Circus Arrives With Yankees

The New York Yankees arrived Friday in all their glory, looking every bit the part of baseball’s glamour team at Dodger Stadium.

The buzz at Chavez Ravine was familiar to that of excitement stirred wherever the Yankee traveling All-Star show stops, interleague play having brought it to Los Angeles for the first regular-season series against the Dodgers.

Even the Yankees’ former New York borough rivals expressed excitement about the sold-out weekend series, saying it doesn’t get any bigger. Love them or hate them, the Yankees definitely entertain.

“It’s a circus, but it’s normal for them,” said Dodger infielder Robin Ventura, who played for the Yankees in 2002 and 2003. “The players are all right with it, but the atmosphere that surrounds it becomes a little different. From batting practice on, the whole time is a little weird. That’s the way it is no matter where you play the Yankees, and that’s definitely the case here.”

Such is life for a star-driven team that includes two of the major league’s most successful and marketable players in shortstop Derek Jeter and third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Many in the so-called supporting cast have been headliners elsewhere, including former Dodger players Gary Sheffield and Kevin Brown, adding more marquee appeal to a group bolstered in another expensive off-season makeover.

“There are a lot of guys here who have been around and carried their former ballclubs, but they have to mix in with everybody else here,” said Sheffield, who played for the Dodgers from 1998-2001. “I’m sure they’re happy about that, and so am I, because you don’t want to have to deal with the burden of it [carrying a team] every day. You don’t have to do that here.”

Of course, a unique set of tasks accompanies playing for the Yankees, such as being expected to produce a World Series championship every season while working under a magnifying glass.

“When you play for the Yankees, you don’t always think of the excitement of playing at a certain stadium because of the excitement that always surrounds the Yankees,” first baseman Jason Giambi said. “Around here, the circus is in town every time you go out and play. You just don’t get to stop and smell the roses sometimes.”

Dodger officials have been giddy in anticipation of the Yankee series since the schedules were revealed last season, and fans rushed to purchase tickets the moment they had become available at Dodger Stadium on March 6.

“From what I understand, there’s a lot of excitement around here, and it should be a fun atmosphere,” Jeter said. “It’s fun for us too, especially when you go to places you don’t normally go.”

And things really heat up wherever the Yankees make a rare appearance.

“What’s happening here was kind of the same thing that happened last year when they played at Wrigley Field,” Ventura said of the Yankees’ 2003 interleague series against the Chicago Cubs.

“There was a lot leading up to it, as far as everybody you ever knew calling you for tickets. Again, that’s definitely kind of the case here.”

The Yankees are focused on winning regardless of their surroundings, and they don’t get caught up in hype because they live it daily.

“The series matters because both teams are in first place, so you want to end this series in the same position or better,” Sheffield said. “But it’s all about how you look at everything, and we don’t really look at anything as overwhelming.”