Derek Jeter? Who’s Derek Jeter?
Though Wilson Betemit isn’t going to turn yesterday’s start at shortstop into another Wally Pipp story, he gave the Yankees a jolt with a 2-for-5 performance that included four RBIs in their 9-3 victory over the Tigers.
Betemit, who had been used mostly at first base since his arrival in a July 31 deal with the Dodgers, made his second start for the Yanks at shortstop to give Jeter a rare breather.
The payoff came with an RBI single in the seventh and a three-run double in the eighth that allowed Joe Torre to give Mariano Rivera a day off. This after Betemit appeared lost at the plate, striking out in his first two at-bats of the game.
“Betemit was huge for us,” Torre said. “He struck out the first two times up, but has the wherewithal to think one at-bat [at a time]. To not play for a couple of days and then come off the bench and help us is huge.”
Betemit made a case for more playing time, but where? Andy Phillips continues to produce at first base, and the Johnny Damon/Jason Giambi combo has thrived in the lineup’s other rotating spot.
Jeter will be back at shortstop tonight against the Angels.
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Damon matched a season high with three hits, but none was bigger than the solo home run he hit against Jeremy Bonderman that gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Damon started in left field, moving Hideki Matsui to designated hitter and keeping Giambi on the bench.
“Obviously, I want to be in there as much as possible and getting some at-bats I tend to find my groove a bit more,” Damon said. “It was a big moment for us, which was good, but I expect that of myself and expect to have more of those kind of hits as the season winds down.”
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Gary Sheffield’s return trip to the Stadium ended with him going 0-for-3 with a walk. Over the four games, Sheffield went 3-for-15 (.200) and heard plenty of boos, many of them related to comments he made after leaving the Yankees last year.
“I’m used to it,” Sheffield said, referring to the boos – he faced a similar scene in his return to Los Angeles after departing the Dodgers earlier in his career.
Bobby Abreu, who replaced Sheffield in right field last season while the latter was injured, went 8-for-16 (.500) with two homers and five RBIs in the series. Sheffield had stated last season that “Bobby ain’t me.”
But Abreu indicated those words weren’t on his mind with Sheffield in town.
“I don’t pay attention to what he says,” Abreu said. “I just come here and try to play my game and do my best for my team.”
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Torre won his 1,149th game as Yankees manager, tying him for second place in franchise history with Casey Stengel. Joe McCarthy is first with 1,460 victories. . . . Chien-Ming Wang is 4-0 with a 2.90 ERA in five career starts against the Tigers.
mpuma@nypost.com