ANAHEIM, Calif. — Players are often told when they make a big play or win a championship to act like they have been there before.

For some New York Yankees, on the verge of the American League championship, having been there before is just as important.

“That experience two years ago was tough to swallow,” said pitcher CC Sabathia, who has two of the Yankees’ victories in their 3-1 AL Championship Series lead against the Los Angeles Angels. “We just need to close it out, you know. It’s that time.”

The Yankees can advance to the World Series with a victory today, the same situation in which Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians found themselves before losing the final three games of the 2007 ALCS vs. the Boston Red Sox.

Left fielder Johnny Damon was on the Boston team that rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat New York in the 2004 ALCS and said that series changed his view forever. “Oh, yeah,” Damon said before the day-off workout Wednesday. “We could very well go out there today for practice and do nothing. Uh-uh. I like how we’re focused.”

Five current Yankees —Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez— played on the 2004 team, the only one to lose a seven-game series after winning the first three games. “There’s a lot of different faces,” manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s a different scenario, but we understand who the Angels are.”

A.J. Burnett, who held the Angels to three hits in 61/3 innings in Game 2, starts today vs. John Lackey, who lost to Sabathia in Game 1.

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