YANKEE NOTES

Necessity makes for strange bedfellows.

With the Red Sox holding a 21/2-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East when last night’s action started and hosting the Mets at Fenway Park, the Yankees had a rooting interest for a team George Steinbrenner loathes almost as much as the Red Sox.

“We are all Met fans right now,” Joe Torre admitted before last night’s game against the Braves at Yankee Stadium.

That will last until late Thursday night, when the Mets, runaway leaders in the NL East, finish in Fenway and open a three-game Subway Series at the Stadium.

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Speaking of the Mets, Derek Jeter likes what he has seen from blistering shortstop Jose Reyes.

“He is fun to watch,” Jeter said of his Mets counterpart. “I enjoy watching him on the highlights. Speed never goes into a slump. When you are fast you have a chance to impact the game. He gets on base and is a pest like Ichiro [Suzuki].”

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Contrary to some talk yesterday that the Dodgers acquired catcher Toby Hall from the Devil Rays to move him to the Yankees, two team officials said there was no interest on their part to get the catcher . . . Johnny Damon is playing without the padding that protected the chipped bone in his right foot.

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Octavio Dotel threw 35 pitches from 60 feet yesterday for the second straight day and reported no problem with his surgically repaired right elbow that received a cortisone shot Thursday to relieve tendinitis. It could be later next month before he returns . . . The Yankees will start Mike Mussina Friday and Randy Johnson Saturday against the Mets. Sunday it could be Jaret Wright, and that would force Shawn Chacon to miss a start. Torre said he wanted to see how Wright did in last night’s start against the Braves before making a decision.