The LoHud Yankees Blog

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Melky Cabrera CF

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (1-0, 1.37 ERA)

ANGELS
Chone Figgins 3B
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Juan Rivera LF
Kendry Morales 1B
Howie Kendrick 2B
Jeff Mathis C
Erick Aybar SS

Pitching: RHP John Lackey (1-0, 0.00)

TIME/TV: 7:57 p.m., FOX

WEATHER: Double sweatshirt, at least. Temps in the 30s, winds whipping around the Stadium and the threat of rain looming over the whole thing. Check out the forecast here.

STATE OF THE STRIPES: Back to zero. After getting past the Twins in three games, the Yankees have a clean slate against the nemesis Angels, who eliminated them from the postseason in the 2002 and 2005 Division Series. This year, the teams split 10 games during the regular season and they’re meeting in a best-of-seven series for the first time.

BATTER VS. PITCHER: Here’s the Angels vs. Sabathia. And here’s the Yankees vs. Lackey.

CC’S WORLD: The plan – weather permitting – seems to be for CC Sabathia to pitch three times in the series if it goes the distance, and he’s shown in the past that he can handle a heavy workload. The Angels, though, have given him trouble: he was 0-2 with a 6.08 ERA in two starts against them this year, and is 5-7, 4.72 in 14 career starts.

BIG AL: Alex Rodriguez broke out of his postseason slump with a monster Division Series and his performance against the Angels this season would indicate the hot run will continue. A-Rod was 8-for-24 with five home runs and nine RBI in seven games against the Angels – far better than the 2-for-15 showing he put up against LA in the 2005 ALDS.

OH, JOHNNY: Johnny Damon was the only regular to take part in a simulated game on Tuesday at the Stadium, and you could understand why. Damon finished the ALDS 1-for-12 and is hitless in his last 10 at-bats.

MIGHTY MO: While closers on other playoff teams were melting down all over the first round, Mariano Rivera remained the gold standard. Rivera appeared in all three games and didn’t allow a run while striking out seven. Look for Joe Girardi to go to him often; Girardi has said he won’t hesitate to ask Rivera for more than three outs in the postseason.

SOFT UNDERBELLY: The Yankees have made a living off shaky relievers this season as they amassed 15 walkoff wins plus one more in the ALDS. While the Angels of 2002 and 2005 had lockdown bullpens, this year’s version isn’t nearly as dominant: closer Brian Fuentes led the league in saves but also blew seven opportunities, and had a 1.40 WHIP. Behind him are untested/aging pitchers like rookie Kevin Jepsen and veteran Darren Oliver, who figure to give the Yankee hitters a chance to come back late.

RANDOM QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is it just me, or have others sent an e-mail or IM to someone this week and accidentally referred to the Angels as the “Angles” because you were typing too fast? (I know – it’s just me)

IF THERE WERE WALK-TO-THE-PLATE MUSIC IN REAL LIFE, TODAY’S WOULD BE: ATLiens by Outkast (because everyone is going to be colder “than a polar bear’s toenails” at the frigid Stadium tonight)

—-

Amazingly, Chad Jennings somehow didn’t predict that a) he’d have a job in New York; and b) he’d be covering the Yankees when he planned several months ago to be away at a wedding this weekend. Sources tell me it is not his own. He’ll re-join us in L.A.

Josh Thomson, Rick Carpiniello and I are on the scene at the Stadium though, and will have all the news throughout the night. Back with much more later.

UPDATE, 3:15 p.m.: Not quite sure why it was a secret yesterday, but David Cone will throw out the first pitch tonight.

UPDATE, 3:47 p.m.: Weather update: It’s really pretty cold. Joe Girardi is meeting the media at 4:10, so I’ll have the lineup and any other news (along with audio) shortly thereafter.

