AMERICAN LEAGUE UPDATE: RIVERA STILL TORRE'S FIRST CHOICE.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

For eight highly prosperous seasons, it's likely New York Yankees manager Joe Torre never once had to answer a question about a certain position on his club.

Mariano Rivera has owned the ninth inning in the Bronx since 1997.

But never became now this week, when Rivera blew back-to-back saves against the Boston Red Sox, and you can call it a four-game blown save streak if you consider the cough-ups in Games 4 and 5 of last year's epic league championship series.

After the second blown save this week, aided greatly by an Alex Rodriguez error on a Manny Ramirez double-play ball, there was an almost surreal set of images at Yankee Stadium:

The once-unflappable Rivera, shoulders slumped, getting an on-mound pep talk from Torre.

The overly jaded Yankees fans, booing their 35-year-old icon, the classy soul behind their recent dynasty.

And then Torre, put in the odd spot of confirming that yes, Rivera still is his man, even after an ugly two-thirds of an inning, five runs, three walks performance.

``Mo is still my No. 1 guy,'' Torre said, insisting the details of their talk remain private. ``Let's leave that between me and Mo. We wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Mo.''

Rivera did pick up his first save of the season Saturday against Baltimore, pitching one inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

But there are indications that Rivera has lost some bite on his cut fastball, the steel in his armor all these years. And his cloak of invincibility only made that pitch more unhittable over the years.

So Rivera may need to reinvent himself to a degree, as many great closers do late in their career. The Yankees can only hope he works out the kinks, with a gaggle of set-up men but no closers-in-waiting on their staff or in their system.

He can only hope the boo-birds in the Bronx have a little patience during the process, lest his graceful demeanor be tested further.

``It's part of the game,'' he said, quietly, of the booing. ``It doesn't matter to me.''

--Letter of apology: They could have re-named I-95 between Massachusetts and New York the Vitriol Expressway this winter, what with the barbs flung by numerous Red Sox at Alex Rodriguez. But after months of insults in the wake of A-Rod's ill-advised karate chop of Bronson Arroyo in the playoffs, and his odd comments about his own work ethic, a Red Sox actually offered an olive branch.

It came in the form of a written apology from Johnny Damon, leader of the so-called Idiots, who took a shot at Rodriguez in his autobiography.

``I wrote (the letter) and had a friend type it up because my handwriting isn't any good,'' Damon said.

Rodriguez said the apology actually came in person.

``It was a classy move,'' Rodriguez told the New York Daily News. ``I appreciated it. He sought me out and apologized and I thought that was a nice thing for him to do.''

--No rays of sunshine: Far beneath the galactical showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees loom the myriad issues of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who, sources confirm, were able to field an opening day team.

It was nip-and-tuck for a while, though, when considering the personnel blows that occurred in the two weeks leading up to their season opener.

First, on consecutive days, projected second baseman Roberto Alomar and projected right fielder Danny Bautista retired. Then, two days before their opener, projected center fielder Alex Sanchez (signed because incumbent Rocco Baldelli tore up a knee in the off-season) became the first major-league player to test positive for steroids, earning a 10- game suspension.

Finally, recently-acquired catcher Charles Johnson bailed on the team Wednesday to attend to personal matters, though his issues did not merit placement on baseball's bereavement list.

``I'm out of Plan Bs,'' general manager Chuck LaMar told reporters. ``I don't know what I'm on, if I'm on C or D. All I know is I want to get the club that my (manager) can win with, and right now, it seems to be a little harder than usual to do that. Every club - I don't care if it's a team that wins 70 games or 100 games - takes on a personality of its own.

``Right now, with the moves we've had to make, it's very hard for Lou (Piniella) to do that. We just need to be able to run the same 25 players out there for a few games, and I think you'll see a better brand of baseball from us.''

Easier said than done.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

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(1) AROUND THE HORN

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE WEEK IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 

- Rich Hammond

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS