(My Sportsbook) - Now that the Major League Baseball world has been flipped upside down, a pair of unlikely competitors will meet for the American League title when the Anaheim Angels take on the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday at the Metrodome.

Anaheim, which is making its first postseason appearance since 1986, appeared to be the experienced squad in its three-games-to-one victory over the four- time defending AL champion New York Yankees in the ALDS. The gritty Angels combined small ball with a power surge to boot the Goliath-like Yanks out of the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Twins took down the mighty Oakland Athletics in five games to reach their first ALCS since 1991. Minnesota, which was a mediocre 40-40 on the road during the regular season, managed a pair of wins at the Coliseum to get the job done.

Prior to this series, let's look at the keys for both teams if they hope to be playing for the World Series.

Anaheim Angels

1. Avoid a letdown. After climbing a mountain the size of Mount Everest like the Yankees, many teams would be happy with their postseason. Manager Mike Scioscia's club can't afford to rest on its laurels with this huge series on the horizon.

The Angels are known for their focus now, considering many thought that they would have been just happy to make the playoffs and would bow out gracefully to the Yankees. Anaheim has been playing surprisingly loose since nailing down its first playoff slot in 16 seasons.

"We had to get the monkey off our backs, all that history with the Angels," veteran centerfielder Darin Erstad said. "Now it's just fun. The pressure is off."

Anaheim fought its way through many tough, challenging times en route to vanquishing the Bronx Bombers. The Angels were forced to maintain their concentration at every possible moment or pay the consequences. Some of the players believe that the spirits of Angels past helped them through the series.

"This has always been about more than just us," said closer Troy Percival. "All those players who have been through those hard times, they are right there with us."

The Angels must remain focused on the prize and their opponent across the field in this series. New York's Derek Jeter was sold on the ability of the Angels and their ability to go deep into the postseason.

"If they keep playing the way they're playing, no one is going to beat them," Jeter said.

2. Stick to small ball. The Angels' eight-run, 10-hit fifth inning in Game 4 of their series victory over New York was a microcosm of their season. Besides a lead-off homer by Shawn Wooten, Anaheim laced eight singles and a double on their way to tying a postseason record for hits in an inning.

The Angels have been playing old-fashioned baseball all year, using small ball to keep pressure on their opponent and score runs. Anaheim has mastered the hit-and-run and the sacrifice bunt, getting players in scoring position.

As the Angels hammered David Wells, it became clear that singles were just fine for them. Anaheim scattered one-base hits throughout the field, making a mockery of the Yanks' once-feared lefthander.

"We are developing an Angel way of playing baseball," bench coach Joe Maddon said. "We're developing an attitude and a style. That is very important for us to capture and maintain. It's something that can sustain itself.

"We may not win every year, but we can contend every year, based on the method of play we have kind of invented for ourselves this year."

The small-ball philosophy has helped the Angels come together as a team, instead of having a bunch of individuals in the clubhouse. Swinging for the fences isn't a part of the game plan, despite their power hitting against New York.

"We have to put our egos in our back pocket," Erstad said. "If you don't do that, you'll stick out like a sore thumb in here, so you really don't have a choice."

3. Pitching depth. The Angels were stretched pretty thin in their pitching rotation during the ALDS. Anaheim was forced to use rookie John Lackey in relief of a struggling Ramon Ortiz in Game 3, pushing ace southpaw Jarrod Washburn into action on short rest in Game 4.

It's not that Washburn wasn't scheduled to take the mound in Game 4, but with the history of struggles for pitchers on three days' rest, Scioscia was contemplating handing the ball to Lackey. With the youngster already used in relief, Washburn toed the rubber for the Angels in the all-important contest.

The Yankees challenged Washburn, forcing him to toss 94 pitches in just five innings of work, exhausting the lefty.

"I was gassed after about one inning," he said. "I was running on fumes the rest of the day."

