Bad Blood? Wait Until They Draw First Blood

There are enough angles floating around this American League championship series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians to make even a geometry teacher’s head spin.

There’s the Yankee revenge factor: Cleveland eliminated New York in a five-game division series last season, denying the Yankees a chance for a second consecutive World Series title. Some Yankees believe it’s payback time.

There’s Mariano Rivera versus Sandy Alomar, the rematch: The Yankees were four outs from a division series-clinching victory in Game 4 last October when Alomar, the Indian catcher, stunned Rivera, the invincible Yankee closer, with a game-tying home run.

There’s the win-it-for-Darryl factor: The Yankees are drawing inspiration from stricken teammate Darryl Strawberry, who had a cancerous tumor removed from his colon Saturday and will be watching the series from a hospital bed.

There’s the disgruntled ex-employee factor: Indian right-hander Doc Gooden was not a happy Yankee last season when Manager Joe Torre yanked him from the rotation. He can vent his anger when he starts Game 4 for Cleveland.

There’s the headhunter factor: The Yankees are still peeved that Jaret Wright, the Indians’ Game 1 starter in Yankee Stadium tonight, hit Luis Sojo with a pitch in spring training. The pitch was headed for Sojo’s face before Sojo stopped it with his left hand, breaking a bone.

Sojo said he was sure Wright was throwing at him, though Indian Manager Mike Hargrove vehemently denied it. A Wright--or would that be wrong?--pitch that hit Paul O’Neill on the right arm on June 19 also rankled the the Yankees.

And there’s the Indians’ second attempt to reach baseball’s summit: Cleveland got within two outs of beating the Florida Marlins in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, coming so close to the ultimate champagne shower the Indians could taste it. This year, they’re determined to finish the job.

So, who has the mental edge?

“Maybe it will all be a wash,” said Yankee pitcher David Cone, dabbling in a little psychoanalysis. “I’m just trying to give you [writers] something to work with here. . . . It’s a good matchup. There’s a lot of recent history--we’re looking for revenge, they’re looking to get back to the World Series, there’s the Strawberry situation. In the back of our minds, we’re thinking, this is the team that took us out last year. There’s plenty on the table to look at.”

And plenty at stake. For the Yankees, the Indians are the second hurdle on their way to baseball immortality. They won 114 games during the regular season and swept the Texas Rangers in the division series.

A win over Cleveland in this best-of-seven series would send the Yankees back to the World Series, where they’d have the chance to validate their ranking among the game’s greatest teams.

For the Indians, who eliminated the Boston Red Sox in the division series, the Yankees are Mt. Everest on their path toward their first World Series championship since 1948. That 50-year title drought is surpassed only by those of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.

To the victor goes a berth in the World Series. To the loser goes a contemplative off-season.

“You enjoy the winter and spending time with your family, but we had a bad feeling going home last year, knowing we lost to a team we should have beat,” Yankee first baseman Tino Martinez said. “It was on my mind all winter.”

The Yankees are heavy favorites, and there is even talk in New York of their running the table, sweeping the division series, league championship series and World Series. Where’s Moses Malone--”three-fo-fo”--when you need him?

But the Indians have plenty of playoff experience, and the heart of their order--David Justice, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and Travis Fryman--matches up favorably with any in baseball. The Indians went into Boston’s Fenway Park last weekend and beat the Red Sox twice, coming from behind on Justice’s two-run double in the eighth to win the final game, 2-1.

“They have a knack for winning in the postseason, and I’m sure they feel good about beating us last year,” O’Neill said. “But no one in here thinks they have an edge because of that.”