DARRYL STRAWBERRY READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON AND OFF FIELD

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Before Darryl Strawberry headed back to the minors he
got a pointed message from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

"He told me 'Don't screw up again,"' Strawberry said. "I said, 'I won't."'

Strawberry, attempting to come back from his latest drug suspension -- while
still recovering from colon cancer surgery -- has been given another chance
by Yankees management to return to The Bronx if he can turn his life around.

He was in the starting lineup for Triple-A Columbus Wednesday night, playing
for the first time since learning he had colon cancer last Oct. 1.

A group of fans along the third baseline gave Strawberry a standing ovation
when he left on the on-deck circle for his first at-bat in the second
inning. They cheered even louder when he singled sharply to center on Jose
Bautista's second pitch.

A smattering of boos was also heard. Columbus, after all, is home to many
Cleveland Indians fans.

Strawberry went 2-for-4, but failed to come through with the game on the
line in the ninth. He got jammed and popped out to third to end it with the
tying run on second as the Clippers lost 3-2.

He singled to right in the fifth and stole second despite a poor jump when
the throw from Norfolk catcher Mandy Romero skipped into center field.

He looked overmatched in the fourth when Bautista blew strike three past
him. He walked on four pitches in the seventh.

Before the game, Strawberry said he doesn't plan to let this opportunity
slip by, then admitted this will be his final comeback.

"I'll tell you right now, if I have to go through this again, I'll never
return to baseball. ... The most important thing is that I care about me
instead of putting pressure on myself to prove myself," he said.

"I know the most important thing for right now is to deal with my addiction
and recovery."

Strawberry was suspended 120 days by commissioner Bud Selig after his arrest
on solicitation and drug charges April 14. Selig reduced the suspension by
one week on Monday.

Strawberry said he was going through a tough time when he was arrested,
depressed about not making the Yankees' Opening Day roster, and he had
stopped going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

He said he became overwhelmed with trying to get in shape to play baseball,
finish up six months of chemotherapy and stay on top of his rehab.

"Anyone that suffers through cancer and has to take chemotherapy for six
months, somewhere down the line there's going to be a wall hit," he said.

"I really wish I would have paid more attention to my health than concerning
myself with getting back on the baseball field. My life is more important
than getting back on the baseball field.

"I feel bad that I let down first of all my wife and my two children, but
also myself and Mr. Steinbrenner and the entire New York Yankees,"
Strawberry said.

Clippers' manager Trey Hillman had Strawberry batting cleanup at designated
hitter, but said he could play left field Thursday depending on how he feels.

"I don't want to do something that will set him back two or three days,"
Hillman said. "He hasn't done this since April. There's going to be a little
doubt how his body will recover. We're not sure."

Where Strawberry plays once he gets back to New York remains undecided. An
injured left knee will make it tough for him to play left field regularly,
and Chili Davis is firmly entrenched at DH.

But there's no doubt the Yankees could use his bat. Strawberry hit 24 homers
in 295 at-bats last year before being diagnosed with colon cancer. The
Yankees current left-field platoon of Shane Spencer, Ricky Ledee and Chad
Curtis has 14 homers in 384 at-bats heading into Wednesday's game with Toronto.

Strawberry previously played with Columbus in 1995 after signing as a free
agent, in 1996 after he left the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League, and
on an injury rehabilitation in 1997.

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