UPDATE, 4:42 p.m.: Here’s the Girardi audio from his pregame press conference. As you might imagine after four days off, there isn’t much news in it but he does talk a little about how the weather may affect the game, as well as other assorted topics.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

UDATE, 4:48 p.m.: And here’s the A.J. Burnett audio. The best part is when he’s asked about how he’s been able to fit into the clubhouse and he says, “pies aside, I’m pretty quiet.”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

UPDATE, 5:03 p.m.: Yankees are on the field taking batting practice and they’re showing the NLCS on the big screen in the Stadium. Phillies just went up 1-0 on Ryan Howard’s solo homer.

UPDATE, 5:35 p.m.: Josh here. A few quick notes and quotes from Girardi’s pregame session with the beat writers:

• The staff watched video of Swisher’s at-bats against Lackey, who has held Swish for 5 for 43 (.116) over the course of his career and were satisfied, in spite of the numbers. “Swish has battled Lackey,” Girardi said. “I know the numbers aren’t great, but he has battled Lackey. When a guy has tough at-bats it affects the whole lineup.”

• Girardi has not told Molina, Posada or Burnett who will catch Game 2. Girardi wants his players to focus on Game 1 and Game 1 alone. “Tomorrow’s game doesn’t mean anything right now,” he said. That said, “It worked pretty well last time,” he noted.

• Moving Posada out from behind the plate doesn’t mean he wouldn’t DH. Girardi said it will depend on what happens tonight. Both Posada and Matsui have had a small sample size against Joe Saunders so that won’t factor into the decision. Neither will the fact that Saunders is a lefty. As you all well know, Matsui has shined against LHP this year.

• Freddy Guzman is primarily here to pinch run. Girardi would consider him to sub into the outfield — say, for Swisher — but that is not why he made the roster. Jerry Hairston is another option as a defensive replacement.

• Here’s why Girardi chose Damaso Marte over Brian Bruney: “Morales is a guy you like turning around. Figgins is a guy you like turning around. On a day like today where Bobby follows Figgins, that scenario may come up twice.” The Angels switch hitters are stronger batting lefty.

• Lastly, he doesn’t know the contingency should Games 1 and 2 not be completed by tomorrow night. FOX has football on Sunday, of course, and that could impact the start time. But what also complicates matters is that Monday’s Game 3 is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, California time. Girardi would worry if the clubs had to fly cross-country with less than 24 hours between games. He expects Brian Cashman and Tony Reagins to speak with the league about the situation. Tomorrow night’s forecast on AccuWeather.com calls for temps around 40 and rain.

UPDATE, 6:20 p.m.: Forgot to mention, Hinske is still here. He took BP with the team.

UPDATE, 6:40 p.m.: They’re showing the Phillies-Dodgers game in the press box and is Chase Utley becoming the new Chuck Knoblauch? Suddenly his throws around the bag have become an adventure. Big break for the Dodgers there.

UPDATE, 6:42 p.m.: On-field sightings during batting practice: Tino Martinez and Frank Thomas, wearing one of the coolest pinstriped suits I’ve ever seen.

UPDATE, 6:46 p.m.: Kobe Bryant – what a phony. They just showed him on TV and he’s wearing a Dodgers cap. He grew up in Pennsylvania!

UPDATE, 7:18 p.m.: Josh back again. I just wanted to post the audio from Mike Scioscia and Joe Saunders, who talked about Game 1, the weather (of course) and Game 2 tomorrow (?) —

Scioscia:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Saunders:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

UPDATE, 7:39 p.m.: Sabathia and Lackey throwing in the bullpens. Gigantic American flag being walked on to the field. Marching band doing the anthem getting place. We’re getting close to baseball in the Bronx.

UPDATE, 7:42 p.m.: And now it’s starting to rain. Nothing heavy, but umbrellas are popping open.

UPDATE, 7:45 p.m.: Lots and lots of empty seats right now. Like, Royals in July empty.

