John Lackey

As expected, the moods were drastically different in the clubhouses of the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels as the teams worked out in preparation for tonight's Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were attempting to convey that they weren't overconfident, despite being one win away from a World Series berth, up by three games to one in this best-of-seven series. "It's tough, but you have to stay positive and strong," Angels rightfielder Bobby Abreu said before yesterday's workout at Angel Stadium.

JOHN LACKEY will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the 2012 season, the latest setback in his rough year with the Boston Red Sox. General manager Ben Cherington made the announcement yesterday during a news conference at which he was introduced as the successor to Theo Epstein, who left to become president of baseball operations with the Chicago Cubs. Lackey, a righthander, was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA in the second year of a 5-year, $82.5 million contract. The Boston Globe reported after the season that he and fellow starters Josh Beckett and Jon Lester drank beer and ate fried chicken in the clubhouse during games in which they were not pitching.

World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, Vladimir Guerrero and Randy Wolf were among the free agents who weren't offered salary arbitration, a move that enables new teams to sign them without losing draft picks. Last night was the first big deadline of baseball's offseason, with teams having until midnight to make arbitration offers to their former players who became free agents. Players have until Dec. 7 to accept; if they reject, they still can re-sign with their former clubs at any time.

The Anaheim Angels are in the postseason for the first time in 16 years, and they'd like to stay there. That's why the Angels will bring back ace lefthander Jarrod Washburn on three days' rest to start Game 4 of their American League division series against the New York Yankees today. The Yankees will start 19-game winner David Wells. He will be pitching on a full week of rest. Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said that he would make his decision on whether to start Washburn over rookie John Lackey after last night's Game 3. But there wasn't much of a decision for Scioscia to make, because Lackey entered the game in the third inning.

John Lackey came within two outs of a no-hitter, pitching the visiting Los Angeles Angels past the Boston Red Sox, 6-2, last night on a big day for the AL West leaders. Hours after the Angels acquired slugger Mark Teixeira in a trade with the Atlanta Braves, Lackey blanked Boston until Dustin Pedroia grounded a sharp single through the left side with one out in the ninth. Kevin Youkilis followed with a home run over Fenway Park's Green Monster. The righthander nearly became the first visiting pitcher in 50 years to toss a no-hitter at Fenway, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Who's No. 1? When the Angels clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, they will get to choose whether to start their first-round series Oct. 1 or 2. Believe it or not, that's a big decision for Mike Scioscia and his staff. If they choose the first option, the Angels are scheduled for Game 4 on Oct. 6, which will bring the Game 1 starter back on full rest. If they choose the other date, the Game 4 starter will be the team's No. 4 starter. As Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports points out, taking the first option lets the team use its No. 1 starter twice.

After a wild win over baseball's top team, Xavier Nady and the New York Yankees hit the road with some timely momentum. Nady homered and had a career-high six RBI, rallying New York past the sloppy Los Angeles Angels, 14-9, at Yankee Stadium. Mark Teixeira hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning for his first home run with Los Angeles, but New York took advantage of clumsy defense by the Angels to score six times in the bottom half and complete its largest comeback this season.

They were baseball's best over the long, hot summer. Then came October, and another big chill. The Los Angeles Angels seemed to have it all: a powerful lineup strengthened by newcomers Torii Hunter and Mark Teixeira, an impressive rotation headed by John Lackey, and a bullpen anchored by record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez. They won 100 games for the first time in franchise history. All that wasn't enough. For the third time in four years, the Angels went cold against the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs, this time often freezing up with men on base.

Baseball managers are a superstitious sort, so in their pregame news conferences before Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia and his New York Yankees counterpart, Joe Girardi, didn't want to say much about the Phillies making their second consecutive World Series appearance. "What they have done is an incredible feat," Scioscia said. "Not only to get there once, but to repeat and get to the World Series. " Then Scioscia, a former standout at Springfield High in Delaware County, returned to pregame mode.

