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New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera throws during baseball practice in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. The Yankees will play the Los Angeles Angels in Game 5 of the American League championship series Thursday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — When Derek Jeter recalls the last time the New York Yankees got this close to the World Series, he gets chills down his spine that have nothing to do with the cold he's fighting.
The 2004 AL championship series is a gaping hole in the Yankees' reputation that only a record 40th AL pennant could begin to cover. Up 3-0, New York lost four straight to the Boston Red Sox in a collapse that has festered for a half-decade.
New York gets the first of three potential shots at that closeout victory over the struggling Los Angeles Angels in Game 5 of the ALCS on Thursday night, with A.J. Burnett facing Angels ace John Lackey.
Manager Joe Girardi patiently points out that many of New York's current contributors weren't around for that unprecedented collapse.
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