For a time, the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners seemed in danger -- grave danger, in the Yankees' case -- of not reaching this ALCS. But that was before the Yankees rebounded by winning three consecutive elimination games and the Mariners merely shrugged off a 17-2 pasting in Cleveland in Game 3 to win two straight elimination games themselves.

So here we are, with a rematch of last year's ALCS and, stretching back further in time, a five-game ALDS in 1995. That series was noteworthy for two things: It represents just one of two postseason series losses by the Yanks since that season, and it's also acknowledged as the series that saved baseball in Seattle and led to the building of Safeco Field.

The Yankees and Mariners, then, have a lot to live up to. Here are five questions as they prepare for Round 3:

1. Can the Yankees contain Ichiro?
Doubtful. Ichiro hit .600 against the Indians in the Division Series, and his .350 season-long batting average seems evidence enough that he can't be shut down for long. He had multi-hit games (75), after all, in almost half of the Mariners' games.

Limiting Ichiro's on-base opportunities will be critical for the Yankees. He scored 137 runs during the season, then added another four more against Cleveland in five games.

If Ichiro isn't on base, it limits the effectiveness of the rest of the Seattle batting order, because the Mariners can't count much on the home run as a reliable weapon (they were eighth in the league in homers).

When Ichiro's on, the Yanks also have to keep him from igniting the running game. Lefty Andy Pettitte has a superb pickoff move, but Roger Clemens can be run on.

2. Do the Mariners have the left-handed pitching to neutralize the Yankees?
Probably not. Jamie Moyer was superb against Cleveland, was 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this season, and in fact, is one of the game's most unheralded starters, compiling an 87-40 record while with the Mariners.

The Yankees, though, got to Mark Mulder in Game 5 Monday night, struggled mightily against Mulder and Barry Zito in Games 1 and 3, and veterans David Justice and Paul O'Neill appeared particularly overmatched.

But Moyer is the lone lefty starter and probably won't go until Game 3. That means four of the first five games -- at minimum -- will be started by right-handers.

The rest of the Seattle starters -- Aaron Sele, Freddy Garcia and Paul Abbott -- combined for 52 wins during the season, but all are right-handed.

3. How healthy is Roger Clemens?
Who knows? Clemens is as enigmatic as they come, and not even the rest of the Yankees knew his right hamstring was ailing when the Division Series with Oakland began.

Clemens pitched into the fifth in Game 5 and was charged with five hits on three runs. His velocity was strong, and though the Yankees feared that the hamstring would flatten out his breaking pitches, he kept many of his split-finger fastballs down in the strike zone.

Like Moyer, Clemens won't be called upon until the series heads to New York this weekend, giving him time to rest and rehab the injury.

It's hard to envision Clemens, who's so reliant on the bottom part of his body to fuel his power, being the kind of dominant force he was in last year's ALCS matchup, when he fanned 15 in a one-hit complete-game masterpiece in Game 4. But if he can deliver five or so strong innings, he could still be a factor.

4. Will the Mariners' run at the Yankees' 1998 record of 125 wins in a season be a motivating factor?
Yes -- for both teams.

At this point of the season, additional motivation won't be necessary. But it's here anyway.

The Mariners are determined to validate their 116-win regular season by winning a championship, just as the Yanks did in 1998 when they won 114 in the regular season and then steamrolled through the playoffs, losing just twice.

Achieving the record -- the M's need to win the LCS and at least three games in the World Series to reach 126 -- by defeating the Yankees along the way would make it more meaningful.

Meanwhile, the Yankees' legacy is on the line. They want to add a fourth consecutive world championship and knocking off the Mariners along the way would provide additional significance.

"I don't want anyone to do better than what we did," said general manager Brian Cashman after the Yankees ousted Oakland.

5. Who wins the battle of the bullpens?
As good as the starting pitching is for both sides -- the Mariners were first in the AL in ERA, the Yankees third -- relievers are bound to have a big say in who reaches the World Series.

The Yankees' one-two tandem of Mike Stanton and Mariano Rivera is as good a late-inning duo as there is in the game, but there are concerns. Torre had to use Stanton as early as the fifth inning in Game 5, and he brought him into Game 4 in the sixth. That's evidence that the New York bullpen isn't as deep as recent years.

Additionally, Rivera had two multi-inning saves. At some point, getting five or six outs per appearance could take its toll.

What the Yankees miss most is another experienced right-handed set-up man. Someone like, say, Jeff Nelson, who jumped from the Yankees to the Mariners in a free agent snit.

Nelson was unscored upon in the Cleveland series, and together with Arthur Rhodes, Joel Piniero and Kazuhiro Sasaki gives the Mariners the deepest pen of the four remaining teams.

Remember, though, that Rhodes has a history of playoff slips against the Yankees, with both Baltimore and Seattle.

Mariners in seven

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal writes a major-league notebook each week during the baseball season for ESPN.com.