Rain Brings Reprieve for Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers loved it. Andy Pettitte hated it. Joe Torre simply accepted it.

Heavy rain forced the postponement of Game 1 of the American League championship series between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, and with the stormy weather came feelings of hope, disappointment . . . and ambivalence.

“We have no control over the weather, so you can’t wish things to be the way you want them,” said Torre, the Yankee manager. “Things happen for a reason. We’ll have to wait until this thing is over to know what the reason is.”

Some possibilities: Perhaps Rogers, the sometimes-maligned Yankee left-hander, was meant to pitch in this series and have a chance to redeem himself for his rocky first-round playoff start and a shaky season.

Rogers wasn’t scheduled to start, but with Game 1 moved to today at 1 p.m. PDT, Game 2 pushed back to Thursday at noon and the off-day eliminated, Rogers will now start Game 4 in Baltimore on Saturday.

Or maybe fate will favor the Orioles and pitcher David Wells, who, because of the rainout, will now make both of his scheduled starts in Yankee Stadium, where he has a career 9-1 record and 2.85 earned-run average, and left fielder B.J. Surhoff, who has another day to recover from leg and hamstring injuries.

And maybe fate will frown on Pettitte, the young and eager Yankee left-hander who had his heart set on starting three games, including a possible Game 7, in the series. Now he’ll make only two starts, today and Game 5 Sunday, if necessary.

“I hate it,” Pettitte said. “I love pitching and love the idea of pitching three games.”

Pettitte does not like the idea of pitching with six days’ rest, which is how long it has been since his last start against Texas in the division series. Baltimore’s Game 1 starter, Scott Erickson, also hasn’t pitched since last Wednesday.

“My concern is with my control,” Pettitte said. “I hate the idea of not having a feel for all my pitches. I hate the idea of walking people. My stuff has got to be there [tonight].”

Rogers’ stuff was supposed to be collecting dust in the bullpen this series. After Rogers’ unimpressive start in Texas on Saturday--two innings pitched, five hits and two runs given up in an eventual 6-4 Yankee victory--Torre was leaning heavily toward a three-man rotation of Pettitte, David Cone and Jimmy Key for the championship series.

But with no off-day scheduled until after Game 5, Torre had to scrap those plans, much to the delight of Rogers.

“I was disappointed coming out of that game--any pitcher would have been,” Rogers said of his playoff start. “I didn’t feel with them scoring just two runs, the game was slipping away, but our bullpen was fresh, and Joe had the luxury of going to it. . . . I figured I’d get another shot sooner or later, though.”

Rogers now has another chance to win over skeptical Yankee fans who are still wondering why owner George Steinbrenner spent $20 million to lure Rogers from Texas last winter, and who aren’t sure whether Rogers has what it takes to survive in New York.

Rogers and the Yankees didn’t exactly hit it off in spring training, when Rogers pitched with a sore shoulder and didn’t tell Torre. Torre was so disgusted with Rogers’ spring training performance that he put Rogers in the bullpen to start the season.

Rogers’ response: He threatened to tear up his contract.

Steinbrenner fumed, claiming that agent Scott Boras misrepresented Rogers in negotiations, and that Rogers was not the pitcher Boras touted him to be.

Rogers eventually returned to the rotation in early April, and while he didn’t thrive, he certainly survived, going 12-8 with a 4.68 ERA despite a sore shoulder that will probably require arthroscopic surgery after the season.

“I’m not overly pleased with it, but I’m not unhappy either,” Rogers said. “The year hasn’t gone as bad as it could have. I think I did an all-right job, but by no means do I want to do this again next year.”

Some felt Rogers would be the next Ed Whitson, a Yankee pitcher who crumbled under the pressure of playing in New York, but Rogers has held up under close scrutiny.

“You hear some horror stories, but it’s not as bad as what you hear,” Rogers said. “You can make it easier or harder on yourself, and I’ve tried to make it easier. You’re under a magnifying glass here, but you have to learn to cut out all the distractions.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

American League Championship Series

NEW YORK YANKEES vs. BALTIMORE ORIOLES

TODAY--Baltimore (Erickson 13-12) at New York (Pettitte, 21-8), 1 p.m.

THURSDAY--Baltimore (Wells 11-14) at New York (Cone 7-2), noon

FRIDAY--New York (Key 12-11) at Baltimore (Mussina 19-11), 5 p.m.

SATURDAY--New York (Rogers 12-8) at Baltimore (Coppinger, 10-6), 4:30 p.m.

*SUNDAY--New York at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

*OCT. 15--Baltimore at New York, 5 p.m.

*OCT. 16--Baltimore at New York, 5 p.m.

* If necessary

All games on Channel 4