UPDATE, 7:52 p.m.: Cone threw what appeared to be a slider on his ceremonial first pitch. Is he available for a rain-delayed Game 4?

UPDATE, 7:55 p.m.: Meeting at home plate with the umpires. Scioscia goes for the Angels; Mick Kelleher there for the Yankees.

UPDATE, 7:56 p.m.: The dulcet tones of (LoHud Blog favorite) Big Poppa pierce the air and Carsten Charles takes the hill.

UPDATE, 7:58 p.m.: Sabathia pumps a strike to Figgins and we’re off. It’s 45 degrees and raining at first pitch. Enjoy the game everyone.

UPDATE, 8:04 p.m.: Cold weather is supposed to make it harder for pitchers to spin the ball, but CC got Abreu looking at a tight slider for his first strikeout (even if it appeared to be a little inside).

UPDATE, 8:06 p.m.: Good start for Sabathia, particularly keeping Figgins off base. Even though he struggled in the Division Series, Figgins has been the spark to the Angels offense for years and always seems to kill the Yankees.

UPDATE, 8:10 p.m.: Good AB all around for Jeter. He worked eight pitches off Lackey and then led off with a hit for the second time in four postseason games. Now Damon trying to break out of his slump.

UPDATE, 8:13 p.m.: Score that a single, with Jeter going to third on the hit and Damon going to second on the throw. Bad job by Juan Rivera, who wasn’t sure whether to throw to second or third and ended up throwing the ball somewhere in between. Heads-up play by Damon to take the extra base with no one covering. That’s Johnny’s second hit in 13 at-bats this postseason.

UPDATE, 8:15 p.m.: Let’s not waste any time. Teixeira can’t get the run in and it’s Alex’s first crack at continuing his run.

UPDATE, 8:17 p.m.: It’ll do. Deep enough to center and it’s 1-0 Yankees. That’s A-Rod’s seventh RBI of the postseason. His career high (in 2004) is eight.

UPDATE, 8:19 p.m.: Yup, those fundamentally sound Angels just won’t beat themselves. So far we’ve had Rivera throwing to no base in particular and Figgins and Aybar watching a pop-up fall in between them. Lackey must be thrilled. 2-0 Yanks on Matsui’s RBI “single”.

UPDATE, 8:29 p.m.: Kendrick – the pride of Jacksonville, Fla. – continues to hit the Yankees. He was .468 with 10 doubles against them the past three seasons. CC gets out of it, though, with a tapper from Mathis. He’s at 30 pitches through two; Lackey is at 24 through one.

UPDATE, 8:33 p.m.: Cano, apparently, isn’t a fan of the cold weather. He’s got his face wrapped up like he’s going ice-fishing. Meanwhile, Lackey’s in short sleeves.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: Scorer just changed the play on Damon’s hit in the first. Now they’re calling it a single, with an error that allows him to go to second. That means of the two runs, one was earned and one was unearned.

UPDATE, 8:46 p.m.: No question about that one – CC gets Abreu looking for a second time. As John Flaherty said earlier today, look for the pitchers to go their fastballs more in the cold weather since it’s hard to grip and spin the ball when the temps are low.

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Yup, it’s those gritty, gutty, pesky Yankees again. A-Rod chops one up the middle and Teixeira goes first to third when he sees Hunter not charging the ball. Smart play. It was like it never occurred to Hunter that Teixeira might try to take the extra base.

UPDATE, 8:56 p.m.: Matsui hits it hard but right at Morales. Lackey at 55 pitches through three.

UPDATE, 9:02 p.m.: So apparently there’s a jet-stream running in from left-center because that ball that Guerrero just hit sure looked like it was going out. Even Damon seemed to think it was gone, but it died very suddenly right near the track and Guerrero ends up on second with one out.

UPDATE, 9:08 p.m.: Morales isn’t a rookie, but in his first year as a regular he’s quickly become a very dangerous hitter. That was a clean single to left and it’s 2-1 now.

