Yankees Seeing the Light : Baseball: There is reason for optimism at the end of another long season.

While waiting to start the 159th game in yet another interminably long Yankees season, Don Mattingly was looking for some rare good news. He kept asking reporters what David Cone has been saying about signing with the Yankees in the off-season. When the response came back positive, Mattingly clenched both fists, punched the air with glee and screamed “Yes!”

It was the greatest display of enthusiasm seen inside a Yankees clubhouse since the season’s first week, when the team started 6-0 and threatened to become a surprising success.

As it turned out, of course, the Yankees were nobody’s surprise. Hurt by the suspensions of Pascual Perez and Steve Howe, the Yankees did just about what everyone figured they would. Depending upon their finishing kick, they’ll end somewhere between four and seven games better than last year’s 71-91 mark. No cause for excitement in that.

Beside Mattingly’s outburst, perhaps the biggest display of emotion came later Wednesday, when Manager Buck Showalter admitted he had been near tears while telling Melido Perez he was removing him from his final performance. That’s how happy Showalter was with Perez the Younger’s year-long effort in a season that began with his flamboyant brother’s drug-related departure.

Melido, who had a 2.87 ERA, takes back to the Dominican Republic renewed confidence, extra pride and a 13-16 record. As Showalter pointed out, the victory total symbolized his unlucky year. Whether the whole team was befallen by bad karma is debatable, although the Yankees didn’t lack turmoil and trouble in George Steinbrenner’s final season away.

The turning point may have been the June day when Howe left to contest his legal troubles. When he left, the Yankees were 28-26.

While an ignominious collapse like last year’s was avoided, the Yankees aren’t galloping home, either. That’s why Mattingly’s biggest cheers are reserved for news about 1993. The focus again is on next year because, for the fourth straight season, the tradition- and money-rich Yankees have fielded a loser.

Showalter, who draws raves from everyone despite a record that is only slightly improved, said, “The temptation is always there to say everything here is bad or wrong. But there are a number of people here who can be part of a championship atmosphere.”

Showalter listed these players as bright spots: Charlie Hayes, Randy Velarde, Bernie Williams, Mike Stanley, Steve Farr, Rich Monteleone and Mattingly. There’s also the potential of youngsters Gerald Williams, Sam Militello and Bob Wickman to cheer. And of course there is the spunky Andy Stankiewicz, who made things exciting in the Bronx for a few weeks.

But there are just as many who didn’t shine. Some notable disappointments include Pat Kelly, Roberto Kelly, Matt Nokes, Kevin Maas, Greg Cadaret and Scott Sanderson.

Pressed further about whether the Yankees need to “tinker” or “overhaul,” Showalter said, “I don’t think it’s an overhaul. I think some pieces of the puzzle we have here, some we have to acquire.”

Once again, the Yankees’ winter promises to be more interesting than their summer. Their fans, however, must hope they’re more sensible than they were last offseason, when they needed pitching and instead spent $30.6 million on Danny Tartabull and Mike Gallego.

So far, the Yankees have shown signs of frugality, cutting minor-league and scouting costs. Are they just being cheap, or are they stockpiling cash for big runs at megastars Cone and Barry Bonds?

For the record, they’re not saying. All Showalter said was, “Baseball is a game of adjustments.”

Here are a few that should be made:

-- Sign Greg Maddux, and if they can’t get him, grab Cone. This isn’t Cleveland. Yankees management isn’t strapped for cash, not with its $48-million local TV and radio revenues. There are no excuses. If Maddux doesn’t want to come to the Bronx -- and reports say he favors the West -- then go for Cone. They already know he wants to come.

As Melido said, “If they want to win, they’ve got to sign somebody to go with me.”

-- Trade for Jim Abbott. Melido is wrong; they need two pitchers. Perhaps a package of Roberto Kelly, J.T. Snow and a pitching prospect could bring Abbott.

-- Go after Barry Bonds. Maybe he’ll just use the Yankees as leverage. But for heaven’s sake, at least give him the chance to prove it. Then give him $35 million to $40 million.

-- Sort out the muddled infield. This riddle might be answered for them in the expansion draft. Velarde has shown enough to start at shortstop. If Pat Kelly, Gallego and Stankiewicz all slide through, trade the more marketable Kelly.

-- Protect Tartabull in the expansion draft. There are rumblings they won’t protect him because of his high salary and injury problems. But he does have 25 homers and 85 RBI in only 412 at-bats. What happens if the Florida Marlins snatch their native son?

-- Bolster the bullpen. With the loss of Howe, the relief corps went from vaunted to vulnerable.

-- Improve the catching corps. Matt Nokes’ three-year, $7.5-million contract looks like a mistake now.

-- Sign somebody with pizzazz. The losses of Deion Sanders, Pascual Perez and Howe took some spice away, as will the expected exits of the outspoken Mel Hall and Cadaret. If they’re not going to win on the field, they should at least be interesting off it.