WORLD SERIES PREVIEW | Yankees vs. Marlins

Projected Lineups(regular season statistics)
Marlins: CF Juan Pierre (.305, 1 HR, 41 RBIs, major league-leading 65 steals, 204 hits), 2B Luis Castillo (.314, 6, 39, 21 steals), C Ivan Rodriguez (.297, 16, 85), DH-RF Miguel Cabrera (.268, 12, 62), 1B Derrek Lee (.271, 31, 92, 21 steals, 131 Ks), 3B Mike Lowell (.276, 32, 105), LF Jeff Conine (.282, 20, 95 for Baltimore and Florida), RF Juan Encarnacion (.270, 19, 94, 19 steals), SS Alex Gonzalez (.256, 6, 18).
Yankees: 2B Alfonso Soriano (.290, 38, 91, 114 runs, 35 steals, 130 Ks), SS Derek Jeter (.324, 10, 52), DH Jason Giambi (.250, 41, 107, 129 BBs, 140 Ks), CF Bernie Williams (.263, 15, 64), C Jorge Posada (.281, 30, 101), LF Hideki Matsui (.287, 16, 106, 42 doubles), 1B Nick Johnson (.284, 14, 47, 70 BBs in 96 games), 3B Aaron Boone (.267, 24, 96 with Cincinnati and New York), RF Karim Garcia (.262, 11, 35 with Cleveland and New York).
Projected Rotations
Marlins: LH Dontrelle Willis (14-6, 3.30 ERA), RH Brad Penny (14-10, 4.13), RH Josh Beckett (9-8, 3.04, 152 Ks in 142 IP), LH Mark Redman (14-9, 3.59).
Yankees: LH David Wells (15-7, 4.14, 20 BBs in 213 IP), RH Mike Mussina (17-8, 3.40, 195 Ks in 214 2-3 IP), LH Andy Pettitte (21-8, 4.02), RH Roger Clemens (17-9, 3.91, 190 Ks).
Relievers
Marlins: RH Ugueth Urbina (3-4, 2.81, 32/38 saves for Texas and Florida), RH Braden Looper (6-4, 3.68, 28/34 saves), RH Chad Fox (3-3, 3.12, 3 for Boston and Florida), RH Carl Pavano (12-13, 4.30), LH Michael Tejera (3-4, 4.67, 2), RH Rick Helling (8-8, 5.17).
Yankees: RH Mariano Rivera (5-2, 1.66, 40/46 saves), RH Jeff Nelson (4-2, 3.74, 8, in 70 games with Seattle and New York), LH Felix Heredia (5-3, 2.69, 1 with Cincinnati and New York), RH Jose Contreras (7-2, 3.30 in 18 games, 9 starts), LH Gabe White (5-1, 4.05 with Cincinnati and New York), RH Jeff Weaver (7-9, 5.99).
Matchups
The teams haven't played since 2001 with Yankees holding an 8-6 all-time lead. ... Marlins hammered Mussina that year for eight runs and 10 hits in two innings of a 9-3 win. ... Penny and Redman are the only Florida starters with experience against New York. Penny won his only start in 2000. Redman is 1-2 with a 4.85 in his career against the Yankees. ... Rodriguez and Encarnacion have the most experience among Florida's hitters, with Rodriguez batting .320 in 363 career ABs with Texas and Encarnacion hitting .377 in 106 ABs. Encarnacion hit one of the longest homers ever at Yankee Stadium in 2001, a shot that went over Monument Park and was believed to be the first into the left-center field bleachers since the stadium was remodeled before the 1976 season. ... Rodriguez has had success against the Yankees lefty starters, batting .333 vs. Wells and .394 vs. Pettitte. He's also 5-for-16 with a homer against Rivera. ... Rodriguez has faced the Yankees in the postseason before, batting .263 with three RBIs while going 1-9 with the Rangers. ... Encarnacion is 10-for-22 against Pettitte. ... Conine has five RBIs in 12 ABs against Rivera. ... Urbina, who almost became a Yankee in 2001, is 0-3 with 11 saves and a 3.05 ERA in his career against New York. ... Williams has four HRs in 53 ABs against Florida and Jeter is hitting .340 in 47 ABs. ... Clemens is 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA. ... Lowell was a Yankees farmhand before being dealt in 1999 for three minor league pitchers who never helped the Yankees.
