AMERICAN LEAGUE: AROUND THE HORN : CLUBHOUSE RIFT COULD COST CURTIS.

Byline: - Matt McHale

Good teams don't bicker, especially the New York Yankees, which is why a little dissension last weekend in Seattle was so surprising.

It came during a bench-clearing brawl with the Mariners when several Yankees became angered that Derek Jeter stood on the side and clowned around with his buddy, Alex Rodriguez.

Chad Curtis, in particular, took offense to Jeter's light-hearted approach and confronted him. Not once but twice. The first time was on the field. The second time was in the clubhouse. Jeter tried to walk away, but Curtis persisted.

It'll be interesting to see if Curtis' oral attack on Jeter costs him his roster spot in two weeks, when Darryl Strawberry is scheduled to return from Triple-A Columbus.

Hot and hotter

With a comfortable lead in the West, the Texas Rangers' only battle is with the elements. Thursday, the Rangers finished a 13-game homestand during which the average nightly temperature was 98 degrees. One day it reached 106.

The most concern is for catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who has made 99 starts, most by any catcher in the league. Before this year, Rodriguez batted .317 in his career before the All-Star break and .272 afterward.

But Rodriguez, who didn't start Thursday, was hitting .405 with seven homers and 21 RBI in 25 games since the All-Star break. Rodriguez attributed some of that to honoring the club's request not to play winter ball last offseason.

Rhodes less traveled

The Orioles have cooled on a long-term extension with left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes, creating the possibility that Rhodes will explore free agency at the end of the season.

He'd like a four-year, $16 million deal, but it seems highly unlikely that anyone will give him that to be a middle reliever. The only way he gets that type of money is if a team wants to use him as a co-closer/setup guy or convert him back into a starting pitcher. Trouble is, he never had much success as a starter and he seldom throws more than two games in a row because of arm and knee problems.

Don't be surprised if Rhodes ends up in New York as a free agent, setting up Mariano Rivera. The Yankees attempted to acquire him before the waiver deadline.

Wright is all wrong

This has turned into a lost season for Indians pitcher Jaret Wright, whose spot in the postseason rotation is in doubt.

First he had to deal with a headhunter label after an incident with Detroit and then he changed his mechanics under the advice of pitching coach Phil Regan.

Now, Wright is back on the DL for the second time since the All-Star break, having upset manager Mike Hargrove twice by not telling him about pain in his right shoulder.

Wright came off the DL on Aug. 3 and threw 4-2/3 innings against the Red Sox. He started again last Sunday against Tampa Bay and was gone before getting an out in the third. Wright usually throws his fastball between 92-95 mph but was hitting only 85-89.

Power outage

Barring a late rush, Frank Thomas will see his power numbers drop for a third consecutive season. He hit 40 homers in 1996, 35 in '97, 29 in '98 and has 15 this year.

It's bad enough that the White Sox dropped seven consecutive games entering the weekend, but manager Jerry Manuel is having trouble convincing Thomas not to become a full-time DH. Manuel feels Thomas has trouble staying in the game when he is not playing first and the numbers back it up. From 1996-98, Thomas hit .352 at first; .274 at DH. This year he's hitting .346 at first and .286 at DH.

``Frank has convinced himself that he can't play first, so what used to be his greatest asset - his will - is sort of an enemy now,'' Manuel said.