UPDATE, 9:13 p.m.: Cano, who looks like he’s going for a sort of faux bank-robber-in-a-ski-mask look, skies to short and everyone screams as Aybar – miraculously – makes the catch. Lackey at 59 pitches.

UPDATE, 9:21 p.m.: That was an eight-pitch walk from Melky. Now Jeter needs to make it count as Lackey is up to 73 pitches.

UPDATE, 9:23 p.m.: Nothing doing. Jeter swings through an 89 mph fastball and leaves two on. Still 2-1 going to the fifth.

UPDATE, 9:30 p.m.: Nice easy inning for Sabathia, who’s thrown 69 pitches. He’s also kept Figgins off base all three times, which is always a good place to start against the Angels.

UPDATE, 9:34 p.m.: Two hits for Johnny tonight, which is more than he had in the entire ALDS. Lackey’s at 81 pitches and the sooner the Yankees can get into the weak Angel bullpen, the better off they’ll be.

UPDATE, 9:37 p.m.: Up to A-Rod again.

UPDATE, 9:40 p.m.: A-Rod takes 3-0, and watches a 77 mph pitch go by for a strike. Then he takes ball four and walks. I would have liked to see him swinging on 3-0 but now it’s up to Matsui.

UPDATE, 9:43 p.m.: Wow, that was an ugly play all around. First Juan Rivera sort of fell over for no reason in the outfield, then A-Rod ran right through a stop sign – Rob Thomson basically had a red light emblazoned on his chest – and tried to run over Jeff Mathis, who hung on to the ball despite Rodriguez dropping an elbow. Did Mathis ever actually tag A-Rod? Hard to say. But either way, it was a foolish play, if only because any time your $30 million guy goes into a collision with a catcher wearing all his equipment, there’s a good chance he comes out with some kind of injury.

Gritty play? Yup. But he would have been better off a) stopping at third; and b) sliding to the outside. Either way, nice hit by Matsui and it’s 3-1 Yankees now.

UPDATE, 9:50 p.m.: On that note, let’s go to a new thread.

Ronan Tynan, the Irish tenor who often sings (a very, very long version of) “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch at Yankee Stadium, will not appear tonight after it was reported that he made an anti-Semitic joke to a potential tenant in his Manhattan apartment building.

According to the New York Daily News story, Tynan ran into a real estate agent showing a client an apartment in his building. When the agent joked to Tynan that he shouldn’t worry because the client wasn’t a Red Sox fan, Tynan responded, “I don’t care about that as long as they are not Jewish.”

Tynan has since apologized – he told WNBC, “I would never want to hurt anybody’s feelings. It was stupid of me to be so callous” – but still had his appearance at Game 1 tonight canceled by the Yankees.

Former Yankee and current YES Network analyst John Flaherty has agreed to break down the pitching match-up for every Yankees postseason game exclusively on the LoHud Yankees blog. Here’s his take on the Game 1 starters:

YANKEES: LHP CC Sabathia (1-0, 1.35 ERA)

WHAT’S HE THROW? “Fastball, slider, change-up in that order. The slider is his strikeout pitch.”

STRENGTHS: “During the start against the Twins, he had a nice little hesitation over the mound and then got everything moving in the right direction, so right away you saw him throwing fastballs in on right-handed hitters and hitting his spots. Tonight he’s got to get ahead of the guys that aren’t big bombers, like Aybar and Figgins, because they will make him work and push the pitch count up. I’d also look for less sliders because the weather can make breaking pitches hard to grip. He may try to pound more fastballs in.”

WEAKNESSES: “If you see the running game get him distracted from what he’s got to do, he’ll have some problems. When the Angels get on first and second base, they’re a distraction for the pitcher and catcher, and it takes your focus away. How do you know if he’s distracted? If he’s suddenly taking longer between pitches or looking over constantly, it shakes his rhythm and that’s when he can get into trouble.”

