Seven years ago, a wide-eyed Rick White took the mound at Yankee Stadium for the first time.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Freddy Sanchez and the Pirates look to extend their hot streak against the Yankees. Click photo for larger image. TODAY'S GAME Game: Pirates at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. Pitching: Kip Wells, Pirates (5-4) vs. Mike Mussina, Yankees (6-4). TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh/KDKA-AM (1020) and Pirates Radio Network. Related coverage Pirates scouting report: 6/14/05 Bob Smizik: Forget trades; just enjoy the run Stats Geek: Pirates gaining some ground on Yankees Pirates sign their top pick Minor-League Report: 6/14/05

He was the newest guy in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' bullpen, and he wanted desperately to impress his elder teammates with his cool.

"I didn't think much about it in the bullpen because I was too busy getting ragged by the fans out there," he recalled. "Then, once I got into the game, I got one quick out, and I was standing there taking the sign for the next pitch."

That was when he noticed.

"I looked down and saw my right leg was shaking. I was thinking to myself, 'Oh, man, I'm going to get called for a balk out here.' I don't know if it was nerves or adrenaline or what. Everything was just so intensified because of the atmosphere. The crowd, the place, the team you were facing, everything."

The only body part White expects to shake tonight, when the Pirates meet the New York Yankees for the first time since 1960, will be his head if he disapproves of his catcher's sign.

And, despite the experience from his youth, he expects his many younger teammates to handle it almost as well.

"I really do. And that's because we're playing good baseball. I think that's going to have these guys feeling pretty confident."

Closer Jose Mesa shared that view.

"Look at a kid like Jose Castillo. Do you think he's going to be worried?" Mesa said. "No one's going to be worried. We've been beating a lot of good teams for a while now. We think we can beat anyone."

He paused.

"We have a better record, you know?"

The one factor few could have anticipated heading into this momentous series is there for all to read in the morning standings:

The Pirates are 30-31.

The Yankees are 30-32.

Forget that the $200 million Yankees, the most expensive team in sports history, would surprise next to no one if they emerged as a serious World Series contender within a month. Forget, too, that the $34 million Pirates would be considered a grand success by many if they finished 82-80.

All that matters for this meeting is that the Pirates, by more than one measure, have the momentum. That becomes clear when comparing the trends that each team takes into this series:

Starting pitching, the most important area, goes to the Pirates decisively. Bolstered by Oliver Perez's return to form, the staff is 16-6 with a 3.17 ERA in the past 33 games. The Yankees have gotten two wins and three outings longer than six innings from their starters in the past 14 games.

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette In June, Jack Wilson and the Pirates have smashed opponents. Click photo for larger image. Pirates and Yankees in June   Pirates Yankees Earned run average 2.62 4.40 Strikeouts 65 63 Batting average .301 .232 Runs batted in 62 36 Home runs 8 8 Past 11 games 7-4 3-8

The bullpens are similar. The Pirates' relievers have a 3.64 ERA that is ninth lowest in Major League Baseball and have allowed eight home runs, four fewer than anyone. New York's 4.29 ERA ranks 17th, but the relievers have been much improved in the past month, thanks to exceptional closer Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon and Tanyon Sturtze.

Over a full season, the Pirates' offense surely would not stack up to a lineup that includes Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Gary Sheffield. But the short-term edge is theirs. On May 2, the Pirates had a .226 average and 15 home runs, each figure the lowest in the game. In 37 games since then, they have hit .287 with 42 home runs. The Yankees have topped three runs only three times in their past 14 games.

Defensively, the Pirates have a .984 fielding percentage for the season to the Yankees' .982.

Overall, the Pirates have won four series in a row while the Yankees have lost five in a row.

There are intangible elements, too, and even those seem to weigh toward to the Pirates.

Apart from McClendon's anger Sunday after the flat loss to Tampa Bay, there have been few complaints, almost no trouble spots. To the contrary, the 9-4 homestand brought out large and enthusiastic crowds to PNC Park, no doubt sparked by the fleeting flirtation with .500.

Members of management, including McClendon, seemed taken aback by the reaction.

"There sure is a lot of excitement, and I understand that," he said. "It's been a long time for people in our city, and they're enjoying the way we're playing."

Would that Joe Torre and his players could have such a problem.

Expectations for baseball success are infinitely higher in New York than Pittsburgh, which is why there is no telling which way the Bronx cheers will go after a 3-9 road trip.

Asked Sunday in St. Louis how his team might be received when it takes the field against the Pirates, Torre replied: "Whatever they want to do is up to them."

The always colorful New York tabloids welcomed home the Yankees yesterday with headlines that included:

The latter was a reference to the NHL's notoriously overpaid, underachieving Rangers.

And those only begin to tell the story.

Owner George Steinbrenner's public comments are getting edgier with each defeat. He is backing Torre, but he is challenging the beleaguered coaching staff and players to rise up to their level.

General manager Brian Cashman threatened to overhaul the roster a month ago, then acknowledged it is virtually impossible because so few teams could handle the contracts he would love to unload.

Torre broke from his customary calm and berated his players after a sloppy showing Friday, then had another closed-clubhouse meeting the next morning to repeat his message. He described the team as "embarrassing."

Developments with the players have been no less newsworthy.

Jason Giambi, one of the focuses of the steroids scandal, is owed $75 million but his .234 average is keeping him out of the lineup. Center fielder Bernie Williams, batting only five points higher, accused management of disloyalty last week after he was benched. Hideki Matsui, who has played in 1,637 consecutive games going back to his time in Japan, did not start Wednesday because of a slump. That prompted three teammates to approach Torre to make sure he got into the game, which he did. Even soft-spoken Tony Womack complained about being bumped to left field.

All that in the past week.

"There's always something going on with the Yankees, you know?" Mesa said. "When you have so many big names, people are going to talk. I think that's part of the fun."

"It will be interesting to see how the fans are," outfielder Matt Lawton said. "But I'll tell you what: I won't like it if the Yankees are getting booed. I want them to get on us. It won't be as much fun the other way. It won't feel like you're beating the Yankees. It would be like playing the Devil Rays or something."

Lawton, Mesa, White and pitchers Mark Redman, Kip Wells and Josh Fogg are the only six among the Pirates' 25 active players to have played in Yankee Stadium.

White said the veterans have discussed how they will help settle the players who have not been there.

McClendon made clear he will be doing likewise, but from a sterner stance. He is instructing his young players to get to the ballpark early today, see the sights, then do nothing other than focus on Yankees starter Mike Mussina.

"I'm not there on a tourist's vacation," McClendon said. "I'm sorry. I'll enjoy it for a moment, but my job is to make sure we're ready to win ballgames."

The Pirates, it would appear, could not be in a better position.

"If you have confidence in your own ability and your team, you should be able to go in there and play like it's just any other game," Lawton said. "Hopefully, that's what we're going to do, just go in there and try to take another series."