$20 Million May Not Buy Rogers a Start

Struggling New York Yankee left-hander Kenny Rogers made the team’s World Series roster, but unless Game 1 is rained out and Monday’s off day is eliminated, there is no guarantee the $20-million pitcher will start Game 4 against the Atlanta Braves.

Manager Joe Torre set his rotation so his two left-handers, Andy Pettitte and Jimmy Key, will start Games 1 and 2 in Yankee Stadium, and David Cone, who has the most hitting experience of Yankee pitchers, will start Game 3 in Atlanta, where the designated hitter will be eliminated.

But Torre, who is not satisfied with Rogers’ 10.80 earned-run average in two playoff starts, still has not determined whether he will use a three-man or four-man rotation in the Series.

Torre said he is also leaning toward keeping Tino Martinez at first base--instead of using Cecil Fielder--when the Series shifts to Atlanta.

“Tino has been my first baseman all year, he’s knocked in a ton of runs and has been steady defensively,” Torre said. “We’re just going to have a pretty good bench in Atlanta.”

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The Braves finally arrived at Yankee Stadium on Friday night after getting a bitter dose of New York City traffic.

Looking tired and a little annoyed, the Braves stepped off their two buses at about 7:35 p.m.--1 1/2 hours after they were scheduled to begin their only workout before the Series.

The Braves arrived at Newark International Airport at midafternoon and quickly realized it wasn’t going to be a quick trip across the Hudson River.

“When we saw the bus driver’s face, we knew it was going to take a long time,” said 24-game winner John Smoltz.

The trip from the airport to the Braves’ hotel in midtown Manhattan took about two hours. After dropping off their luggage, it took an additional hour for the buses to navigate the rush-hour traffic to Yankee Stadium.

“Once we landed, it took four hours,” Smoltz said. “It was like a trip to the West Coast.”

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Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter was involved in another theft Friday, but it had nothing to do with a 12-year-old fan reaching over the outfield wall and stealing one of his fly balls, or with a catcher throwing to second base.

Jeter walked out of his apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, planning to drive to the workout at Yankee Stadium, but there was one problem: His car was gone.

“I looked to the right, and it wasn’t there,” Jeter said of his Mercury Mountaineer. “I thought, maybe I parked on the left side of the street. . . . Nada. I thought maybe it got towed, but the guys in the building said no. It was stolen.”

Jeter bummed a ride with catcher Jim Leyritz and made it to practice on time.

Fielder was dressing in the next cubicle and laughed at Jeter’s rookie mistake. “That’s what you get for parking on the street,” he said.

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Torre, who played with the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, hit the first home run in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1966, and now he will take part in the last game in the stadium’s history.

The Braves will move into the new Olympic Stadium beginning next season.

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Cone’s assessment of the hitting abilities of Yankee pitchers: “I have the best chance of getting a hit of any pitchers here.”

Who’s the Yankees’ worst-hitting pitcher?

“I don’t know, there’s a lot of them,” Cone said.

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Many Yankees said the key to success against Brave pitchers is to be patient, but that might be a problem for second baseman Mariano Duncan.

“I don’t believe in patience at the plate,” he said. “I like to go up and swing.”

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Yankee outfielder Darryl Strawberry said he feels much less pressure going into this World Series than he did in 1986, when he was with the New York Mets.

“I was young and had a lot of expectations then,” he said. “Now, I know if I don’t do it, my wife and kids will still love me.”

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Atlanta might have the best pitching staff in the postseason, but four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux said one key aspect of the Braves’ postseason success is being overlooked.

“When you score that many runs,” he said, “it doesn’t matter who’s pitching.”

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Cone on Smoltz: “He’s got the best stuff in the big leagues by far. I know I got two hits off him in the ’92 World Series, but hey, I’m still trying to figure out how that happened.”

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John Schuerholz, Brave executive vice president, is wondering what the big deal is about teams coming back from 3-1 deficits.

Schuerholz has been the general manager of the teams the last three times it has been accomplished: the 1985 Kansas City Royals in the American League championship series, the 1985 Royals in the World Series, and now the Braves.

“I’m probably the only one in this clubhouse who had that feeling we could do it because I’ve been there before. I know what it’s like being down 3-1. But when you have Smoltz, [Tom] Glavine, and Maddux going, that gives you an awful confident feeling.”

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American League umpire Jim Evans will be behind the plate for Game 1. Evans, a 25-year veteran working his fourth World Series, will be joined by fellow AL umpires Tim Welke (second base) and Larry Young (left field) and the NL’s Terry Tata (first), Steve Rippley (third) and Gerry Davis (right).

The Associated Press contributed to this story.