Big Picture
Marlins: The wild-card winners came from behind to win both series. The Marlins lost the opener to San Francisco in the first round before bouncing back to win three straight. After falling behind 3-1 to Chicago in the NLCS, Florida won three straight to advance to its second World Series. The Marlins were three runs down and five outs away from elimination when a Cubs fan's overeagerness for a foul ball helped fuel an eight-run inning. ... Florida still has not lost a postseason series, going 5-0. As the wild card in 1997, the Marlins won the World Series. ... Rodriguez starred in the first two rounds, both at the plate and behind it. He is hitting .333 with three homers and 16 RBIs in the postseason. He had an NLCS-record 10 RBIs against the Cubs to win MVP honors. In the first round, he withstood a collision to tag J.T. Snow for the final out in the clinching Game 4. It was the first time in postseason history that a series ended with the potential tying run being thrown out at the plate. ... Cabrera has been a force in the postseason with three homers and six RBIs in the NLCS. ... At 72, manager Jack McKeon has made a lot of good moves in his first playoff trip. He took over on May 11 after Jeff Torborg was fired; the Marlins were 19-29 when they took off, and had the best record in the majors after May 23. McKeon is the oldest manager to take a team to the Series. ... Pierre and Castillo key the offense. They slap the ball and run, and can create havoc if they get on base. ... Beckett is an emerging ace as evidenced by his Game 5 shutout against the Cubs. After pitching four innings of relief in Game 7, he probably won't be available until Game 3. ... Willis and Penny, the likely starters the first two games, combined for an 11.09 ERA the first two rounds. ... Willis sparked the Marlins' turnaround when he was called up from Double-A on May 9, and his former Carolina Mudcats teammate, Cabrera, made nearly as big an impact. Willis became an All-Star and a nationwide sensation with his high leg kick and hat tilted to the side. He slumped a bit in the second half, losing four straight decisions, but won two big games down the stretch. ... Urbina and Conine were key acquisitions during the season. Urbina took over the closer's role from Looper and Conine made several big contributions.
Yankees: New York mounted a memorable comeback to make it to its fifth World Series in six years. Trailing 5-2 with one out in the eighth, New York rallied against Pedro Martinez to tie Game 7 and Boone won it with a solo homer in the 11th. ... Another AL East title and another pennant won't be enough to satisfy demanding owner George Steinbrenner. The Boss has been antsy after seeing his team fall short of a World Series title the past two years. ... Starting pitching is the Yankees' strength, with Pettitte, Mussina, Clemens and Wells all playoff tested. Mussina has struggled of late, with three of the Yankees' four postseason losses. New York has lost his last six postseason starts. The other starters are combined 6-0 in the first two rounds against Boston and Minnesota. ... Bridging the gap between the starters and Rivera has been a problem all year. GM Brian Cashman has overhauled the bullpen but manager Joe Torre hasn't shown a lot of trust in the newcomers. Contreras did well in that role before a Game 6 collapse against Boston. ... Team hit just .245 the first two rounds. Giambi broke out of a playoff slump with two homers off Martinez in Game 7 and Boone was hitting .161 before his series-clincher. ... The Yankees hit 230 HRs this season -- second-most in franchise history behind the Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris team that hit 240 in 1961.
Watch For
* Shaky start. After using its best two starters in Game 7, Florida will probably go with the struggling Willis and Penny in the first two games. If the Marlins can get one win at Yankee Stadium, they'll be happy to be home where they've won 19 of their last 23 games.
* Gotta get to Mo. Mariano Rivera holds the postseason record with 27 career saves. He looked unhittable the first two rounds -- allowing five baserunners and one run in 12 innings. Torre isn't afraid to use Rivera for two innings as he tries to avoid relying on the shaky setup crew. In fact, he pitched three scoreless innings in Game 7 of the ALCS and was the MVP.
* Potent Pudge. Rodriguez has been the MVP of the postseason so far, hitting .333 with three homers and 16 RBIs in the postseason. He's hitting .529 with runners in scoring position the first two rounds.
* Aura and mystique. No late lead is safe against the Yankees in New York as evidenced by their rally in the eighth inning against Boston in Game 7 of the ALCS. New York has four homers in the ninth inning or later to tie or win a game in their last 10 postseason home games.
-- Associated Press