JOHN LACKEY will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the 2012 season, the latest setback in his rough year with the Boston Red Sox. General manager Ben Cherington made the announcement yesterday during a news conference at which he was introduced as the successor to Theo Epstein, who left to become president of baseball operations with the Chicago Cubs. Lackey, a righthander, was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA in the second year of a 5-year, $82.5 million contract. The Boston Globe reported after the season that he and fellow starters Josh Beckett and Jon Lester drank beer and ate fried chicken in the clubhouse during games in which they were not pitching.

What seemed to disappoint the Boston Red Sox most about Wednesday night's 2-1 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park is that a rare strong effort from righthander John Lackey went to waste. Since signing a five-year, $82-million contract with Boston before the 2010 season, Lackey has not come close to performing the way he had for most of his eight seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. Lackey has spent time this season on the disabled list with an elbow strain, and Wednesday's start was his fifth since being activated.

A few days ago, Charlie Manuel was thankful that Raul Ibanez could muster only a single. It was Sunday and an off day awaited Monday, which meant the fidgety Ibanez was saddled with the possibility of contemplating an 0-for-19 hitless streak for 51 hours. But Ibanez singled in the eighth, and 1 for 19 offered some solace. "He might not have slept tonight," Manuel said Sunday. Minor victories fuel Ibanez, the 39-year-old nearing the end of a long career. He found another awaiting Wednesday night: John Lackey was pitching for Boston at Citizens Bank Park.

Fine line between love and hate The Angels' fans gave Rangers slugger Vladimir Guerrero a standing ovation when he came to bat in the first inning in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday night. Guerrero, who wasn't re-signed by Los Angeles last winter after six seasons, stepped out of the box and tipped his batting helmet to the crowd before lining a single to center. "I got chills," Texas manager Ron Washington said of the ovation, after the game. "It was a very nice moment. He did a lot of good things for the Angels, and they just showed their respect right there.

Joel Pineiro's power sinker cut right through the Yankees' lineup. That was a welcome sight for the Los Angeles Angels, who looked much more like themselves as soon as they got a top-notch pitching performance. Pineiro tossed seven impressive innings for his first win with his new team and the visiting Angels showed signs of shaking their early slump by beating New York, 5-3, yesterday. "We need more games like this," manager Mike Scioscia said. "If we had been playing like this for the first week there's no way we're sitting with a 3-6 record.

World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, Vladimir Guerrero and Randy Wolf were among the free agents who weren't offered salary arbitration, a move that enables new teams to sign them without losing draft picks. Last night was the first big deadline of baseball's offseason, with teams having until midnight to make arbitration offers to their former players who became free agents. Players have until Dec. 7 to accept; if they reject, they still can re-sign with their former clubs at any time.

Baseball managers are a superstitious sort, so in their pregame news conferences before Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia and his New York Yankees counterpart, Joe Girardi, didn't want to say much about the Phillies making their second consecutive World Series appearance. "What they have done is an incredible feat," Scioscia said. "Not only to get there once, but to repeat and get to the World Series. " Then Scioscia, a former standout at Springfield High in Delaware County, returned to pregame mode.

ANAHEIM - About that PhilliesYankees World Series . . . The Angels led by four runs after five batters, trailed by two runs with nine outs left, scratched out three runs in the bottom of the seventh to retake the lead and eventually won Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, 7-6, at Angel Stadium last night. So, the ALCS will continue tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees' lead now down to 3-2. It took the Angels all of 12 pitches to put up those four runs.

As expected, the moods were drastically different in the clubhouses of the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels as the teams worked out in preparation for tonight's Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were attempting to convey that they weren't overconfident, despite being one win away from a World Series berth, up by three games to one in this best-of-seven series. "It's tough, but you have to stay positive and strong," Angels rightfielder Bobby Abreu said before yesterday's workout at Angel Stadium.

John Lackey will start Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against CC Sabathia and the Yankees, getting the nod from manager Mike Scioscia before the Angels traveled to New York yesterday. Lackey pitched 7 1/3 innings to lead Los Angeles to a 5-0 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the Division Series. The righthander is 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 12 career postseason games, 10 starts. The ALCS begins tomorrow night in New York at 8 p.m. "It's a fun atmosphere, for sure," Lackey said.