Ed Cone has always been there for his son David – or at least, always been there when David needed him the most. And yesterday was no exception.

He was there for David when a nine-year-old’s love of catch outweighed a father’s fatigue from 12-hour work days at a meat-packing plant. He was there four years ago when David made his first start after aneurysm surgery, throwing seven no-hit innings at Oakland. And he was there again yesterday, when his son broke out of the worst slump of his career with a 12-6 win against those same As.

It was the younger Cone’s first win since April 28, snapping an eight-game losing streak. The elder Cone had come in from Kansas City for his son’s last start on Saturday, and never left. He was there again yesterday in Section 215, flashing the thumbs-up as the younger Cone grew in confidence.

The Bombers led 10-2 through four, and needing just to get through one more inning to make the game official, and all but assure himself of victory, Cone went after his win like a shark after prey. He gave up back-to-back hits to lead off the inning, then fanned the side. Cone pumped his fist as he came off the mound, and in an amazing show of rapport, his 66-year-old father was making the exact same motion in the stands.

“When he struck out the side in the fifth inning, that was for all the people who had given up on him,” Cone’s father said yesterday in the foyer of The Stadium. He stood wearing a green shirt and khaki pants and the same piercing blue-gray eyes that his son uses to stare down batters. “Some people had given up on him. I don’t think I would let myself believe that. Realistically, maybe I should’ve.”

Maybe; but then why should a father’s love always have to be tempered with realism?

Realistically, many said Cone would never pitch again after undergoing surgery on May 10, 1996 to remove an aneurysm from his pitching arm. But on that Sept. 2, there was Cone on the mound against Oakland; and there was Ed in the stands behind the plate, watching his son pitch seven no-hit innings that day.

“You had more concern there than during this streak, because I never doubted him,” said the elder Cone, who thinks David fell into his childhood habit of being too fine and throwing too many breaking balls off the plate. “He used to do it all the time. I think (he was doing it again), trying to put the ball where it couldn’t be hit. But I didn’t have to yell at him today.”

Clearly not. And it’s hard to quantify what, if anything, his father’s presence did for Cone. But it’s clear that it helps his psyche.

“He has a good influence on me. Just for him to be here helped. It’s great to have him around,” said the younger Cone. And his father admits “He seems to relax when I’m around him.”

Despite the fact that he coached his son from the time he was six to the time he was 16, he didn’t give him any technical advice or mechanical tips. He just agreed with the sage words of one of Cone’s best friends. Cone and his father had visited Strawberry at Columbia Presbyterian Wednesday; and Strawberry – still recovering from cancer surgery – offered some advice.

“Darryl was just coming out of medication and he was in pain,” the elder Cone said. “But Darryl told him to go out there have fun. Relax, be yourself, and just try to have fun.”

Fun was a word Cone’s father used to describe yesterday. But the one that summed it up best? “Joy,” he said.