Bright Spot

Mix in two other drug-rehab graduates (pitcher Dwight Gooden and outfielder-DH Tim Raines), two former replacement players (pitchers Dave Pavlas and Dale Policy) and a string-bean reliever whom the Yankees wanted to trade last year (Mariano Rivera), and you'll find more second acts in the Bronx than on Broadway. When the Yankees unveiled a 4,500-pound granite monument to Mickey Mantle on Sunday, you half expected the inscription to be by Emma Lazarus.

The Yankees, of course, have the resources to accommodate the huddled masses. Owner George Steinbrenner has built this team with strategies borrowed from the Home Shopping Network. His payroll, including prorated signing bonuses and deferred money, has climbed past $60 million. By season's end the Yankees will have dished out $15 million to Cone, Raines, pitchers Scott Kamieniecki and Melido Perez and infielders Tony Fernandez and Pat Kelly, who have spent most of the season on the disabled list. In other words, the Yankees have spent nearly the equivalent of the Montreal Expos' payroll ($15.4 million) on six players who have returned a combined five wins and 16 RBIs.

Like the Yankees, the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves are big-revenue clubs who have retooled this season despite lengthy stays in first place. "But," Torre said of the other teams, "I think they did it eyeing the postseason, while we're eyeing the season. We're not taking anything for granted. Hopefully we won't make any more changes, because if we have to, we're failing somewhere else."

So furiously do plans change with the Yankees that it sometimes appears they're staging the sequel to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. That was never truer than on Friday, when, as Sojo, Listach and Lloyd were bedeviled on land and in the air, rookie infielder Andy Fox sat glumly in front of his locker in street clothes, with his bags packed, assuming the next ticket out of town would be his. Then Torre told him, "Foxy, you'd better put your uniform on." He wasn't going anywhere. He was in the starting lineup.

For the Yankees, Lloyd's eventual arrival tilled one glaring need—a competent left-handed reliever—and created another: stick-on nametags. New York catcher Joe Girardi met Lloyd for the first time on the mound in the seventh inning, with the tying run at second base. Girardi opened the conversation with this salutation: "Whaddya got?"

Lloyd, who's got a fastball, cut fastball and curve, introduced himself with a strikeout of A's outfielder Jason Giambi. Then, with the Yankees leading 4-3, Torre turned the game over to Rivera, the 6'2", 182-pound strikeout machine who's called Mo by his teammates. With closer John Wetteland on the disabled list with a groin-muscle injury, Rivera slammed the door. He entered the game by blowtorching mid-90s fastballs past Mark McGwire with the tying runs on base in the seventh, and he left by doing the same thing in the ninth. The confrontations brought the 34,244 fans to their feet and reminded Torre of the Bob Welch-Reggie Jackson duel in the 1977 World Series. "Who?" asked Rivera, who was a seven-year-old living in Panama at the time. "No, I never heard of that."

As recently as early last season Rivera did not throw serious heat. At Triple A Columbus his fastball was clocked between 89 and 91 mph, and it flew straighter than Pat Boone. Gene Michael, the Yankees' general manager at the time, tried to deal Rivera and another player for Detroit lefthander David Wells. The deal was never consummated. Within a matter of weeks, Rivera's fastball was clocked consistently between 94 and 96 mph.

"I thought, No way," Michael said of Rivera's increased velocity. "I thought the radar gun was wrong. I had them check the gun to make sure it was working. I checked with other scouts who had other guns. He'd never been able to throw above 93 before. We brought him up [in July], and he pitched a two-hitter over eight innings. You can be sure I never had him in another trade."

This year no American League pitcher has been more dominating than Rivera (103 punch-outs and a 1.93 ERA in 88⅔ innings). Often referred to as Wetteland's setup man, Rivera is a closer who happens to shut down games in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. He's the biggest reason that New York is 58-3 when it leads after six innings and that it has the league's best record in one-run games (20-10). "He's the Yankees' most valuable player," McGwire said before last Saturday's game.

Rivera is worthy of Cy Young Award consideration, though most voting baseball writers do not respect middle relievers. Rivera's teammate Andy Pettitte, for instance, is generally regarded as a front-running candidate for the Cy Young. At week's end he led the league with 18 wins—he had a no-decision in Sunday's 6-5 loss—but Pettitte's 4.32 ERA would easily be the worst among Cy Young winners. Of the previous 68 winners, only two had an ERA higher than 3.37: Rick Sutcliffe with a 3.64 in 1984 and LaMarr Hoyt with a 3.66 in 1983.