Questions Loom for Yankees

If nothing else, this Yankees spring should be different. Big names have been replaced by big question marks. The biggest name -- George Steinbrenner -- will not be here, officially anyway. Pinch hitting is the low-key Robert Nederlander, who, unlike Steinbrenner, does not crave tabloid space.

Which may be a good thing, because there seems to be little to write home about. Dave Winfield and Dave Righetti have new spring residences in the desert. Don Mattingly coming back. But which one, the Mattingly who hurt American League pitchers or the Mattingly who was in pain practically all of 1990?

Yes, there still are M&M; boys -- but not Mantle and Maris. Gene Michael and Stump Merrill are in charge here, and the new hopes are Kevin Maas and Hensley Meulens.

What about turmoil, that New York Yankee trademark of the past 18 seasons? Let’s not forgetthe training site remains only a 40-minute private jet ride from Tampa, Steinbrenner’s residence. He still can buy a ticket, he still can watch a game, and apparently he still can criticize the players he still owns 54.9 percent of.

Michael has worked feverishly to fill the holes, which were plentiful. How did he do? While he did stock up on serviceable starting pitchers, he also lost the stopper, Righetti. While he did add left-handed hitters Dion James and Pat Sheridan, neither can play third base.

Michael conceded, “I know we have some ‘ifs.’ Mattingly is the biggest ‘if,’ and I think he will come back. I think (Steve) Sax can come back. At shortstop, if (Alvaro Espinoza) can come back. ... At third base we’d like to get a left-handed bat, but it will be better than last year.”

Thus, Michael completed the first-ever around-the-horn list of “ifs.”

Actually, the third base situation needs reinforcement to qualify as an “if.” Back are the troublesome trio of Mike Blowers, Randy Velarde and Jim Leyritz. “They were all given a chance last year -- they can’t say they weren’t -- and none of them stepped forward,” Merrill said.

Which explains Merrill’s behavior while walking out of a midtown hotel a few weeks ago. A bum approached him. The man did not appear to know Merrill but persisted nonetheless, following the manager for several blocks. Finally, someone asked Stump: “Do you know this guy?”

Merrill responded: “Yeah, meet our new third baseman.” He was kidding, we think.

Merrill said third base is something he’s “lost a lot of sleep over.” How he rests at all is the mystery here.

The team that went 67-95 last year -- the worst Yankees’ season since 1913 -- returns virtually intact. What seems odd is that management forces went to great length, and paid $37.15 million in new and extended multiyear contracts, to ensure they would field virtually the same team.

One saving grace for Merrill is that Nederlander will go out of his way to prove he is nothing like the previous owner. So Merrill’s job is safer than any manager since Steinbrenner bought the team for $11 million in 1973.

That doesn’t mean this team is turmoil-free. What’s a Yankee spring without a little controversy?

It should start with Pascual Perez, if he ever gets here. Last year he was, unfashionably, eight days late. For the $5.7-million man to come back at all, he must beat visa problems, paternity problems and shoulder problems. Good luck.

There’s more. It’s only a hunch, but the temperamental Mel Hall may not like his new role as Meulens’ backup in left field. Third string in left is Maas, who also wants Meulens’ job and is not satisfied with merely being the designated hitter. But Merrill issued a warning, saying, “Would he rather be the DH in New York or the first baseman in Columbus?”

Andy Hawkins wants into a rotation that appears crammed with Mike Witt, Tim Leary, Scott Sanderson, Chuck Cary and Dave Eiland. Greg Cadaret, a setup man, wants the stopper’s role. And Lee Guetterman, the new stopper, seems to prefer being the set-up man.

Merrill temporarily has slated Guetterman and important new acquisition Steve Farr (three years, $6.3 million) to replace Righetti. And Michael has his fingers crossed they made the right decision in not giving Righetti a fourth year. Last week, Michael said of Righetti’s four-year, $10-million contract, “I still think I’m right. I think San Francisco made a mistake.”

While $24.75 million was spent to bolster the pitching, a comparatively miniscule amount has been spent on the league’s worst offense (unless you count the inexplicable $12.4-million extension for the .260-hitting Sax).

Last year, the hitters accounted for a league-low 603 runs, or 3.7 per game. “A good team has to score at least 4.5 to 4.8 runs a game,” said Frank Howard, who returns as hitting coach and cheerleader. There is some speed with Sax and budding star Roberto Kelly but far too many strikeouts. And far too few walks (a league-low 427), which is why Merrill has said pitch selection is the big spring project.

The offense is such that one starting pitcher recently asked a club executive, “Who is going to knock in the runs?”

Given that the only additions were Sheridan (a minor-leaguer last year) and James (a backup outfielder), the Yankees obviously are counting on improvement from the returnees. For example, Michael said, “We think we’ll get more production from left field. We got next to nothing out of left field last year. Mel and Deion (Sanders) didn’t really do it.”

Come to think of it, the Yankees got next to nothing out of several positions. If the team doesn’t improve, do you think that maybe, just maybe, we’ll be hearing from Steinbrenner?