——-

ANGELS: RHP John Lackey (1-0, 0.00)

WHAT’S HE THROW? “Fastball, curveball, hard slider, but his pitch is his fastball. He’s got a straight one, a four-seamer, and a hard biting two-seamer.”

STRENGTHS: “If you’re going to talk about the strengths for Lackey, you don’t even talk about his stuff. You talk about his makeup. He’s a big-game guy who has been there and won those games and is a competitor – that’s why he started Game 1 against Boston and that’s why he’s starting Game 1 tonight. … He’s changed up what he does since he won Game 7 in 2002 – he throws a little more two-seamers than when he was young – but the look on his face is the same. He’s a gamer. … In this cold weather, he’s going to be pounding fastballs in on the Yankees hands and if he hits his spots, it’ll be tough.”

WEAKNESSES: “I would take the start he had against the Yankees this year and just throw it out. He was hurt early in the year and, even though he pitched well, wasn’t nearly at the level he is tonight. For him, it’s going to be all fastball location because he likes to attack. If he misses, though, and the Yankees are aggressive early in the count, they can do some damage against him and maybe knock him out.”

———–

EDGE: “This is a flip of the coin for me. I feel good about both guys pitching well and I think the wild card in this is going to be the weather: who’s going to be able to handle the elements? Who’s going to want it more? Who’s going to compete and challenge? We’ll see. I think both guys could pitch great and the game will end up in the bullpens.”

ALCS rosters were due about an hour ago and the Yankees made official what they said yesterday: Freddy Guzman is on, Eric Hinske is off. If the Yankees make it to the World Series, they will have the chance to re-do the roster again, and I’d expect Hinske to be added back because of the need for pinch-hitters in the NL park. Guzman’s addition also makes you think we might see Brett Gardner get a start at some point in the series.

Like many of you, I was surprised that Marte stayed on (as opposed to adding Bruney) but Joe Girardi has said repeatedly that he likes having two lefties in case he wants to match-up earlier in the game. The odd thing is that both Marte and Phil Coke could likely face the same hitter – Bobby Abreu – with one coming in for a 6th inning at-bat, say, and the other in the 8th (or in extra innings after Rivera has been used).

Whoever you’re picking to win the ALCS, it seems like the one thing most people agree on is that the Yankees and Angels are going to play some close games. What’s that mean? The likelihood of late-inning dramatics – and pies – goes up. Just for fun, here’s the full list off walk-off wins the Yankees have had this season. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the list gets a little longer this week.

April 22 vs. A’s: 9-7 in 14 innings, Cabrera two-run HR off Dan Giese

May 1 vs. Angels: 10-9, Posada two-run single off Brian Fuentes

May 15 vs. Twins: 5-4, Cabrera RBI single off Joe Nathan

May 16 vs. Twins: 6-4 in 11 innings, Rodriguez two-run HR off Craig Breslow

May 17 vs. Twins: 3-2 in 10 innings, Damon solo HR off Jesse Crain

May 23 vs. Phillies: 5-4, Cabrera RBI single off Brad Lidge

June 12 vs. Mets: 9-8, Rodriguez hits pop-up that Luis Castillo drops for error

July 4 vs. Blue Jays: 6-5 in 12 innings, Posada RBI single off Shawn Camp

July 20 vs. Orioles: 2-1, Masui solo HR off Jim Johnson

Aug. 7 vs. Red Sox: 2-0 in 15 innings, Rodriguez two-run HR off Junichi Tazawa

Aug. 12 vs. Blue Jays: 4-3 in 11 innings, Cano RBI single off Shawn Camp

Aug. 28 vs. White Sox: 5-2 in 10 innings, Cano three-run HR off Randy Williams

Sept. 8 vs. Rays: 3-2, Swisher solo HR off Dan Wheeler

Sept. 16 vs. Blue Jays: 5-4, Cervelli RBI single off Jason Frasor

Sept. 29 vs. Royals: 4-3, Miranda RBI single off Kyle Farnsworth

Oct. 9 vs. Twins (ALDS): 4-3 in 11 innings, Teixeira solo HR off Jose Mijares

Tons of coverage as we are finally ready for some baseball …

We’ve seen Alex Rodriguez have first-round success against the Twins before, only to struggle against a rival in the ALCS. Is this the year he keeps the hero’s cape on all the way through October? That’s the focus of my column as we get set for Yankees-Angels tonight at the Stadium.

