If they can nab the 31 year-old, it would be a real step in the right direction for the Mets. Yet, there’s still a lot of work to do before Figgins hoists his No. 9 jersey at Citi Field.

First they have to figure out where he would play. A third baseman last season, that position is secured by David Wright, so the Mets would have to move Figgins to either second base or left field. Although a huge hole is open in left, the team would prefer to have the free agent play second base, where he would be continue his one-two punch with Jose Reyes out in the field.

Of course, Luis Castillo is still on the team with two years and about $12 million coming to him, so general manager Omar Minaya is shopping his incumbent to open the door for a new, more multi-dimensional player. Already there have been rumors about Chris Snyder and Lyle Overbay, so the feeling is something will happen with the Mets much maligned second baseman.

Yet, more is needed than just Figgins. The Mets also will kick the tires for Matt Holliday and inquire about ace Roy Halladay, but something tells me that the organization will come up short there.

Although COO Jeff Wilpon told fans in a letter and the press a day after the season, the Mets will have a similar payroll as last season, it also means the club will need to make some tough decisions when it comes to filling positions. Make no mistake, the club won’t have a Yankee-like payroll of $200 million, rather, it will come in between $145 – $150 million, so there will be some limitations here.

All of that means the Mets will have between $25 – $30 million to play with coming into this offseason with the expiring contracts coming off the books, and factoring in pay raises for next season. Figgins will cost between $8 – $10 million so right off the bat, you are down to $22 million for a couple of bats and a starter.

If they can dump Castillo, they will probably have to take a similar contract back, which means that will be somewhat of a wash. Yet if it fills a hole, like catcher with Snyder or first base with Overbay, it will mean more money to spend elsewhere.

It also means the high priced free agents will be too rich for the Mets if they get Figgins. Scott Boras wants $18 million a season for Holliday and if they Mets could pull off the trade for Halladay, he will command a Johan Santana kind of contract of $22 million a season.

If Holliday’s price comes down to say between $12-$15 million per season, then the Mets would be able to afford the former Rockies outfielder. It will also allow the club to start the season with Omir Santos behind the plate if Castillo can’t fetch a catcher like Snyder.  It will also allow the team to use Daniel Murphy at first with Ike Davis waiting in the wings down in Buffalo.

The bottom line is this though…the Mets will only have about $15 million to spend on a big bopper in the lineup if they add Figgins.

Then the Mets will have about $7 – $10 million to get another starter, like Jason Marquis or Randy Wolf, and fill in the bullpen.

All of this sounds nice in November and will mean nothing if Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, and David Wright are not healthy next season. But it is a plan and a start, which is all a Met fan can hope for right now.

After the Angels took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th inning on a Chone Figgins flair RBI single to left field off Yankees’ reliever Alfredo Aceves, the Yankees were saved by Alex Rodriguez’s clutch opposite field home run home run which barely cleared the right field wall and tied the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the 11th. Rodriguez’s blast came on an 0-2 mistake fastball from Angels’ reliever Brian Fuentes, who would have been a lot wiser to make Rodriguez chase a pitch or two with the favorable count and light-hitting, little-used Freddy Guzman on deck.

A-Rod’s homer eventually led to Izturis’ game-deciding error in the bottom of the 13th inning. With one out and runners at first and second, Izturiz, ranging to his left, made a nice backhand stop in the hole between first and second, robbing Melky Cabrera of what likely would have been a game-winning single. The smart play for Izturis would have been to get the sure out at first base and let Angels’ reliever Ervin Santana go after Yankees’ catcher Jorge Posada with runners at second and third and two outs.

Izturis however, made a poor decision, trying to start a double play that the Angels would have had little chance of turning. He threw the ball wildly toward second base, past shortstop Angels’ shortstop Erick Aybar, into short left field, allowing Yankees’ pinch hitter Jerry Hairston, Jr. to score the game-winning run from second base on the Angels’ second error on cold rainy night at Yankee Stadium, the fifth error of game combined for both teams, during an otherwise classic of a postseason game.

