Former phenom Wood happy about opportunity with Yankees

Kerry Wood saw the future he once had flash before his eyes in June. He was with the Indians and his team faced Stephen Strasburg, the hard-throwing phenom that Wood once was. "I saw him pitch," Wood said Monday. "He's the real deal."

Wood is hopeful that Strasburg, the young star for the Nationals, will get over the shoulder problem that has put him on the disabled list less than two months into his major-league career. "Shoulders are tricky," the Yankees' new reliever said, speaking from the perspective of a man whose right shoulder accounted for seven of his 14 trips to the disabled list in the past 11 years.

He knows how fleeting a career can be and how precious every chance is. So at 33, he is embracing his opportunity to cap a pain-filled career with a title.

"I know he's thrilled to be here, too," said outfielder Austin Kearns, who, like Wood, was acquired from the Indians near the Saturday trading deadline. "He kind of feels like he's got a fresh start."

It says something about Wood's strength and perseverance that he still is considered a power pitcher after all these years and all those aches. His career as a young Cub was thrown off track almost instantly, what with him coming off a strong rookie season in 1998 by missing all of 1999 because of Tommy John surgery. He did make the All-Star Game twice.

He was coming off the disabled list last week in Cleveland when the Yankees visited. He got a hug after one of the games from Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who had been his catcher with the Cubs from 2000 to 2002.

"Joe was great. I trusted him from a pitching standpoint, obviously, as far as calling pitches,'' Wood said. "He really forced me to pitch inside to guys, and at that particular time in my career, I wasn't comfortable doing it. He forced me to do it and he made me a better pitcher.

"We haven't played together in a few years, so I don't look at him like he's a teammate anymore. He's the manager. But we do have a little bit of a relationship from the past. It's nice to know some faces when you walk into the clubhouse."

Lance Berkman is another familiar face; Wood faced him in the National League. "I still think the hardest-thrown ball I've ever seen in my life was a pitch [Wood] threw me at Wrigley Field about seven or eight years ago," Berkman said. "When he let it go, you could barely see it. People say it looks like an aspirin, and it really did. It was so hard. Some guys throw 100 and you're like, 'It's hard, but that doesn't look all that hard.' That sucker looked every bit of 98. It was getting there."

The Yankees hope Wood can summon just a shade of that magic an inning or a batter at a time. He is just happy to get the chance. "It's why we all play the game," he said. "We play to get a chance to win championships."