It is considered the American League's "other" series, which is unfortunate because it's not one-sided, as some say, and it is intriguing. It's Seattle against Cleveland. No team in history won more regular-season games (116) in a season than the Mariners. Few teams can score runs quicker than Cleveland. It is a matchup of the two highest scoring teams in the league. It's a showdown between teams who played memorable games in the regular season.

Here are five questions.

1. How much will the Mariners miss shortstop Carlos Guillen?
A lot. He is an excellent defensive player. Plus, he is an integral part of the team flexibility that has worked so well for Seattle this year. With Guillen out for the series, Mark McLemore will play shortstop. He can play the position, though not nearly as well as Guillen. The Mariners are at their best when they can move McLemore all over the field, and had intended to play him in left field for most of this series. Now they'll use a combination of Al Martin, Jay Buhner and Stan Javier in left, which won't be as good as McLemore.

2. Is Cleveland's rotation good enough to upset Seattle?
Probably not. Rookie C.C. Sabathia had a very good rookie season, but he's just that -- a rookie -- and he isn't used to pitching this late in a season, or pitching this many innings in a season. His last two regular-season starts, however, were excellent. Chuck Finley, 38, made only 22 starts this year because of injuries, and has pitched seven innings in a game just once since May 12. It helps that Finley is 19-8 lifetime against the M's. Bartolo Colon, Cleveland's Game 1 starter, remains a mystery. One start he can be dominant, the next he labors with his control, and gets hit hard. In his last two starts, he pitched eight shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, then followed that with 1 1/3 innings, six runs. In 1999-2000, Colon lost 13 games combined. He lost 12 this year.

3. Will the M's feel pressure entering the playoffs having set the AL record for most wins in a season, and tying the 1906 Cubs for most wins in a season?
Absolutely, at least in the first round. If they lose this series, some people will view this season as a failure, as ridiculous as that may sound. The Mariners essentially haven't been behind all season. If they were to lose the first game of this series at home, and face a near must-win situation in Game 2, that would be something they haven't faced all year. But this team has proven everything this season, including resiliency, and the pressure won't get to them.

4. How much does the regular season -- Seattle won five of seven -- play into this series?
Seattle basically won five of seven against every team, but the games against Cleveland were very interesting. It included the Game of the Year -- August 5 in Cleveland, when the Indians became the third team in history, and first since 1925, to win a game they trailed by 12 runs. The final was 15-14, which included a pounding of the powerful Seattle bullpen.

That should help the Indians, but remember: the next night, the Mariners won 8-6. Nothing bothers Seattle. The Indians tried to disrupt their run in Seattle on August 25, when shortstop Omar Vizquel said Mariners' reliever Arthur Rhodes' diamond earrings, which are roughly the size of a frozen pizza, were causing a glare, and had them removed -- but not before an incensed Rhodes was ejected from the game. No matter. The Mariners won that game too, 3-2.

5. Seattle's rotation supposedly has no ace, is it good enough to beat Cleveland's terrific lineup?
Yes. Freddy Garcia, who will start Game 1, led the league in ERA (the first AL ERA leader to be over 3.00 since Early Wynn in 1950). Jamie Moyer, a soft-throwing left-hander, won 20 games this year, two against Cleveland while posting a 0.64 ERA. The Indians don't like facing someone who might throw 40 changeups in a game. Aaron Sele is an excellent No. 3 starter. The M's may not have an ace in the classic sense, but the starters are plenty good. And they only have to go six innings before turning the game over the bullpen, which is perhaps the best in the game, and will be even better with rookie Joel Pineiro in the pen.

Mariners in five.

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and regular contributor to Baseball Tonight.