"The Yankees' acquisition of Kerry Wood at the trade deadline didn't exactly send shock waves throughout the baseball world, as the addition of Lance Berkman grabbed most of the headlines.

But six weeks after he joined the Bombers, Wood has proven to be one of Brian Cashman's best midseason acquisitions in years, providing stability and experience to the late-inning relievers setting up Mariano Rivera.

Wood has allowed one run in 19 appearances with the Yankees, posting a 0.44 ERA in 202/3 innings. Wood has given up 11 hits and walked 11, striking out 24.

"I thought he'd be effective for us, but I don't think you can ever predict that a guy is going to do what he's doing," Joe Girardi said. "You can even say that about Mo - that's how good he's been for us. He's been a big part of our bullpen."

Wood hadn't been nearly as effective for the Indians during the first half of the season, pitching to a 6.30 ERA in 23 games while spending roughly eight weeks during a pair of stints on the disabled list.

"It's huge to get off on the right foot," Wood said. "I came here a situation where I wasn't throwing the ball that great. I was coming off the DL and had been struggling with some stuff."

When he arrived at Tropicana Field on Aug. 1 to join the Yankees, Wood pitched a scoreless inning against the Rays. But pitching coach Dave Eiland had noticed some flaws in the righthander's delivery while watching tape the day before, so he worked with Wood in the bullpen on Aug. 2 back in New York, raising his arm angle higher and getting him to stand taller on the mound."