By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

You've got the history and the mystique of the New York Yankees. But the Reds, who open a three-game series against arguably the most famous pro sports franchise, are concerning themselves more with current reality.

"I'm thinking about facing (Andy) Pettitte and (Mike) Mussina," Aaron Boone said. "I've never faced Pettitte, but I've faced Mussina in spring training. He was already nasty in March."

That is not to say the Reds think the Yankees series is like when the Montreal Expos come to town, even though the Expos and Yankees have similar records.

"Even when we play the Yankees in spring training, it's a different atmosphere," Sean Casey said. "It adds excitement. It's not just another game. The atmosphere is different."

"Interleague play is always exciting," pitcher Danny Graves said. "With the Yankees, it's more exciting for the fans. The games are sold out. That's cool."

Boone agrees, but he gets back to this fact: The Yankees are good.

"There's going to be added hype, buzz and excitement," he said. "But you've got to look at it as we have a really tough team coming in. We've got to try to win games against them."

Because of interleague play and fluid rosters, many Reds have faced the Yankees, or at least players on the Yankees.

First baseman Casey made his first big league at-bat against the Yankees when he was with Cleveland.

"Faced David Cone," he said. "I went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout. It was on Thursday Night Baseball. It was pretty special."

Graves, who will start Thursday's game against Jose Contreras, says the key is not letting the hype and buzz get to you.

"We should try not to put too much added pressure on ourselves," he said. "We're catching them at a good time. They're not playing that well. I wish we were playing better."

The Yankees did go 11-17 in May.

That doesn't change Reds manager Bob Boone's impression of the Yankees.

"I look at them as another real good team," he said. "I'd like to have a real poor team coming instead. With the way we've been swinging, it's no fun facing Pettitte and Mussina."