“I was a little aggressive there,” Izturis said. “I’m not scared to be aggressive. Unfortunately, it cost us the game.”

As, a result, the Yankees head to Anaheim up two games to none instead of being in a 1-1 battle, and all is okay with Yankee fans and with their current perception of A-Rod.

However, in the “What-Have-You-Done-For-Me-Lately” city of New York, and in the “Only-A-World-Championship-Is-Acceptable” world in which the Yankees live, had the Angels evened the series early Sunday morning, A-Rod might have been vilified for yet another playoff failure after flying out to center field with the bases loaded, to end the bottom of the 12th inning.

Failing in the 12th inning despite saving the game in the 11th would give most teams and players a pass.

But, fair or not, that’s not usually the case in New York. Not with the Yankees, and especially, not with the controversial A-Rod, and his past playoff failures, off-the-field issues, and admitted steroid abuse.

This year, A-Rod to this point, has certainly changed his reputation of a great regular season player who fails in the playoffs in New York. He’s hit in all five Yankee playoff games in 2009, with a .368 batting average, a .409 on-base percentage, and an .842 slugging percentage, while smacking three home runs and driving in eight runs.

And, he’s proven to his detractors that he can indeed be clutch in October. Against Minnesota, A-Rod tied Game 2 of the American League Division Series, 1-1, with a two-out single in the 6th inning before hitting a huge game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Yankees to win that pivotal game, 4-3, on a Mark Texeira walk-off home run in the 11th.

Perhaps, the difference in postseason production this year in comparison with past seasons is due to a changed mental approach, and not succumbing to the pressures of producing in a city like New York and for a storied franchise like the Yankees. “This whole year I’m playing with no expectations,” Rodriguez said after that Game 2 win.

In Game 3 of the same series, A-Rod’s home run in the 7th inning drew the Yankees even, 1-1, before they went on to a 4-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the Twins.

But, this is New York, this is the Yankees, and this is A-Rod.

And thus, a whole different measuring stick is used to evaluate postseason success.

The memories of New York sports fans in general, are short, especially when it comes to the Yankees. And, even more so when it comes to A-Rod because of the factors mentioned above, as well the insane money that A-Rod commands — all of which causes many Yankee fans to often demand the impossible from A-Rod.

There’s no doubt that this has already been a vastly different postseason for A-Rod in New York than in past years. But, you have to wonder, even with his 2009 success through the 11th inning on Sunday morning, if Izturis makes a different decision in the 13th, and the game ends later with an Angels’ win, are Yankee fans pointing to that 12th inning, and again questioning A-Rod’s ability to come through when it matters most?

“Yeah, it was cold,” Sabathia said after the game.  “But you just gotta deal with it.”

The Yankee ace did just that, and unlike the Los Angeles Angels, whose sloppy fielding was clearly affected by the frigid temperature,  Sabathia showed little effect from the cold.

He allowed just one run and four hits over eight innings in the Yankees’ 4-1 win in the ALCS opener.  After completing a 1-2-3 eighth inning, the stadium exploded, chanting “CC” over and over again as the gigantic left-hander made his way to the dugout.

“It was a great feeling to have the Stadium rocking and the fans chanting my name.” said Sabathia, who threw just 112 pitches.

“He was sensational,” said manager Joe Girardi after the game. “There are conditions you have to deal with … and he threw extremely well.”

The only run off the left-hander – who struck out seven Angels and walked just one – came in the fourth, when Vladimir Guerrero doubled off the wall in and later scored on Kendry Morales’ RBI single.

It was all the offense the Angels could muster on this chilly October night, and their clumsiness in the field was as deadly as their offense was silent.

In the first, Los Angeles starter John Lackey allowed a single to Derek Jeter.  The Yankee captain then advanced to third on Johnny Damon’s fly ball single to left.  A poor throw by left fielder Juan Rivera – who missed the cutoff man – allowed Damon to advance to second base.

Jeter would score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Rodriguez, but the crushing play of the game was when third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar allowed a potential inning-ending popup to fall untouched between them.