CC Sabathia knows how to handle pitching in poor weather, and it sounds like he’ll have plenty of it tonight. Chad Jennings looks into that, as well as some contingency plans the Yankees have for their pitchers if the weather starts playing havoc with the series schedule.

Mark Teixeira and Bobby Abreu are both having a homecoming, of sorts, in this series and Rick Carpiniello takes a look at the issue from both sides. Here’s the piece on Teixeira and here’s the one on Abreu. Both players figure to play critical roles for their new teams as they battle against their old clubs.

John Lackey has pitched big games before and refuses to be intimidated by the Yankees or Yankee Stadium when he takes the ball tonight. Josh Thomson has that story.

Phil Hughes has made a slight mechanical adjustment as he tries to improve on an inconsistent showing in the Division Series, and the notebook also rounds up the news from both sides of the Stadium on a rainy workout day in the Bronx.

Lastly, check out the position-by-position breakdown of this ALCS matchup. I went back-and-forth on a lot of these, and the truth is that these teams are pretty even across the board. Ultimately, I picked Yankees in seven.

Back with much, much more throughout the day.

Thanks to those who joined us for the live chat tonight – we had a great turnout, lots of interesting questions and I think we can all agree that we’ve just about had it with waiting to play. If there’s a rain delay or postponement tomorrow, it’ll be absolutely brutal. (If you want to see a replay of the chat – which you should do just to hear how rough Chad’s voice sounds when he’s battling a cough – then check it out here)

Anyway, I mentioned this during the chat but I wanted to expand on it a little here: When people ask me what I think about this series, my first response is that I think this series could end up being an all-time classic.

Yes, Yankees-Red Sox series are always great theater but this year, with these teams, Yankees-Angels is a better battle. When I was working on the match-ups that will appear in tomorrow’s paper, I literally stopped and agonized over which side had the edge on almost every position. That’s how evenly matched they are.

The lineups are deep. Both have a few contact guys, a few speed guys, a few power guys, a few patient guys. Everyone focuses on the Angels’ running game, but the truth is that the Yankees play aggressively on the bases, too. And the Angels mash as much as anyone.

The pitching staffs are stacked. Both have an established ace, an inconsistent star, a hard-thrower. The Yankees have more talent; the Angels have more depth.

The bullpens are solid. Both have strong closers (though Fuentes is less reliable than his save total would indicate), both have setup corps that were almost completely overhauled at one point or another during the season. The Yankees have talented young relievers; the Angels have a veteran (in Darren Oliver) who actually started a postseason game against the Yankees 13 years ago.

It’s just dead even. The Yankees won 103 games. The Angels won 97. There’s no doubt that they were the two best teams in baseball over the course of the season, and now they’re on a collision course with a spot in the World Series on the line. I picked the Yankees in seven, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see the Angels pull it out either.

Here’s what I do know: This series is almost surely going the distance and – however it ends – it’s very likely it’ll go down as an absolute epic.

That’s it for tonight. Check back tomorrow for Flash Points (John Flaherty’s exclusive take on the pitching match-ups), as well as all the news and notes (and – sigh – weather updates) from the Stadium. It’s finally time for baseball.

