"This isn't how it was supposed to happen.

Yes, Kerry Wood was supposed to pitch in the postseason, and yes, he was supposed to have a shot at a World Series ring. He was supposed to be a key piece of a championship team.

But the 33-year-old Yankee setup man once imagined he would do all that as an overpowering starter on the team that drafted him, the Chicago Cubs.

"You always think you'll be a starter your whole career," Wood said. "Then things happen."

Indeed, Wood has been through some trying times, leading to a pair of reinventions. The latest transformation transpired after he was acquired by the Yankees from the Cleveland Indians just before the trade deadline: Wood, who spent the last few years as a closer, is now a lights-out setup man, shoring up the Bombers' bullpen.

"Tremendous," pitching coach Dave Eiland said, describing Wood's impact. "He's stabilized the bridge to get to Mo (Rivera)."

In doing so, the righthander has given himself a late-career chance to win a world championship, something that once seemed his birthright. Once upon a time, he was the Cubs' ace, the future of a franchise. He struck out 20 in a game as a rookie in 1998, pitched Chicago to Game 7 of the NLCS in 2003.

But injuries to his shoulder and elbow took their toll. Wood missed most of 2006 with a partially torn rotator cuff. That carried into June of 2007, when he began pondering retirement. He had spent 20 months rehabbing, and he still couldn't throw pain-free.

"I was about 30 minutes away from calling our GM (Jim Hendry) in Chicago and telling him I was done," Wood recalled. "But I went out and threw one last time, and ended up never making that call, because it never hurt again."

Wood returned as a closer, a role he mastered quickly, earning an All-Star appearance in 2008. But the injuries hit again; Wood made two trips to the DL and compiled a 6.30 ERA in 23 games with the Indians this season."