SEATTLE -- Bret Boone is trying hard not to mutter too loudly to himself following his disastrous series against Cleveland.

	“	For five games, I was terrible. My timing was off for the first time all year. I can't explain it. It just happened. ”
		— Bret Boone

For the first time this season, Boone is in a slump for the Seattle Mariners. But despite Boone's 2-for-21 series, the Mariners beat the Indians to advance to the AL championship series for the second year in a row.

"Right now, I've got to get back to swinging like I've been swinging all season," Boone said Tuesday, one day before the opener of the ALCS between the Mariners and the New York Yankees. "To me, it was a nice relief to get that series over with. But that's what this game is about. There's always tomorrow."

Boone, who hit a team-leading 37 homers and led the AL with 141 RBI in the Mariners' record-tying regular season, was limited to a pair of paltry singles and no RBI against the Indians.

Boone and All-Star right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, from Japan, were the Mariners' top candidates for AL MVP after their 116-win season.

"Throughout my career, I've had a lot of down times," said Boone, shaking his head. "Sometimes you can't control those things. But I'm pretty positive I'll get back in this series."

Manager Lou Piniella said he expects Boone to bounce back big in the ALCS. He hit .229 (8-for-35) with no homers and nine RBI against the Yankees this season.

"He just had a bad series against Cleveland," Piniella said. "Sometimes people don't expect a player who's had a great season to struggle, but it happens. It can happen to anybody. He just didn't hit as well. But he can get hot again and we're hoping he does because we need his bat to be productive in the lineup."

While Boone flopped against the Indians, Suzuki soared. The team's leadoff hitter sizzled, going 12-for-20 (.600) with two RBI.

If there's any rivalry between Boone and Suzuki for the MVP, it didn't show in Boone's remarks about his teammate from Japan.

"If Omar Vizquel's not out there at shortstop for the Indians, Ichiro might have had 14 or 15 hits instead of 12," Boone said. "He puts so much pressure on defenses with his speed. If he can get it in the hole at all, he's got a real chance."

Signed as a free agent in December after playing with San Diego last season, Boone returned to the franchise that traded him to Cincinnati after his rookie season in 1993. He hit a career best .331, with career highs in hits (206), home runs and RBI.

Boone, 32, came into the division series with Cleveland expecting to continue to have success although he hit .214 (6-for-28 with three homers and five RBI) against the Indians during the regular season. He hit .538 (7-for-13 with three doubles and four RBI) for the Atlanta Braves in the 1999 World Series when the Yankees swept his team.

"But let's be honest," he said. "For five games, I was terrible. My timing was off for the first time all year. I can't explain it. It just happened."

Boone's father, former major league catcher and Cincinnati Reds manager Bob Boone, was in Seattle on Tuesday to visit his son. Boone had not seen his dad since spring training, but the player said he didn't plan on soliciting any advice from his dad.

"He's just here for a couple of days visiting," Boone said. "We didn't talk much about baseball today."