Past is inconsequential to Sabathia  —  Tabbed for Game 1, Yankees ace zeros in on Angels  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees may have spent the better part of the last decade-plus slapping their foreheads trying to handle the Angels, but those memories do not mean much to the most important man …

Wagner eyes retirement, not 400th career save  —  Billy Wagner may have thrown his last pitch in the major leagues.  —  The former Mets pitcher told The Post yesterday he's planning to retire rather than pursue a closer's job — and 400 career saves — next season.

Scioscia far from being an ‘Angel’  —  HE HAS been a menace to us for damn near 30 years now, the thorn in our side, the cloud in our coffee, the bee in our bonnet, the fly in our ointment, the clouds on our sunny day.  He has been our nemesis, our arch-enemy, our tormentor, our antagonist and our antagonizer.

Official ALCS start times  —  Game 1: Friday, October 16, 7:57 p.m. (Angels vs. Yankees)  —  Game 2: Saturday, October 17, 7:57 p.m. (Angels vs. Yankees)  —  Game 3: Monday, October 19, 4:13 p.m. (Yankees vs. Angels)  —  Game 4: Tuesday, October 20, 7:57 p.m. (Yankees vs. Angels)

Arizona Fall League begins  —  It's hardly a footnote to the American League Championship Series, but it's worth mentioning that the Arizona Fall League begins today.  —  The Yankees have Ian Kennedy, Mike Dunn, Zach Kroenke, Grant Duff, Colin Curtis, Brandon Laird and Austin Romine playing for the Surprise Raftors.

Done playing, Sox go to work  —  Offseason issues begin with Bay  —  As many times as Jason Bay was asked the question, he never quite answered it.  —  With the left fielder set to hit free agency this winter, and the Red Sox facing a gaping hole in left field and their lineup without him …

Braves lose scouting director to Nationals  —  The Braves are losing scouting director Roy Clark, who accepted a job with the Washington Nationals after 20 years in the Braves organization.  —  After interviewing Monday in Washington, Clark told the Braves Tuesday that he had accepted a post …

Playoff Prospectus  —  Completion  —  If you followed last night's in-game roundtable, you got the visceral reaction to Jim Tracy's decision to allow Huston Street to face Ryan Howard in the ninth inning with the tying runs on base and two outs.  (You got something similar if you follow my Twitter account, @joe_sheehan.)

Tom Verducci: Here's why it's so hard to close out a game in October … 1. How is Mariano Rivera looking right about now?  Not that we didn't already know that the Yankees closer is the best all-time at what he does, but the Division Series, in which closer after closer blew up in the ninth inning …

Does Baseball Need Umpires?  —  Recent Bad Calls Have Critics Howling for Better Umps, But Maybe It's a Job for Machines  —  During Friday's playoff game at Yankee Stadium, Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins hit an 11th-inning fly ball down the left-field line that landed clearly fair, a foot inside the line.

Rockies quickly turn to offseason deals, questions  —  Contract issues involving O'Dowd and Tracy are only part of the decisions Colorado has to make.  —  The Denver Post  —  The Rockies figured they would be in Philadelphia tonight, finishing a dramatic division series.

PADRES: Ready will interview to be Astros' manager  —  Padres hitting coach Randy Ready is one of 10 candidates to be the Houston Astros' next manager.  —  The Astros asked for, and were granted, permission to talk to Ready.  He'll interview with Astros officials on Thursday.