The gaffe allowed Damon to score the only other run the Yankees would need.

“They are a very sound baseball club, and you certainly can’t count on that happening every night … it’s just one game,” Girardi said.  “I thought the first inning was really important to this game … you don’t want to walk away fro that inning without scoring.”

The Yankees capitalized on the two mistakes, and thanks to a tremendous pitching performance from their ace, bring a 1-0 lead into Game 2.

Check out BaseballDigest.com for more from Mark Healey.

“It’s tough putting pressure on CC when you get nobody on,” said Angels, outfielder Torii Hunter who got a single off Sabathia in the first inning. It was one of four hits off Sabathia who got his first LCS win and recorded a postseason high in innings pitched. “It was just CC,” said Hunter. “CC is the cold weather. CC’s the real deal, man” he said.

And again, the Yankees as they do so well, capitalized on the errors by the Angels, a team that set a franchise low 85 and third fewest in the league this season. One in the first inning opened the door for a New York early 2-0 lead when left fielder Juan Rivera threw to the shortstop that put runners on second and third.

Then, in the same inning there was the probable miscommunication of a ball in the infield, or the wind playing havoc which saw a popup from the Yankees Hideki Matsui drop between third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar. The result was a single and Johnny Damon scoring a run.

“”We haven’t seen our guys crack the door open for a team like we did tonight in a long time,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia about that first inning, And like so many other teams that have been victims, now are the Angels. “And the Yankees are going to take advantage of that, and they did,” added Scioscia.

From there it was all Sabathia.  This series is supposed to be about the Angels speed and ability to take the extra base, if they can get there.  The Yankees with their power, though no home runs this windy night, and ability to hold a lead then go to their pen in the late innings. Sabathia threw 113 pitches, struck out seven and had great command.. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth and got the save,

“I noticed he was able to get ahead and change speeds,” commented Scioscia. “He threw some good change ups. I think he commanded both sides of the plate better than we had seen him before. He pitched a heck of a game. He obviously is one of the best in out league.”

The Angels know for sure how important it was to get on base. But Sabathia did not let the cold weather get to him and made the Angels know he could be the difference in this series. Sabathia could face then two more times if indeed there is a seventh and decisive game in the Bronx next weekend.

“He kept the guys that can create problems off the bases all night,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, “and he was sensational.” Sabathia has now won two opening games in the postseason, the other against Minnesota last week in the divisional series.  And for the first time this season, with over 49,000 fans chanting CC in the seventh inning, Sabathia showed emotion after striking out pinch hitter Mike Naploi with a runner on second with a 4-1 lead.

Said Sabathia about the emotion, “That was a great feeling to have the Stadium rocking and to be chanting my name and to be able to get a strikeout. I was pretty pumped up. I don’t really show a lot of emotion a lot of times, but it came out of me there.”

But that emotion is what the Yankees like. They feel confident when their work horse takes the mound. Johnny Damon who made a defensive gem in left and had a fifth inning double hoped to have a powerful pitcher behind him in the postseason. This is his first ALCS with the Yankees.

“This is the first time we’ve been into the ALCS since I’ve been here,” he said. “The other two times we were knocked off in the first round. That’s why we got CC. To be a work horse during the season, of course, But to shut down teams in the postseason. They didn’t have too many base runners tonight. And any time you can do that, it definitely plays in our favor.”

As for the errors that the Angeles rarely make, said Damon “We’ll take it. We don’t see them do that too often, so we’ll take it.”  Miscues that spoiled a good pitching performance from Angels, starter John Lackey who gave up four runs on nine hits.

A loss that Hunter said will be forgotten. “Wake up in the morning and feel like we had amnesia,” he said.  The Angels hope to readjust and get out of New York with a 1-1 split before going home for Game 3 Monday.

Girardi also has the ability to use the bullpen Saturday evening in Game 2 because Sabathia went deep. That may now go to the Yankees advantage when A. J. Burnett takes the mound for New York opposing Joe Saunders.  “If we need multiple innings out of guys we know we can get it,” he said.

