ALDS NOTEBOOK: CABRERA GETS TIP AGAINST BIG UNIT.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

NEW YORK - No one in the Angels' lineup Friday has had as much success over his career against Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson than shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who expressed surprise when told he had a .364 (8 for 22) average against him in regular-season games.

It should have been no surprise, considering Cabrera had some inside information.

``He used to tip his pitches a lot,'' Cabrera said. ``When he'd throw his fastball, he'd hold his glove here (close to body). When he'd throw his slider, he'd hold it here (further from body). When I was in Montreal, we saw that on tape and we couldn't believe it. Anytime he'd throw a slider, we'd let it go. We'd wait and try to hit his fastball. We had some good games against him.''

Cabrera said since Johnson has developed other pitches, he doesn't tip his pitches anymore.

``He started throwing a split and it gave him a different look, and he started getting better,'' Cabrera said. ``Now he throws the splitter and sinker, and he used to rely on the fastball and his nasty slider.''

--Washburn's better now: Today's scheduled Game 4 starter, Jarrod Washburn, was the only Angel starter not to win at least 10 games this season. But his 3.20 ERA ranked fourth in the American League, reflecting that he had a better year than his win-loss record indicates. Washburn even said he threw the ball better this year than when he went 18-6 in 2002.

``Yeah, I think I am a better pitcher than I was then,'' he said. ``Won-loss record doesn't tell the whole story. As far as 2002 when I won 18 games, I was basically just a fastball pitcher and I reared back and said 'Here it is, hit it.' Now I have four pitches that I throw and feel very confident in throwing any of them in any count.''

--A first for Chacon: Shawn Chacon will make his first career postseason start today for the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, weather permitting, which is a long way from the pitching hell known as Coors Field in Denver.

Chacon was 1-7 with a 4.09 ERA for the Colorado Rockies this season before being traded in July. He is 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA for the Yankees.

``You can ask anybody that's ever pitched there (Coors Field), that they don't want to make a living there or want to try to,'' Chacon said. ``I think getting out of there and having an opportunity to pitch every day in a decent pitching environment, it helps.''

--Lineup shuffle: Angels manager Mike Scioscia dropped Garret Anderson from third to fifth in the batting order for Friday's game, moving Vladimir Guerrero to third and Bengie Molina to cleanup.

``We wanted to hit guys up in the order who are swinging well, and Bengie's one of them,'' Scioscia said. ``And it takes pressure off Garret. Anybody hitting in front of Vlad or behind Vlad, there's a lot of pressure. Sometimes you move a guy around some, it can jump-start things.''

The move paid off right away for the Angels, when Anderson hit a two-out, three-run homer off Johnson in the top of the first inning.

Molina, however, was hit on the left elbow by a Tom Gordon pitch in the seventh inning and left the game.

--Changes because of weather: Weather reports say it is supposed to rain steadily in the New York area all day today, threatening Game 4 tonight. If it is rained out, Scioscia is strongly considering skipping Washburn and pitching Bartolo Colon Sunday on regular rest.

According to baseball officials, the regular-season rules regarding the weather remain the same in the postseason. That means there would be no continuation of a game that was stopped after fewer than five innings, and that any game that lasted a minimum of five innings would count.