NEW YORK -- Almost a week after being traded to the Yankees, it's still not easy absorbing the image of Armando Benitez in Pinstripes. The debate is still too volatile, the Bombers' willingness to gamble on the troubled Mets closer still too unbelievable, founded almost entirely on guess-work.

	Armando Benitez has shown flashes of his dominating stuff in two outings for the Yankees.

Although the Yankees publicly insist Benitez was the best-available commodity to serve as Mariano Rivera's set-up man, the club isn't blind to the potential public-relations disaster. On the day the deal was announced, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Mets counterpart Jim Duquette, "This is the riskiest trade I've ever made."

What Cashman and the Yankee hierarchy are hoping for is a steady stream of scoreless innings and uneventful appearances from Benitez, neutralizing his Shea Stadium legacy as a hard-throwing but easily panicked reliever.

Until the day he left Flushing, the Mets were never able to make Benitez understand just how devastating his fastball really is. But the Yankees believe that by keeping Benitez away from the ninth inning, they can extract his 97-mph heater and separate it from his fear.

The Bombers sure know what a Benitez-collapse looks like. They saw it firsthand last month, when he walked four batters in the ninth inning against them, blowing what should have been a 3-2 win. Benitez went through all the usual calisthenics of failure: a rushed delivery that shaved 4-5 mph off his fastball, overthrown sliders, splitters that wobbled and that please-rescue-me gaze Benitez directed into the Met dugout as he lost control of the inning.

Yet, the Yankees were willing to absorb all that emotional baggage -- embrace it, actually, with the same touch Joe Torre has used to apparently reform Ruben Sierra and Raul Mondesi. Of Benitez, the manager says, "We need to make him understand not every pitch is life and death."

If first impressions count for anything, Benitez at least looks and sounds more comfortable, telling reporters over the weekend, "There's a big difference here (with the Yankees). I don't want to say anything bad about the Mets, but the Yankees treat me great."

For now, Benitez says he's blocking out the distractions, including the murmurs of discontent in the stands whenever he walks a batter. And Benitez had little to say about a report in the Newark Star-Ledger, which, citing unnamed sources, told of a pre-trade phone call between Cashman and Bobby Valentine. During the conversation, the former Met manager blamed John Franco for undercutting Benitez while they were teammates.

Even Benitez's role in a 1998 brawl between the Yankees and Orioles -- which erupted after Benitez hit Tino Martinez in the back with a fastball -- has been swept aside. Perhaps it's the fact that only five Yankees remain from the '98 team, or it's a statute of limitations taking effect, or simple amnesia-by-necessity. But Rivera said the fight, one of the most vicious in years at the Stadium, "is all forgotten now. You have to move on."

Whatever Benitez's motives were in hitting Martinez that day and subsequently challenging the entire Yankee bench to fight, the Bombers are more interested in finding out why he failed so often as a Met -- and what they can do to do correct it.

	“	Benitez throws the (bleep) out of the ball. Whatever was going on with him and the Mets, I have no idea, but I bet you it's going to be different now. ”
		— Goose Gossage

The solution? Torre intends to use Benitez in as many low-pressure situations as possible, at least for now. Benitez pitched two scoreless innings on Friday night against the Indians, entering the game with a four-run lead. On Saturday, Benitez was a little more wobbly, failing to get through the eighth inning with a two-run lead, leaving runners on first and second and two out for Rivera.

It wasn't quite the blemish-free start the Yankees wanted, but by no means was it catastrophic. In fact, Torre reminded reporters that Benitez had pitched two days in a row and despite the fact that Rivera had to be used in the eighth inning, "Armando did his job. He got us to Mariano. He did fine."

Others endorsed Benitez, as well, including Goose Gossage, who was at the Stadium for Old Timers Day. The Goose, who teamed with Ron Davis from 1979 to '81 to dominate the eighth and ninth innings, said he believes Benitez can be just as effective side-by-side with Rivera.

"From what I saw of his fastball, I mean, are you kidding me?" Gossage said. "Benitez throws the (bleep) out of the ball. Whatever was going on with him and the Mets, I have no idea, but I bet you it's going to be different now."

Indeed, it's that fastball that intrigues the Yankees, compelling them to make the trade over the objections of some in their hierarchy. But super scout Gene Michael was among those who pushed for Benitez, forcing Cashman to concede he'd run out of reasons to say no.

What may have surprised the Yankees, however, was the haste in which the Mets were ready to trade. Duquette chose not to use the final two weeks before the July 31 deadline, neither leveraging the Yankees or seeking another potential suitor for Benitez -- certainly not after the Giants stopped looking for a reliever and the Marlins acquired Ugueth Urbina.

The Mets moved fast because after blowing his seventh save of the season for the Mets, just before the All-Star break, Benitez asked club officials to expedite a trade.

Apparently, Benitez decided his relationship with Mets fans, the media and even some of his teammates was over. The club recognized keeping Benitez any longer would be detrimental to all parties involved and, given the Yankees' willingness to pay his remaining salary ($2.75 million), Duquette was soon on the phone with Cashman.

But whether the Yankees have signed their September death warrant, or else found the perfect short-term patch for a wounded bullpen ... well, that's the risk Cashman is referring to. The GM has staked his reputation on the following question:

Can Pinstripes really make Benitez trustworthy?

Fingers crossed, the Yankees are about to find out.

Bob Klapisch of The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) covers baseball for ESPN.com.