This presents a bit of problem for the Angels as they must rest Washburn's arm a good bit before he takes the mound again. For now, veteran Kevin Appier is scheduled to take the hill in Game 1 of this series, but the Game 2 starter is still up in the air.

Washburn won't likely pitch again until Game 3 so the options are limited for Scioscia. Ortiz looked very erratic in his lone start against the Yanks, which may prompt Scioscia to dust off Aaron Sele to make the start. Sele wasn't even on the roster in the Division Series.

Nonetheless, the Angels must find a way to avoid sending their twirlers to the mound on three days' rest if possible. Pitchers aren't trained for that type of duty nowadays and they could end up with injuries that could cost the team if it advances to the World Series.

Minnesota Twins

1. Take full advantage of the home field. Despite having a worse record than the Angels during the regular season, the AL Central champs will have home- field advantage in this series because they won their division and Anaheim advanced to the postseason as the wild card.

The raucous crowd at the Metrodome has been a huge edge for the Twins in the postseason. It has helped them to a 12-2 record, including an 8-0 mark in the 1987 and 1991 World Series, winning both despite losing all six road games.

Minnesota was outstanding at home this year, posting a 54-27 mark to tie the Angels and A's for the most home victories in the Junior Circuit. The Twins did split a pair of games at the Metrodome against the A's, but it remains a daunting task for opponents to leave the dome with a victory.

The Homer Hankies have returned for the first time since the days of Kirby Puckett and it has tended to take away a foe's focus. Also, the white roof on the dome makes it hard for opponents to see fly balls at times.

Oakland first baseman Scott Hatteberg struggled with the baseball colored roof in Game 3, when he misplayed one easy foul ball and collided with a teammate on another. The roof isn't the only advantage for the Twins, as the artificial turf tends to keep opponents on their heels.

"The surface is fast," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We have good speed. We run around. We're a doubles-hitting team, and we bang it around and off that baggie [in right]. We know our field and we know when we are on that AstroTurf, we are fast and we use that to our advantage."

However, Minnesota has struggled a bit against the Angels in recent years at home, going just 9-16 since 1998. Anaheim has also proven to be good in 2002 on carpet, going 10-5, including 3-3 in Minnesota. The Twins must hold serve at home or this could be a quick series.

2. Joe Mays. The righthanded twirler must perform better for the Twins in this series. Mays struggled mightily in his lone outing against Oakland, permitting six runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 frames in a Game 2 loss. He walked a pair and fanned one in the defeat.

The 26-year-old hurler has lost four of his last five decisions, dating back to the regular season, and has only one win since August 27. With Mays opening the series for his squad, he must pitch well to get the Twins off on the right foot.

Following Mays in the rotation will most likely be Rick Reed and then Eric Milton. Brad Radke, who won both the first and last games of the Oakland series on the road, will be held for Game 4 and possibly Game 7 if necessary.

Unless Mays improves ten-fold, he will likely be used only in long relief for the rest of the series. However, if he can come up with a big outing in Game 1 it would solidify the Twins' rotation and allow his teammates to pitch on regular rest.

3. Torii Hunter. The play of their centerfielder has been a major issue for the Twins since the All-Star break.

Hunter, who is the catalyst for the Twins' offensive success, registered 20 homers and 61 RBI to go along with a .306 batting average prior to the Mid- Summer Classic. The first-time All-Star appeared to be on his way to an MVP season, but things went south in the second half.

The speedy outfielder slowed down in the second half, hitting just .263 with nine home runs and 33 RBI. In the process, the middle of the Twins' lineup struggled to produce runs.

Hunter's ability to change a game with his speed, hitting and fielding must be a factor in this series for the Twins. The 27-year-old Arkansas native turned in a decent series versus Oakland, mustering four doubles and a pair of RBI, but he must take his game to another level in this series.

It hasn't helped that the Corey Koskie has struggled a couple spots ahead of him. Koskie managed just three hits in 21 plate appearances versus Oakland, but he did have a homer and five RBI.