send the word

from lisa olson in this morning's daily news:

Mention Keith Foulke, the Red Sox reliever who apparently has contracted Armando Benitez disease (which was mostly cured upon leaving the Mets), and expect to be repelled with shrugs. Ask Mike Mussina how he feels about starting tonight in a game loaded with great expectations, and try not to wither from the stare.

The Yankees are masters of many things, including suppressed emotions. Derek Jeter insisted he was unaware the Yankees had earned a playoff berth following yesterday's 7-3 win over Tampa Bay until a reporter informed him of what should have been a joyous occasion. The captain of this ship of coolness struggled to stifle a yawn.

"That's what people expect when they come here," said Jeter.

Jeter wouldn't know what to do with himself if October came and he couldn't lift a bat. He's been a professional for 10 years, all with the Yankees, and in that span, the club has never missed the playoffs. It doesn't take much to connect the dots. Up in Boston, the Red Sox have already admitted the wild card would be plenty sweet. It's a thought process that Jeter - and by osmosis, his teammates - fail to comprehend.

"I don't know what their mentality is over there," Jeter said of the team that in the Yankees' clubhouse has no name. "We're not playing to get in the playoffs. We're trying to win our division."

did somebody say "over there?" can i make it more obvious i spend most of my day with demented old people? GEORGE M. COHAN RULES!

Labels: yanquis