“Having a guy like CC, A.J. Pettitte (Andy) and the strong bullpen we have, it’s allowed us to get to this point,” commented Damon.  So Hopefully tomorrow night A.J. shows up and pitches well, and hopefully we can score a few runs off Saunders”

And if the Angels want to make this a series they know they have to avoid those costly mistakes. Burnett is not Sabathia, but one mistake against the Yankees, as Scioscia said, will crack the door open.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

The Los Angeles Angels sent a reeling Boston Red Sox squad home for the winter and now prepare to face a team that they have handled in the postseason of late. The two best teams in the junior circuit will now face each other in the American League Championship Series for the right of playing for a World Series trophy.

During the regular season, the teams split the 10 games. The Yankees were 3-1 at home but won only two of six on the left coast. Offensively, the Angles were the better team in face-to-face match-ups, out hitting New York .315 to .272, a .473 slugging percentage to .456 and outscoring the Bronx Bombers 61-55.

What does that all mean a few days away from the opener? Absolutely nothing but it its food for thought. Perhaps a stat that will weigh more on the Yankees’ minds will be 2002 and 2005 ALDS when the Angels ousted them.

POSITION-BY-POSITION COMPARISONS

FIRST BASE

YANKEES – Mark Teixiera (.292, 39, 122)

ANGELS – Kendry Morales (.306, 34, 108)

Advantage: Yankees – Both had quality seasons but Tex is a legitimate MVP candidate.

SECOND BASE

YANKEES – Robinson Cano (.320, 25, 85)

ANGELS – Howard Kendrick (.291, 10, 61)

Advantage: Yankees – Robby can flat out hit.

SHORTSTOP

YANKEES – Derek Jeter (.334, 18, 66)

ANGELS – Erick Aybar (.312, 5. 58)

Advantage: Yankees – Do we really need to explain this any further?

THIRD BASE

YANKEES – Alex Rodriguez (.286, 30, 100)

ANGELS – Chone Figgins (.298, 5, 54)

Advantage: Yankees – A-Rod may have had a rough start to the season but settled in nicely. A sub-par season for him is much better than Figgins could muster.

LEFT FIELD

YANKEES – Johnny Damon (.282, 24, 82)

ANGELS – Juan Rivera (.287, 25, 88)

Advantage: Yankees – Both are good players at this stage of their careers, but Damon has more postseason experience.

CENTER FIELD

YANKEES – Melky Cabrera (.274, 13, 68)

ANGELS – Torii Hunter (.299, 22, 90)

Advantage: Angels – Hunter can go and get it in the outfield and can hit, too.

RIGHT FIELD

YANKEES – Nick Swisher (.249, 29, 82)

ANGELS – Bobby Abreau (.293, 15, 103)

Advantage: Angels – Not by much, but the former Yankee is a clutch hitter.

DESIGNATED HITTER

YANKEES – Hideki Matsui (.274, 28, 90)

ANGELS – Vladimir Guerrero (.295, 15, 50)

Advantage: Angels – Both are in the later years of productive careers, but Vlad is scarier at the dish.

CATCHER

YANKEES – Jorge Posada (.285, 22, 81)

ANGELS – Mike Napoli (.272, 20, 56)

Advantage: Yankees – Posada has been there, done that.

STARTING PITCHING

YANKEES – CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37), A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04), Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16), Joba Chamberlain (9-6, 4.75)

ANGELS – John Lackey (11-8, 3.83), Ervin Santana (8-8, 5.03), Joe Saunders (16-7, 4.60), Jared Weaver (16-8, 3.75)

Advantage: Yankees – The top of their rotation is stacked. A wild card in this could be Scott Kazmir for the Angels.

RELIEF PITCHING

YANKEES – Mariano Rivera (3-3, 1.76, 44 saves)

ANGELS – Brian Fuentes (1-5, 3.93, 48 saves)

Advantage: Yankees – Mo is the king.

PREDICTION:  Yankees in five games. The Angels will put up a fight, but the Bombers are just too strong is so many facets of the game.