Laird already has had his highs and lows

All Brandon Laird did in his first two days as a major-leaguer was replace Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Such an end-of-the-rainbow development might be thoroughly temporary for the 23-year-old Laird, called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because the Yankees needed a healthy infielder after Ramiro Peña's appendectomy. But he had to start somewhere, and filling the big shoes of two of the Yankees' brightest luminaries was quite a lovely start.

On Friday night, with the Yankees guffawing their way to a 17-7 victory over the Oakland A's, Laird pinch hit for the knighted Jeter in his big-league debut. After the first pitch of his major-league career sailed behind his back, he drew a walk, then had an RBI single in his second at-bat.

On Saturday, with Rodriguez halfway through rehabilitation of a surgically repaired knee and Joe Girardi intent on giving second baseman Robinson Cano a half-day's workload as designated hitter, Eduardo Nuñez slid over from third base to second and made way for young Laird in Rodriguez's workplace.

Meteorological realities aside, Saturday wasn't so hot after Friday's warm welcome. Laird went 0-for-3, including a fourth-inning strikeout that left the bases loaded in an eventual 4-3 loss. He cleanly handled the only ground ball hit his way but, with two Yankees on base and one out in the eighth, gave way to pinch hitter Jorge Posada, who hit into an inning-ending double play.

Still, "it was fun,'' said Laird, who packed several fielder's gloves from Scranton after playing four positions there. "I felt good, excited. More pumped up with the bases loaded, a chance to drive in some runs. It just didn't go my way. I got my first start under my belt, got it out of the way, and I look forward to more.''

He had the ball from his first hit encased in a little plastic box and a scorecard signed by several Yankees resting in his locker. He had gotten "about 100 text messages'' congratulating him for that first hit Friday -- a solid single up the middle against A's reliever Craig Breslow.

Laird's older brother, St. Louis Cardinals backup catcher Gerald Laird, 31, had "kept everybody'' in the Cardinals' clubhouse after their Friday night game in Pittsburgh to witness Brandon's first hit. "He said everybody went crazy,'' the younger brother said. "Some guys on the Cardinals texted me.''

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira recalled that he also had witnessed Gerald Laird's first big-league hit, a double off the Blue Jays' Doug Creek in 2003, when Teixeira and Gerald were Texas Rangers teammates. Girardi acknowledged how all ballplayers can identify with such a moment, how "it brings you back . . . the feeling you have inside your stomach.''

"It's just great to see, because little kids dream about getting to this level and being a big-league ballplayer. And he's a big-league ballplayer,'' Girardi said.

"To go in for Derek Jeter; unbelievable,'' Laird marveled. "Being on deck, them announcing my name, the crowd cheering for me; pretty awesome. I'm still in the clouds.

"After [Friday's] game, they were all congratulating me, and Joe came to me and said, 'You get the nerves out?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Good. Get your rest. You'll be in there tomorrow.' ''

A very cool thing for him, no matter the temperature.