NEW YORK — When former Cleveland Indians teammates CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, both lefthanders, go to the mound for their respective teams tonight in Game 1 of the World Series, they will be the first former Cy Young Award winners to be matched up in Game 1 since Atlanta's Greg Maddux beat Orel Hershiser, then of Cleveland, in the 1995 World Series opener. In fact, this will be the only other time two former Cy Youngs have been paired in the first game of the Series.

Both Sabathia, 29, and Lee, 31, won Cy Young Awards with Cleveland in back-to-back years, 2007 and 2008. But the Indians traded Sabathia in midseason of 2008 and did the same with Lee this season. And while the Indians lost 97 games this season, Sabathia — who made a successful, albeit brief, stop in Milwaukee last year — and Lee have led the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies to the pinnacles in their respective leagues.

"I mean, they can't be feeling too good about it (in Cleveland)," Lee said during Tuesday's workout day. "It's two guys they could have had on their team that are now on different teams facing each other in the World Series."

Sabathia was 19-8 in his first full season with the Yankees and has won all three of his postseason starts this year, allowing just three runs in 22 2/3 innings. Lee was 7-4 in two months with the Phillies and has permitted only two earned runs in 24 1/3 innings over three postseason starts. The two have met in one other momentous game at Yankee Stadium. On April 16, when the new stadium opened, Lee, working for Cleveland, and Sabathia were tied 1-1 after six innings. Then, the Indians pounded the Yankees' bullpen for nine runs in the seventh en route to a 10-2 win, after which Lee went over to Sabathia's house for dinner with the pitcher and his wife.

"We've always been pretty close, pretty cool," Sabathia said.

"You know it's going to be a lot of fun facing him. It's just weird because a couple of years ago we were talking about maybe pitching in a World Series together. Now we're in different clubhouses."

Lee, who is two years older than Sabathia but got to the big leagues two years after his friend, said, "I got to see him develop from a young pitcher that would borderline get mad and throw the ball as hard as he (could) into a guy that nothing fazed him and he was totally in control of the game. I don't know if I had anything to do with that. … but I'd like to think that I had something to do with it."

Count Cardinals manager Tony La Russa as one of those intrigued by the head-to-head aspect of this.

"I think the Phillies' hitters will have better at-bats against Sabathia than other teams have because they're a tough group and they've seen him," said La Russa, referring to the Phillies' exposure to Sabathia last year when the latter pitched for Milwaukee and got roughed up by the Phils in the division round.

"The American League has seen Lee, too, and he's a known quantity to all those guys, so I think it's kind of a standoff that way.

"But Sabathia is really, really good. He's developed more sink, a good changeup and a breaking ball, but I think the Phillies will be a handful for any pitcher. That doesn't mean Sabathia's not good enough to beat them.

"Lee's on a helluva roll but the Yankees have seen him so they'll have a little feel as to how they're going to adjust to him. He's not brand-new."

While Sabathia may have a slight edge on Lee, the Yankees may have an even larger advantage in the closer's role with Mariano Rivera. Brad Lidge, who saved 48 games in 48 tries last year counting the postseason, blew 11 saves and had a 7.21 earned-run average this year, though he has been spotless in the postseason.

While many are making the Yankees the favorites, the Phillies, if some have forgotten, actually are the reigning champions.

"I think this a great match-up," said Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, a postseason star at last and in his first World Series. "They have a really good team. We have a really good team. We mirror each other in many ways.

"They're defending the world title — and that's what we want."