Yankees June 10 Notebook..."Notes: First-base shuffle no problem"

By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- With Doug Mientkiewicz injured, the Yankees have had to juggle their first basemen of late.

But manger Joe Torre is comfortable with using lesser-known names like Josh Phelps and Miguel Cairo at first, and so is general manger Brian Cashman -- at least for now.

"Unless I come up with something different, Joe will make the choice from what we have on the roster right now," Cashman said. "I'm always looking to improve the club, but right now, that's what you're going to see, and I don't anticipate that changing, so Joe will pick from what he's got."

Cairo, who had only 16 at-bats before June 5, has made the most of his recent playing time, recording six hits in his last six games entering Sunday. He's boosted his batting average from .125 to .222 during that period.

Torre, however, is quick to point out that the 33-year-old Cairo has been a utility man for a good portion of his career.

"We understand that Cairo is a backup player, and right now, we're getting good results with him," Torre said. "But is he the ultimate, the guy that figures the rest of the way? I don't know that."

"To me, the main reason he's in there is [defense]."

Phelps, on the other hand, entered Sunday with four hits in his last four games, but his slugging percentage has dropped significantly over the last month. Phelps hasn't recorded an extra-base hit since May 19 against the Mets, dropping his slugging percentage to .378.

Phelps is a step down defensively from Cairo, but Torre said that he likes Phelps' bat against certain pitchers.

"There will be situations where we'll figure there's a pitcher that would be good for him," Torre said. "We'll stick him in there, like [Saturday]. But he's a pro. He's used to playing off the bench, because he's been a DH in the places he's been."

Torre also mentioned that Jason Giambi could be an option at first base if -- when he returns from the disabled list -- his left foot feels comfortable enough to handle the extra work.

"When he comes back, we still have to go with what's best for us and what we're doing well," Torre said of Giambi. "When we get closer to that time, we'll have to figure it out, but right now, it seems to be all right."

Rivera finds cutter:

Mariano Rivera hasn't allowed a run in his last eight appearances, a stretch of 9 1/3 innings that has included 11 strikeouts, one walk and five hits.

Rivera said that he hasn't been doing anything different off the mound, but Torre said that he's noticed more bite on Rivera's cutter and a bit of variation in the right-hander's pitch selection.

"I just think he found his cutter -- he just seems to be back on track, where he's throwing more cutters and can still throw the other pitches," Torre said. "It looks like he's got that grip back, where the ball has a lot of life to it."

Rivera has seven saves, but he hasn't had many opportunities to close games out this season. Still, the king of the ninth inning said that the lack of save opportunities hasn't affected him. He said he approaches a save situation just like he would a non-save situation.

Torre agreed.

"Whatever the team requires is what he does," Torre said. "I've had closers that are pretty good closers that had trouble pitching with a four- or five-run lead. Whatever it was -- [such as a lack of] concentration -- Mo doesn't have it."

Cabrera contributing:

While Johnny Damon's legs are getting a rest, outfielder Melky Cabrera's are hitting full speed.

Cabrera has flourished as New York's regular center fielder, with five hits in his past 15 at-bats entering Sunday. He's also used those legs to perfection, stealing a base in Saturday's game and alertly scoring on a Damon fielder's choice -- not to mention robbing Ronny Paulino of extra bases with a leaping catch in the seventh inning.

"I just like the energy that this ballclub is showing right now," Torre said. "I think Melky's added a lot to that. He's playing like he was last year, and I think the fact that he's penciled in center field on a regular basis probably helped him relax."

Cabrera drove in a run by legging out an infield single with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the third inning on Sunday.

Unfamiliar offense:

Pardon Roger Clemens if he seemed a bit taken aback at the heaps of offense supporting his effort on Saturday afternoon. There he was, pitching as he seemingly always has, and there were the Yankees behind him, churning out nine runs in an offensive glut that to Clemens was quite foreign.

In three years and 84 starts with the Astros, Clemens had been the beneficiary of an outburst that large just six times.

In 2005, the Astros gave Clemens 3.41 runs of support per start. Last year, that number was up slightly, to 3.95 runs a turn.

The Yankees this season -- despite all of their woes -- have averaged 5.48 runs per game, third in the Major Leagues.

Coming up:

The Yankees have Monday off before the Arizona Diamondbacks head into the Bronx for a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Chien-Ming Wang (5-4, 3.73 ERA) will get the call for the Yankees on Tuesday night against D-backs ace Brandon Webb (6-3, 3.13 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 ET.