CLEARWATER – If you find it odd that Donovan Osborne is living in a fantasy world of being the Yankees’ fifth starter, you are not alone. In fact, Osborne himself is surprised to be standing where he is.

And he’s not over-confident at all that he can fill Jon Lieber’s shoes.

“It hurts the starting rotation without Jon in it,” said Osborne, who has moved into the No. 5 spot thanks to Lieber’s groin injury and Jorge De Paula’s balky back. “If it’s me who is in there, I will do my job until he comes back.”

Lieber will start the season on the DL after re-injuring the groin Saturday while warming up for his first spring start. Lieber was so amped to be pitching after 20 months of inactivity and coming back from Tommy John surgery that he didn’t tell the Yankees’ medical staff of the problem until after the game. Now, he is shut down for at least two weeks. De Paula is sidelined by a minor back problem on the left side.

With GM Brian Cashman reluctant to entertain trade offers for Jarrod Washburn or Kris Benson and John Burkett not interested in resuming his career, it falls to Osborne, a 34-year-old lefty who didn’t pitch last year and made 11 relief appearances for the Cubs in 2002 before suffering a season-ending oblique muscle strain in May.

That was after he sat out 2000 and 2001 due to surgery to repair a left scapula problem. Osborne also had severe groin problems in 1997 and 1998 as a Cardinal.

Signed to a minor-league contract worth $350,000 with no incentives, a major-league spot on Opening Day wasn’t on Osborne’s radar screen.

“It’s a good opportunity,” said Osborne, who has a career record of 47-46. “It’s overwhelming to pitch for the Yankees.”

Osborne, a nine-year veteran whose best season was 1996, when he was 13-9 with a 3.53 ERA in 30 starts and pitched a career-high 198 2/3 innings, starts Friday night against the Indians in Winter Haven.

While Joe Torre and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre are saying all the right things about Osborne, there is a chance Osborne will be needed in the 11th pitcher role he was brought to camp for instead of No. 5 starter. With the Yankees not needing a fifth starter until April 10, there is a chance Lieber could be ready.

Seeing a pitcher of Osborne’s ilk in the hunt for any job with the Yankees is odd. Here is an organization with a payroll of $180 million that had seven starters for five spots the previous two springs.

“We have been spoiled,” said Torre, who had Jeff Weaver, Jose Contreras and Sterling Hitchcock vie for the final spot last year. “We always had a safety net.”

No more.

—-

Mr. Bad News

Donovan Osborne has had lots of luck in his career – all of it bad. Here’s a look at the Yank lefty’s long list of injuries and other setbacks:

1994 – Shoulder surgery; missed entire season.

1995 – Limited to 19 games after shoulder rehab.

1996 – Suffered broken ribs in spring-training car crash.

1997 – Groin strain; hernia. Also gashed thumb during celebration of Cards winning NL Central.

1998 – Sore shoulder; lingering groin soreness.

1999 – Underwent second shoulder surgery; released by Cardinals.

2000-2001 – Out of baseball.

2002 – As Cubs reliever, strained rib muscle May 9; out for season; released Sept. 2.

2003 – Signed minor-league pact with Mets; cut in spring training.

2004 – Signed minor-league pact with Yankees.