-11, 3.15, 214 Ks), RH Orlando Hernandez (4-7, 4.87), RH Mariano Rivera (4-6, 2.34, 50/57 saves), LH Mike Stanton (9-4, 2.58), RH Ramiro Mendoza (8-4, 3.75, 6), RH Mark Wohlers (1-0, 4.54), RH Jay Witasick (3-0, 4.69), LH Sterling Hitchcock (4-4, 6.49).

Matchups

- Athletics: Despite its offensive prowess, pitching likely will make the difference against the three-time defending World Series champions. Manager Art Howe arranged the four starters in a lefty-righty-lefty-righty rotation, with 21-game winner Mulder pitching in Game 1 and 18-game winner Hudson in Game 2.

After being swept in first series against Yankees to finish 8-18 April, A's swept pair of three-game series in Oakland against New York.

Jason Giambi's two-run, ninth-inning homer off Stanton finished off the final sweep with a 4-2 win on Aug. 12.

Giambi and Dye each homered three times vs. Yankees.

Oakland seems to be as capable as anyone of snuffing the Yankees' postseason mystique. Some of the A's biggest contributors -- Mulder and Damon, for instance -- have no postseason experience, but most of the roster learned about playoff pressure from last season's five-game division series loss to New York.

- Yankees: Clemens lost twice to Oakland in last year's playoffs. He is 14-14 in his career against the A's -- the only AL team he doesn't have a winning record against.

Stanton and Rivera were keys in last year's series, allowing only one run in 9 1-3 innings.

Beat Mulder, Hudson and Zito in succession in three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium in April. But A's have been a different team since.

Williams (.091, 1 RBI) and O'Neill (.207) struggles against Oakland this season.

The Yankees went 22-21 against lefty starters, and will face three (Mulder twice and Zito once) if series goes the limit.

Hernandez is 5-0 in his career against A's -- including win in Game 3 of last year's playoffs -- but his health is a question heading into series.

Jeter hit .342 with two homers and Martinez batted .314 against A's this season.

Big picture

- Athletics: Baseball's best team over the past three months heads into the postseason on a serious roll. The A's are 58-17 since the All-Star break -- the second best post-break record ever. Oakland won at least 100 games for the ninth time in club history.

The A's achievements are even more remarkable considering they started the season 8-18.

Giambi, a soon-to-be free agent who might be wearing pinstripes next season, has been outstanding for Oakland in the regular season's final weeks, cementing his case for a second AL MVP award.

Dye has been impressive as a midseason acquisition, averaging nearly one RBI per game. He also has protected Giambi from the cleanup spot, giving him many more quality pitches to hit.

All four of the A's starters have been outstanding down the stretch. Zito, who beat the Yankees in Game 4 of last season's division series, was the AL Pitcher of the Month in August and September, while Mulder won the award in July and led the league in victories. Hudson has been his usual steady self, and Lidle won a spot in the postseason rotation with an impressive, consistent season that didn't show up in his statistics until the A's began to play better overall.

Oakland's Coliseum, usually among the league's quietest stadiums, will be loud for Games 3 and 4. The A's experienced a significant upswing in attendance this season.

Chavez and Tejada are the first third baseman-shortstop combo in baseball history to hit 30 homers apiece.

- Yankees: Manager Joe Torre doesn't have the big bats that the A's have, but pitching -- especially the bullpen -- has been the key to run of four World Series titles in his five seasons in New York.

Looking to become just third team to win four straight titles, joining Yankees from 1949-53 and 1936-39.

Torre and GM Brian Cashman are in the final year of their contracts and could be let go by demanding owner George Steinbrenner if they don't deliver another championship.

Weren't the best team in the AL during the regular season, but always play best in biggest situations. Lost 15 of 18 to end last season, but recovered to beat A's in first round on way to World Series title.

Justice and O'Neill struggled down stretch of regular season and enter playoffs limping. Torre might not be able to use either in outfield, forcing him to choose which one to play at DH and use Spencer in right field.

Williams is key to making the offense go. Appears to have hit his stride after slow September, with three homers in first week of October.

Jeter and Brosius made 37 errors on left side of infield.

Mendoza will be counted on to replace departed Jeff Nelson as righty setup man for Rivera.

Watch for

- Last Hurrah? O'Neill, Martinez, Brosius and Knoblauch -- key cogs in the last three World Series titles -- all could be in their final days in pinstripes.

- Dye Job. The acquisition of Dye was one of the key moves of the season. He has 13 homers, 59 RBIs and a .297 average in 61 games since joining Oakland from Kansas City in a three-way trade with Colorado on July 25. The Athletics are 48-14 since the trade and 12-1 when he homers.

- Got to Go to Mo. The starting pitching is even, Oakland has the better offense, but the Yankees have Rivera -- the greatest postseason reliever ever. Rivera has a 0.71 ERA in the postseason and hasn't blown a lead since Game 4 of the ALDS in 1997. Torre doesn't hesitate to bring in his closer in the eighth inning, meaning Oakland had better get ahead early.

- Izzy ready? Isringhausen was terrible earlier this season. But since he figured out he was tipping his pitches by the way he stepped on the rubber, he has converted nine straight save opportunities. Still, he could be the weakest link on the A's pitching staff.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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