Tampa, Fla., March 7 — For years, Sue and I have been playing a game called, “Find the Hidden Yankee” as teams with shifting rosters visit Yankee Stadium. Sometimes seeing an “old friend” is a cause for joy, as when it’s a player we’ve lost track of, like Andy Fox or Andy Stankiewicz. On other occasions it is filled with dread, as facing David Cone with the Sox in 2001, and seeing Ramiro Mendoza in Beantown, or Mike Stanton and Cone (once again) in Flushing will be this season, both on the road and in the Bronx.

Tomorrow will be the 35th anniversary of the recording of “Old Friends” on Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends album (3/8/68), a date eagerly evoked in the wake of the classic duo’s appearance at the recent Grammy Awards, singing, “Sounds of Silence.” Spring Training is also an “Old Friends” time as, although we try to see our beloved Yanks as often as possible, we also become like little kids in a land filled with baseball parks, and try to visit as many as possible in the area. The Blue Jays in Dunedin, the Phillies in Clearwater, and the Devil Rays in St. Petersburg are easy drives, and the longer treks to Bradenton (Pirates), Sarasota (Reds), Lakeland (Tigers) and Winter Haven (Indians) are not out of the question. More often than not we will make these drives to see the Yanks play in these parks, but during this week both Yankee road trips have been to the more distant Fort Myers (the Red Sox on Tuesday, the Twins today), so we have been watching other teams play one another.

Yesterday, the Yankees had a night game, so we drove to Sarasota for a Pirates vs. Reds game, seeing no “Hidden Yankees” surprisingly, but two star outfielders (the Reds’ Griffey and the Bucs’ Brian Giles) often mentioned as potential Yankee acquisitions in the avid New York rumor mill. Then we headed up Rte. 75 50 miles or so to catch the Phillies, and ex-Yank fan favorite Ricky Ledee, take on the Yanks. Ricky hit a booming double into the right field corner in the fourth last night against el duquecita, which did not figure in the Phillies double-digit scoring, but we were aware we might be seeing him again for the 1:05 Expos/Phillies tilt in Clearwater today.

And we did see Ricky again today, as the left fielder (last night he DH’d), and he hit another bomb to right for a double that, once again, did not figure in the scoring. But Spring Training pitching schedules being what they are, we didn’t know if we’d be seeing any other “Old Friends” today. So imagine how happy we were when we took our seats right behind home plate just in time for first pitch, and saw a tall, lanky, athletic man take the catcher’s throw. Then he slowly lifted his left foot until it seemed he would take a bite of his own knee and then whirled and fired home. Yes, it was Orlando Hernandez, “el duque,” whom we signed exactly five years ago today, on March 7, 1998. The Duke did not want to leave the Yankees this season anymore than David Wells did after 1998, and he deserves kudos from every Yankee fan for the gutty performances and the 9-3 record in postseason starts during this glorious run we have all so enjoyed. Immediately we knew two things: We were in for a treat (we would never have been able to score those seats to see The Duke in Legends), and we knew whom we were rooting for.

Vlad got things going well by lining a two-out homer to left in the first, and Orlando preserved the lead despite a walk and single by Jim Thome (who looks real sharp!) in the first. El duque then retired the next six Phillies with two strike outs, and hit the showers with the 1-0 lead intact after three. The Phils tied it in the fourth and went ahead 2-1 in the fifth off ex-Red Sox prospect Sunny Kim but the Expos came back with three in the sixth and three in the eighth to win it going away 7-3.

Sue and I (and the Yanks) have been taking our lumps since we arrived. The Yanks mounted a comeback to pull out a 5-4 win Sunday, and just fell short 9-8 after roaring back from 8-0 on Monday, and though we missed the win vs. the Red Sox in Ft. Myers, we did witness the 12-2 and and 10-3 thrashings at the hands of the Braves and Phillies. So even with (rightfully) not claiming a win (or a loss) in the Reds 7-6 Thursday win over the Pirates (fun game, with four homers and a smattering of doubles), our record stands at 2-3 (we did root The Duke on now), with Andy Pettitte carrying our chances for .500 to the Legends Field mound tomorrow against the Pirates.

Let’s hear it for new “old friend” Orlando el duque Hernandez.

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!