By GEORGE A. KING III

May 27, 2008

BALTIMORE - Sean Henn is with the Padres. Billy Traber is pitching poorly for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Mike Stanton is home in New Jersey.

There are no guarantees that any of those left-handed relievers with Yankees connections would have done better than right-hander Jose Veras did yesterday against lefty swingers Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff in the decisive seventh inning of the Yanks' 6-1 loss to the Orioles. However, it's likely they couldn't have done worse. In three pitches, Veras gave up an RBI single to Markakis and a three-run homer to Huff.

"We have dealt with that and we have been winning games without it," Girardi said of not having a lefty reliever. "Obviously, in a perfect world we would like to have a left-hander to get everybody out. But no one lives in a perfect world. We will be fine and we will work it out."

Thanks to a tantalizing change-up, Edwar Ramirez is Girardi's best option against lefties besides Mariano Rivera, against whom lefties are batting .133 (4-for-30). Lefties are hitting .167 (3-for-18) against Ramirez. Lefties are 1-for-16 (.063) against Brian Bruney, but he is on the disabled list.

When Markakis threw out Johnny Damon at the plate from right field to end the third inning it was his eighth assist. He leads the majors in that category . . . The Yankees activated infielder Wilson Betemit from the DL and sent infielder Alberto Gonzalez to SWB yesterday. Betemit returned from a strained right hamstring he suffered on May 10. It was his second stint on the shelf. He was out from April 14 to May 5 with corneal conjunctivitis.

Jorge Posada caught five innings in an extended spring training game against the Phillies yesterday in Clearwater, Fla. Posada went 0-for-5 and walked. He didn't attempt a throw to a base and the Phillies didn't try to steal a bag.

Posada has been out since April 27 with rotator cuff tendinitis in the right shoulder.

"I got a lot of innings behind the plate, that's all I wanted. I wanted just to get ready to catch again," said Posada, who is slated to play again today. "Probably Thursday or so I'll start throwing again. I feel good enough to throw right now, but I'm taking one step at a time."