DETROIT - Don Mattingly was asked if Darryl Strawberry's arrival will disrupt the New York Yankees' drive to overtake Boston in the American League East.

"I don't think it's going to be that big a deal," the Yankees captain said. "In a couple of days, he should be in the flow of our club."

Scott Kamieniecki, the starting pitcher and a 4-1 winner against Detroit when Strawberry made his long-awaited return to the majors Friday night, was asked if such a high-profile addition at this stage of the season is a distraction.

Kamieniecki laughed.

"I've been here since 1991," he said. "I've seen a lot of things. I'll see some more things. Hopefully, this is something that will help us win."

Said reliever Bob Wickman: "The only thing we noticed is when we came into the dugout, everybody was snapping pictures of him."

Since neither Wickman nor any of the other Yankees is camera shy, it would appear the addition of the former New York Mets slugger will have very little impact on the club off the field.

Mattingly hailed the much-debated move when Strawberry was signed on June 19 and now, at a time when the surging Yankees must keep their focus, he's asserting his leadership by joining manager Buck Showalter in a business-as-usual approach.

"We feel he can make a contribution to what we're trying to do here and that's win our division initially," Showalter said.

It is known that Showalter never asked for Strawberry. It also is known he and general manager Gene Michael were powerless to prevent principal owner George Steinbrenner from making this move. So the manager has appealed to his veterans to keep a potentially bad situation from occurring.

"It can mess things up," Mattingly said, "if you're going to let it."

Mattingly won't let that happen. Neither will catcher Mike Stanley. Paul O'Neill and Wade Boggs are equally determined.

O'Neill will be required to make the greatest adjustment, now that Strawberry is aboard. He must move from right field to left, a significant change for an outfielder. The ball has a very different look when it leaves the bat and Yankees Stadium's left field is regarded as particularly treacherous.

O'Neill would have preferred to remain in right, but he accepted the change without complaint.

"The handwriting has been on the wall," he said, adding that he had played left before. "The main objective here is to win."

As for Strawberry, O'Neill said, "I hope we play well enough to keep the pressure off him."

Boggs reacted as calmly to being shifted from second in the batting order to the leadoff position in place of Luis Polonia, who was designated for assignment to make room for Strawberry.

"We're professionals," Boggs said. "You do what it takes to help the club."

The Yankees are not a hungry team. They're starving. They had a playoff feast before them when they owned the best record in the American League last year, only to have the strike occur.

The Yankees have withstood injuries that would have ruined many teams. They've had three members of the season-opening rotation, ace Jimmy Key, Melido Perez and Kamieniecki on the disabled list for extended periods.

Key, 35-10 in his first two years in the Bronx, is lost for the season and maybe forever, due to rotator cuff surgery. It is uncertain whether Perez's sore shoulder will allow him to pitch again this year. Still, the Yankees have worked their way back into contention.

While it is unclear whether Strawberry can make much difference for the Yankees as a designated hitter who will play almost exclusively against right-handers, Polonia should not be viewed as much of a loss.

He and Showalter were never much of a fit. Polonia was batting .261 when he was designated for assignment, a 50-point plunge from the year before, and that average, combined with his lack of patience, made him a poor leadoff man.

Showalter never allowed Polonia to put pressure on defenses by turning him loose on the bases. Polonia had only 10 stolen bases this year, compared to 55 two years ago for California.

It is unlikely Strawberry will be the Yankees' savior. But he won't ruin them, either. PEDULLA, TOM

Copyright 1995, Gannett News Service, a division of Gannett Satelitte Information Network, Inc.