4:30 p.m.  Gates Open to the Public

5:00 p.m.-6:10 p.m.  Yankees Hit

6:10 p.m.-6:50 p.m.  Angels Hit

7:32 p.m.-7:42 p.m.  Baseline Introductions

7:42 p.m.  Giant Flag Introduction: West Point Cadets

7:43 p.m.  Presentation of Colors: West Point Honor Guard

7:44 p.m.  National Anthem: West Point Band

7:48 p.m.  Ceremonial First Pitch (Yankees aren’t announcing who until tomorrow)

7:52 p.m.  Umpires and Managers to Home Plate

7:55 p.m.  Yankees Take the Field

7:57 p.m.  First Pitch

———-

Don’t forget to catch Sam and I for a video chat in one hour, starting at 7 p.m. This is the place to be, and feel free to stop by early to submit questions. See you then.

Here’s the weekend forecast, sent out by AccuWeather.com:

Baseball Championship Series Forecasts

State College, Pa. — 15 October 2009 — AccuWeather.com’s reports cold and windy conditions are likely to dampen the first two games of the American League Championship Series in New York this weekend.

Rain and drizzle will be in the New York metro area most of the day on Friday before the Angels and the Yankees meet for Game 1. Temperatures will be in the low 40s by the scheduled game time, but with the moisture and winds ranging from 20 to 25 mph, RealFeel Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-20s.

Although the winds will lessen, rain and temperatures in the low 40s are again likely on Saturday, allowing for the RealFeel Temperatures to rise into the upper 30s for Game 2.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles will host both of its teams’ match-ups with excellent baseball weather for this time of year and Philadelphia will have minor weather-related concerns.

Tonight’s National League Championship Series contest in Los Angeles between the Dodgers and Phillies will start with clear skies and temperatures in the middle to upper 60s. It will be sunny for Game 2 on Friday afternoon and temperatures will be in the upper 80s when the first pitch is delivered.

When the teams travel to Philadelphia on Sunday for Game 3, evening skies in the area are forecast to be mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 40s. However, a bit of rain is possible.

Looking again at the ALCS when the Yankees visit the Angels, weather is not expected to be a factor. Mostly cloudy skies in Anaheim, Calif., for Game 3 on Monday will clear by Tuesday evening for Game 4. Moderate temperatures will be present for both games.

Whether or not John Lackey belongs among the elite pitchers in baseball lies in the eye of the beholder. He is without question the Angels horse in 2009 and has competed admirably in big games both before and since he started Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.

But perhaps Lackey is the quintessential Angel: He is neither overwhelming talented when compared to several Yankees, but he is not intimidated by them either.

“I’m not going to get intimidated by anybody,” Lackey said, cutting short the question. “That’s why I’m throwing the ball tomorrow.”

To a man, the Angels were respectful of their ALCS opponent on the eve of Game 1, saying good fortune had as much to do with their supposed head-to-head dominance than anything. Yet they appeared loose and unafraid heading into Friday, saying, to paraphrase, that they have a pretty darn good club, too.

Here’s the manager Mike Scioscia, who spoke for about 20 minutes about, among other things: Teixeira; his closer situation; how the weather will affect his club; Jeter; Lackey; the Yankees; his postseason experiences; what Girardi can expect managing in the playoffs; and how the weather will affect his club’s notorious aggressiveness. I asked him about the last topic and surprisingly he said much of what I tried to convey yesterday, that they are better in the batters box this year than every before.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

After Scioscia came Lackey, who talked a lot about his experience in big games. He also said the weather won’t have an impact on how he pitches. “The last thing on my mind is going to be the weather,” he said.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And lastly, here’s the always entertaining Torii Hunter. The clip is broken into two short parts, but Hunter touches on the big, bad Yankees and why regular season heroics are meaningless come October.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

—-
Don’t forget that Sam and Chad will be doing a live chat tonight to talk about the roster decisions, the rotation and everything else as the Yankees get set for Game 1 of the ALCS tomorrow. The wait is almost over! Join them here and feel free to stop by early and submit questions ahead of time.