Monahan helps Yanks beat the heat

One hundred degrees. That was the temperature at Yankee Stadium on Friday night when Phil Hughes threw the first pitch to Jemile Weeks of the Athletics.

It was the first time since July 5, 1999, that temperatures hit triple digits in the Bronx for the start of a Yankees game.

The Yankees took extra precautions and gave detailed instructions to the players on how to avoid the consequences of playing a game in sweltering heat. Trainer Gene Monahan left each player a gift at his locker as the Yankees reported to the Stadium -- a beat-the-heat cheat-sheet.

"We're prepared," he said. "Basically, we kind of like 'pre-hab' all this stuff. We instruct our players on how to eat the day of the game on a day like this. We keep our meals short and sweet, several smaller meals during the day. A lot of fruit and vegetables. We take in some electrolytes so we don't lose a lot of those when we sweat. And hydration, obviously, is No. 1. Not just during the game or at the game or when you're sweating. We like to pre-hydrate so we don't get the associated cramping and then the strains and then the pulls."

The Yankees arrived in New York at about 3:30 a.m. Friday after playing in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Thursday night. Joe Girardi allowed the players to report as late as 5:30 p.m. and canceled batting practice.

"That's something that we're going to try to be smart about the next couple of days," Girardi said. "I'll just check with guys and make sure they're not cramping up. Got to keep them as fresh as I can."

Monahan, a 49-year veteran who is retiring at season's end, said he knew Friday was going to be challenging when he got in his car and saw a temperature reading of 110 degrees.

"I live in Hackensack," he said, "so I couldn't understand that."

The Yankees and A's will play at 1 p.m. Saturday, when the temperature again could be triple-digits or just below.

"I was thinking today this is like the Southern League, when I was in the minor leagues in Columbus, Ga.," Monahan said. "It was like this every day in July and August. Kind of rare for New York, obviously."

Among Monahan's written warnings to the players was some common-sense advice such as "remember the sunscreen" and "conserve your event energy." There also was a section saying "under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you consume any alcoholic beverages after these games" because that can lead to dehydration.

So a cold beer on an extremely hot day is not a good idea. Neither is soda, which Monahan said he didn't know when he was just starting out as a trainer.

"Down there we trained by the seat of our pants," he said. "We used to put little troughs of water and stand in it in our spikes and we thought that would do the deal. We used to drink soda pop, which is stupid."

Nowadays Monahan hands out water and Gatorade and uses ammonia towels and mist sprays for the players -- and the umpires, who can't duck into the dugouts every half-inning.

Girardi said he remembered a trick some former teammates would use: placing a cold, wet piece of lettuce under the cap before taking the field. "I think it was iceberg," he joked. "Maybe that's why it worked."

Monahan confirmed the practice but said he thinks it was cabbage, not lettuce, and that no one does it anymore.

Kind of a shame. Now that would be cool.