NEW YORK AT A GLANCE / ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS: Derek Jeter spends regular seasons in the shadows of Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, who are considered baseball’s best all-around shortstops, but once October comes, the stage is his. Jeter proved again during the Yankees’ division series victory over Oakland that he may be the best clutch performer in baseball. Most figured New York’s run of three consecutive World Series titles would end after the A’s won the first two games of the series on the road, but the aging Yankees showed the resiliency and resolve of a champion by winning the next two games in Oakland and returning to New York to finish off the A’s. They have baseball’s deepest rotation, with Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Orlando Hernandez and Roger Clemens aligned for the first four games against Seattle, and though their bullpen is not as deep as it was in past years, setup man Mike Stanton and closer Mariano Rivera give New York a reliable left-right late-game combination.

*

WEAKNESSES: Paul O’Neill, the 38-year-old right fielder who has been the backbone of the Yankee dynasty, struggled so much during the division series that Manager Joe Torre benched him against left-handers Barry Zito in Game 3 and Mark Mulder in Game 5. That left the Yankees vulnerable defensively in the corner outfield positions, because Chuck Knoblauch in left and Shane Spencer in right are hardly Gold Glove candidates. Knoblauch dropped a fly ball in Game 1 against Oakland, and his arm is average at best. Spencer doesn’t have much range. First baseman Tino Martinez hit only .111 during the division series. If a starting pitcher is knocked out or injured in the first four innings the Yankees could be in trouble, because their middle relievers, with the exception of Ramiro Mendoza, cannot be relied on. Hernandez has been dominant in Octobers past, but he missed three months because of a toe injury this season and was not in peak form despite defeating the A’s in Game 4 Sunday.

*

KEY RESERVES: OF Shane Spencer (.258, 10 HR, 46 RBI), INF Randy Velarde (.278, 9, 32).

*

TEAM BATTING: .267 (sixth in AL).

*

TEAM PITCHING: 4.02 ERA (third in AL).

*

SEATTLE AT A GLANCE / ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS: The Mariners don’t have a ton of power, and they lack a dominating No. 1 starter, but they are one of the most balanced and complete teams in recent baseball history, a group that combines solid starting pitching with outstanding relief, speed with the ability to hit in the clutch, and superb team defense with an opportunistic offense. Right fielder and MVP candidate Ichiro Suzuki, who led the major leagues with 242 hits, sets the tone at the top of the order with his blazing speed, and designated hitter Edgar Martinez is a force in the cleanup spot. Soft-throwing left-hander Jamie Moyer baffled the Indians twice in the division series, winning Games 2 and 5, and he went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this season. Few teams protect seventh-inning leads better than the Mariners, who have an excellent right-left combination with Jeff Nelson and Arthur Rhodes, and a reliable closer in Kazuhiro Sasaki.

*

WEAKNESSES: Second baseman Bret Boone, another MVP candidate, went into a horrendous slump in the division series, batting .095 with a record 11 strikeouts in five games, and if he doesn’t snap out of it against the Yankees, the Mariners could be in trouble. Right-hander Freddy Garcia is one of Seattle’s top two starting pitchers, but he didn’t fare well in his only start against the Yankees this season. Game 1 starter Aaron Sele pitched well in his only start against New York, limiting them to two runs and eight hits in 72/3 innings, but he was hammered for four runs and five hits in two innings of his only division series start against Cleveland. Shortstop Carlos Guillen, sidelined since Sept. 28 because of tuberculosis, will be activated, but there is some question whether he will be at full strength. The Mariners have a capable backup in Mark McLemore. Catcher Dan Wilson has six hits in 75 playoff at-bats for an average of .080, the lowest in postseason history.

*

KEY RESERVES: INF Mark McLemore (.286, 5 HR, 57 RBI), OF Al Martin (.240, 7 HR, 42 RBI), INF Ed Sprague (.298, 2 HR, 16 RBI).

*

TEAM BATTING: .288 (first in AL)

*

TEAM PITCHING: 3.54 ERA (first)

KEYS TO THE SERIES

The Mariners will need strong starts from Sele and Paul Abbott, right-handers who were hit hard in the division series. Sele, 0-3 against the Yankees in the playoffs with Texas and Seattle, will start twice if the series goes five games. Rhodes must recover from his case of the Yankee yips in last year’s series; he gave up four runs and three hits in a 7-1 Game 2 loss and four runs on four hits, including David Justice’s big home run, in a decisive 9-7 Game 6 loss. Boone, a career .333 playoff hitter before the division series, needs to cut down his swing and make better contact, and Suzuki needs to be a force on the basepaths. The health of Clemens, who has been bothered by a tight right hamstring, and the performance of Hernandez, who seemed tentative and lacked command in the division series, are important for the Yankees. Torre pushed Clemens back to Game 4 so he’d have an extra day of rest. If the Mariners can take a lead into the seventh inning, their bullpen will give them an edge over the Yankees.

Records: Yankees 95-65, Mariners 116-46.

Head to head: Mariners, 6-3.