The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Jacque Jones watched television and kept hearing the same thing: Yankees lose! Yankees lose!

Almost no one was talking about Minnesota's victory in an American League playoff opener.

"We still don't get credit, which is fine," the Minnesota outfielder said Wednesday. "If it had been a role reversal, it would have been, 'The Yankees beat the Twins 3-1.' "

Maybe if the Twins win again tonight and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, they'll start to gain some attention. They already have the Yankees thinking about last year's first-round loss to the Angels.

"They're a lot like Anaheim - better, I think," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of the Twins. "That's not based on yesterday's game. That's based on what we knew about them."

Even Yankees manager Joe Torre agreed with Jones' claim that the Twins weren't given enough credit.

"We got beat by a very good ballclub yesterday," he said. "That's the No. 1 question that's not asked, how good they were yesterday."

Minnesota hopes for more of the same in Game 2, when Brad Radke (14-10) pitches against Andy Pettitte (21-8). New York expects a more raucous crowd, with the game being played at night.

Though New York insisted there was no panic, it was faced with reviews that would cause a Broadway show to close after opening night.

"Bombers stink up the house," read the front-page headline in the New York Post.

Jason Giambi, who went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, was the subject of harsh criticism. He hit .235 in September, with 13 RBI.

Torre held a meeting before Wednesday's workout and told players to relax. The manager said it wasn't unusual, that he holds a lot of meetings during the postseason.

"Let's all stick together. We're going to win together or lose together," was Torre's message, according to Giambi. "It's not about individual performances."

Anaheim, which beat the Twins in last year's AL Championship Series and defeated San Francisco for its first World Series title, excelled with a strong bullpen, tight defense and aggressive baserunning. All those elements were displayed by the Twins in Tuesday's opener.

And in Radke, the Yankees will face a pitcher who went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in September.

"We've got to show up," catcher Jorge Posada said. "We've got to find a way of winning the game."

Pettitte, eligible for free agency after this season, could be making his last start for the Yankees. The 31-year-old left-hander has gone 149-78 for New York over the past nine seasons.