(My Sportsbook) - The king is dead, and the crown prince has disappeared. Now, the chance to wear the American League crown has gone to a couple of court jesters. Since the mighty New York Yankees and noble Oakland A's have been vanquished, only the Minnesota Twins and Anaheim Angels remain in the AL playoff bracket.

Although their blood lines are not as regal as their opening-round opponents, the Angels and Twins have invaded the castle and taken the next step toward becoming baseball royalty.

Neither team was supposed to be here, but wild-card Anaheim shocked the Bronx Bombers with a thrilling 3-1 series win and Minnesota rose to the challenge in its decisive Game 5 triumph at the Coliseum. In both cases, timely hits and a never-say-die attitude spurred the underdogs to the threshold of the World Series.

It took the Twins all five games to get past the heavily-favored Athletics, making their rise from the contraction speculation to the championship series even sweeter.

"Everybody wanted to eliminate us, even during the offseason," All-Star centerfielder Torii Hunter said. "We proved everybody wrong. We got to the playoffs, and now we're going to the second round."

The adversity that Minnesota has continually faced all season is its rallying cry, and proving the doubters wrong has become the norm for the small-market wonders. Everyone spoke about Minnesota's inability to overcome Oakland's lefthanded pitching, its inexperience and its lack of a high-priced superstar. But in the end, team work and an unparalleled competitive spirit outmatched all the apparent deficiencies.

"We kept hearing how we can't hit lefties; we can't do this, we can't do that," first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said. "All of a sudden, we're [moving] on."

With the 5-4 win in Sunday's fifth and deciding game over Oakland, the Twins have earned home-field advantage in the upcoming best-of-seven set. That will certainly play a role in the series, since the unique atmosphere of the hideous Metrodome can play with the mind of the visitors.

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire, who has made all the right decisions thus far, believes his blue collar team has gotten this far based on its determination.

"Our numbers don't jump out like a lot of other teams," said Gardenhire. "We don't have a 130-RBI or 40-homer guy. We pitch and catch the ball.

"When you start looking inside the clubhouse and looking at the heart of this baseball team, that's what the other baseball teams always pick up."

Anaheim has a similar credo, one that is centered around a dangerous offensive attack that has made comebacks seem ordinary. Three times against the Yankees, the Angels rallied after falling behind through five innings.

The diligent Angels, who are conjuring images of former team owner Gene Autry and "rally monkeys" in their first postseason appearance since 1986, have proven that spending money on players isn't necessarily the formula for winning championships. And the fantastic leadership of manager Mike Scioscia hasn't gone unnoticed either.

"Our guys showed endless tenacity," said hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. "We started out aggressively and kept it going.

"The Yankees have a fine pitching staff, but our approach was 'Don't let their pitchers intimidate you.'"

This is just the fourth time the Angels' franchise has competed in the postseason, and the first since the wild card format was instituted in 1995. The sudden and unexpected opportunity to play for the AL championship has made many players on the team take a step back and evaluate the amazing turnaround.

"I can't speak for everybody, but for me, it's an end to one thing and a start to another," closer Troy Percival said. "We got somewhere this organization's never been, and we're getting ready to go somewhere that we've never been...

"It's real exciting for all of the guys that have been in this organization, for Jackie Autry, Gene Autry. I tell you, there's a lot of people that put in a lot of time to get us where we're at."

So what's going to happen now? How much more excitement can these teams possibly pack into a single series? Will the loss of Denny Hocking play a role for the Twins?

The questions that arise as this series unfolds are plenty. More than anything else, who will get better production from their starting pitchers once the rotations are set in stone? In the seven-game format, Joe Mays may need to pitch twice. Gardenhire has decided to start Mays in Game 1, and that choice is critical.

Mays struggled down the stretch in the regular season and was roughed up by the A's in Game 2 of the ALDS. The righthander was tagged for six runs on nine hits over just 3 2/3 innings and the A's went on to a 9-6 win. The first game against Anaheim is a pivotal matchup, one that must be captured by the Twins if they expect to maintain home-field advantage.

If the hosts can get more from Mays (even a marginal performance should suffice) the Twins can turn to their trusted bullpen.

The Angels will respond with Kevin Appier in Game 1, hoping he has gained confidence from his appearance in the second game of the ALDS. When he faced the Yankees and stared at a 1-0 series deficit, the 34-year-old righthander could have felt overwhelmed in the Bronx atmosphere. However, he worked five innings and allowed three runs on five hits and left with a 4-3 lead. Appier outdueled New York starter and postseason veteran Andy Pettitte in the eventual 8-6 win.

Game 1 may be the most important game of the series, since it is expected to be a very close race throughout. Whoever gets the early edge may be in line for the World Series, and everything hinges on Mays.

Anaheim's offense scored 31 runs in its four ALDS games against the Yankees and hit .376 (56-for-149), a record for a team in any postseason series. On the surface, Mays doesn't seem to be the guy to put an end to the Angels' offensive outburst. But no one predicted that he would even be in this position, so who really knows what to think?

The starting rotations are on equal footing, with the edge going to Minnesota's bullpen of J.C. Romero, Johan Santana and Eddie Guardado. However, Anaheim's offense is more complete from top to bottom. The Twins need to get more from Hunter in order to keep pace with the likes of Troy Glaus, Scott Spiezio, Garret Anderson and Darrin Erstad.

Gardenhire feels his rotation is built around Brad Radke, who is slated to start Game 4.

"We don't have the guy like a Randy Johnson, the [Curt] Schillings, guys like that. We feel very comfortable no matter who we have on the mound," explained Gardenhire. "Radke has been the guy -- he's been the guy for us forever. When you open the season, Radke's the guy on the mound. You always want him in the big games."

Well before Radke can return to the mound after his heroics against Oakland, the Twins will start Rick Reed in Game 2 against Anaheim's Ramon Ortiz. Reed gave Minnesota five solid frames in Game 3 of the Division Series, but the 37- year-old righthander allowed four home runs in his that start and will be on a short leash if the Angels give him any trouble.

Ortiz couldn't handle the pressure when he pitched in Game 3 against New York, and put his team in a big hole. The righthander surrendered six runs on three hits over just 2 2/3 innings, walking four, and Scioscia had to turn to John Lackey to stop the bleeding. He must do a better job of preparing mentally in this series.

No matter what happens from here, it's already been one heck of a ride. Unless the Twins can match the offensive talent of Anaheim and get help from the likes of David Ortiz, Jacque Jones and Corey Koskie, the Angels be in placing the AL crown on top of their halos.

Call it manifest destiny.

Prediction: Angels in seven.