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Last Updated: October 15. 2009 1:00AM

American League Championship Series preview

Yankees will emerge with AL pennant in seven games

Tony Paul / The Detroit News

Yankees vs. Angels

Game 1: 7:57 Friday, at New York

Game 2: 7:57 Saturday, at New York

Game 3: 4:13 Monday, at Los Angeles

Game 4: 7:57 Tuesday, at Los Angeles

Game 5: 7:57 Oct. 22, at Los Angeles*

Game 6: 4:13 Oct. 24, at New York*

Game 7: 8:20 Oct. 25, at New York*

* if necessary; all games on FOX

Yankees Key player: Joba Chamberlain, P

The Yankees have a message for their 24-year-old right-hander: Stay flexible. Manager Joe Girardi hopes to go with a three-man rotation for this series -- CC Sabathia (Games 1, 4, 7), A.J. Burnett (2, 5) and Andy Pettitte (3, 6) -- with Chamberlain being assigned to the bullpen, where he's been dominant throughout his three-year career. But with plenty of rain in the Bronx forecast each of the next four days, early series postponements certainly are a possibility. And one would force Chamberlain into the rotation, where his career ERA is 4.18 compared to 1.50 in relief. In the division series, he made three appearances: all in relief and all scoreless.

Projected lineup

Player	HR	RBI	AVG
1. Derek Jeter, SS	18	66	.334
2. Johnny Damon, LF	24	82	.282
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B	39	122	.292
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B	30	100	.286
5. Hideki Matsui, DH	28	90	.274
6. Jorge Posada, C	22	81	.285
7. Robinson Cano, 2B	25	85	.320
8. Nick Swisher, RF	29	83	.249
9. Melky Cabrera, CF	13	68	.274

Bench	HR	RBI	AVG
Brett Gardner, OF	3	23	.270
Jerry Hairston Jr., UT	2	12	.273
Jose Molina, C	1	11	.217

Starting pitcher		W-L	ERA
1. CC Sabathia	LH	19-8	3.37
2. A.J. Burnett	RH	13-9	4.04
3. Andy Pettitte	LH	14-8	4.16
4. Joba Chamberlain	RH	9-6	4.75

Closer	W-L	S/SC	ERA
Mariano Rivera, RH	3-3	44/46	1.76

Chart: A-Rod's ascent

This could be the season that defines Alex Rodriguez's Hall of Fame career. In spring training, he survived an explosive steroid scandal. Then, he sparked the Yankees' 2009 turnaround -- they were 14-15 on May 8, the day before he returned from hip surgery, before going a major league-best 90-44 the rest of the way. And now, he might've finally shaken his postseason slump. Here's a look at his last five playoff series:

Year	Series (result)	AB	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2004	ALCS (L, BOS)	31	8	2	5	4	6	.258
2005	ALDS (L, LAA)	15	2	0	0	6	5	.133
2006	ALDS (L, DET)	14	1	0	0	0	4	.071
2007	ALDS (L, CLE)	15	4	1	1	2	6	.267
2009	ALDS (W, MIN)	11	5	2	6	1	2	.455

Diamond digits

5-5 The season-series record between the Yankees and Angels, with the Yankees going 2-4 in Los Angeles and 3-1 in New York.

27 Joe Girardi's uniform number, selected by the Yankees manager after his hiring in the fall of 2007 because his goal was obvious: win the franchise its 27th World Series championship.

.218 Opponents batting average against right-handed starter A.J. Burnett when Jose Molina is catching him this year, compared to .270 when Jorge Posada is behind the plate. That makes it likely Molina will continue to catch Burnett in this series, despite Posada's very public disapproval.

Angels Key player: Vladimir Guerrero, RF

There was a day this year when every Angels starting hitter was batting at least .300, so it's been quite easy to forget about a 34-year-old with bad legs. After all, Guerrero played in just 100 games and batted under .300 for the first time since his nine-game, .185 debut in 1996. And the Red Sox thought so little of him, they intentionally walked Torii Hunter ahead of him in a super-tense ninth inning Friday. But clearly he has a bit left in the tank: He made the Red Sox pay with a two-run single that clinched the clincher and was 4-for-10 in the three-game sweep. If he keeps up his .440 pace from the past two playoffs, the heart of the Angels' order could dominate.

Projected lineup

Player	HR	RBI	AVG
1. Chone Figgins, 3B	5	54	.298
2. Bobby Abreu, RF	15	103	.293
3. Torii Hunter, CF	22	90	.299
4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH	15	50	.295
5. Kendry Morales, 1B	34	108	.306
6. Juan Rivera, LF	25	88	.287
7. Howie Kendrick, 2B	10	61	.291
8. Mike Napoli, C	20	56	.272
9. Erick Aybar, SS	5	58	.312

Bench	HR	RBI	AVG
Maicer Izturis, IF	8	65	.300
Jeff Mathis, C	5	28	.211
Gary Matthews, OF	4	50	.250

Starting pitcher		W-L	ERA
1. John Lackey	RH	11-8	3.83
2. Joe Saunders	LH	16-7	4.60
3. Jered Weaver	RH	16-8	3.75
4. Scott Kazmir	LH	10-9	4.89

Closer	W-L	S/SC	ERA
Brian Fuentes, LH	1-5	48/55	3.93

Never say die

By getting to Jonathan Papelbon in their clinching victory over the Red Sox on Friday, the Angels became just the fourth team in MLB postseason history to win a game in which they trailed by two or more runs with two outs and bases empty in the ninth inning or later. Here's how the rallies happened, starting with the first batter after the second out was recorded:

2009 Angels (ALDS, Game 3): 9th inning -- Aybar 1B, Figgins BB, Abreu RBI 2B, Hunter IBB, Guerrero 2-R 1B, Morales FO. LAA 7, BOS 6

2005 Cardinals (NLCS, Game 5): 9th inning -- Eckstein 1B, Edmonds BB, Pujols 3-R HR, Sanders K. STL 5, HOU 4

1986 Mets (World Series, Game 6): 10th inning -- Carter 1B, Mitchell 1B, Knight RBI 1B, WP (run scores), Wilson E-3 (run scores). NYM 6, BOS 5

1977 Dodgers (NLCS, Game 3): 9th inning -- Davalillo 1B, Mota 2B (run scores on E4), Lopes RBI 1B, Russell RBI 1B, Smith GO. LAD 6, PHI 5

Source: Elias Sports Bureau, Detroit News research

Diamond digits

6 Playoff appearances for the Angels under Mike Scioscia, the first man ever with six postseason trips in his first 10 years as an MLB manager.

17 Stolen bases by the Angels in 11 regular-season games against the Yankees, their most against any club. They were caught seven times.

$20M Mark Teixeira's 2009 salary with the Yankees. Instead of keeping the slugging first baseman in Anaheim, the Angels spent a combined $20.415 million on this year's contracts for outfielders Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera, reliever Darren Oliver and closer Brian Fuentes.