Yanks begin quest for fourth straight World Series title

NEW YORK -- The extra week added to the season proved quite beneficial for the New York Yankees.

Had the playoffs started as scheduled last week, Joe Torre would have been scrambling to put out a healthy team.

Now, the Yankees enter their first-round series against Oakland as healthy as they've been in months and poised for a run at a fourth straight World Series title.

"We're in a lot better shape this week than last week at this time," Torre said Monday. "The season went a week longer than it was supposed to, and that wasn't a good thing. We wouldn't have panicked if we started last week. But we were not in as good shape as we are now."

AL East champion New York begins defense of its title on Wednesday night with a rematch against the wild-card Athletics, when Roger Clemens (20-3) takes on Mark Mulder (21-8).

"We're looking for 11 more wins," Oakland manager Art Howe said. "That's our goal. If we play the way we're capable, we should have a great shot."

Healthy at last

So should the Yankees, now that they are healthy.

In the past week -- added to the schedule because of a break caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- closer Mariano Rivera has returned from a cortisone shot in his right ankle; Orlando Hernandez and Andy Pettitte pitched well in their returns from sore elbows; Paul O'Neill is healthy and ready to return to right field; and setup man Ramiro Mendoza felt strong this weekend, even if he was ineffective.

"I sense that we're ready to play," Torre said. "Whether that translates into us winning, I can't tell you. I'm very confident we're ready to go into this thing."

The Yankees better be healthy and on top of their game, because they've never opened the playoffs against as accomplished a team as Oakland in Torre's five years at the helm.

The A's won 102 games, but had to settle for the wild card because Seattle won the AL West with 116 victories.

Oakland is led by reigning MVP Jason Giambi and a talented, young rotation of Mulder, Tim Hudson (18-9) and Barry Zito (17-8). After taking the Yankees to a decisive fifth game last year, the A's are ready to go even further this time.

The A's led the majors with a 58-17 mark after the All-Star break (.773) -- the second-best in major league history behind the 1954 Cleveland Indians (.775).

"It would be disappointing if we didn't get further than we did last year," Giambi said. "But at the same time, that's a pretty imposing team over there."