By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MIAMI - Gabe White was prepared for the possibility that he would not pitch in the World Series.

And he was OK with it.

"For the first time in my life, I'm not worried about pitching," White said. "I'm not concerned about it. It's about 25 guys doing what it takes to win."

White's chance of pitching went up immeasurably when Game 5 starter David Wells was forced to leave after only one inning.

But, after what transpired in Game 4, it looked like White's chances of getting in a game were slim.

The Yankees used starter Jeff Weaver to pitch the 11th and 12th Wednesday night. Weaver, of course, didn't get very deep into the 12th; he gave up Alex Gonzalez's game-winning home run to start the inning in New York's 4-3 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Yankee manager Joe Torre went with Weaver, who was 7-9 with a 5.99 ERA in the regular season, rather than White or the other former Reds in the bullpen, Felix Heredia or Chris Hammond.

Torre explained he used Weaver because he needed a long man.

"You get to the point where we have one guy left on the bench," Torre said. "If you get in a situation to try to knock in a run, yeah, we'd pinch hit when Weaver's chance comes.

"But he's going to have to hit probably, too. It was mainly for length and the fact that he's a right-hander."

White, Heredia and Hammond are all left-handed.

"They're primarily (right-handed hitters) over there," Torre said. "That's why Weaver was in the game."

White and Heredia were part of the Reds' late-summer purge. The Reds have nothing to show for either one yet. White was traded for a player to be named, and Heredia was picked up off waivers.

White has pitched three times in the postseason. He's allowed a run on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. Heredia has passed him in the Yankees' pecking order, although it was the other way around with the Reds.

Heredia has appeared in six postseason games. He's allowed one run on one hit in 4 2/3 innings.

White was on the disabled list with a strained left groin when the Reds traded him to the Yankees on July 31. He wasn't activated until Aug. 26.

He went 2-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 12 games for the Yankees. His combined numbers were 5-1 with a 4.05 ERA.

Again, White isn't complaining about his idle time.

"I'm having a blast," he said. "Every game is an emotional roller coaster. You have two teams playing so hard. Every game is really, really tight."

This is White's first postseason. As it goes from Division Series to League Championship Series to World Series, more eyes focus on the teams alive.

White was up during in the bullpen during Game 1. That's the closest he has come to getting into a game.

"You try to stay focused and stay sharp," he said. "That's the hardest thing to do when you're not pitching."