Patrick O’Keefe

Ruben Sierra re-upped with the Yankees yesterday, taking less money to stay with a team he loves. …

Sierra, 39, signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract, declining deals for option years with multiple teams because he’s happy in the Bronx.

…

“He’s very appreciative for getting the opportunity Mr. Steinbrenner has given him there in New York,” his agent, Chuck Berry, said. “He likes Joe Torre. That has been a very good relationship in the last couple years.

“Being on a winning team is important as well. So is the comfort level. Put it all together, and it pointed in the direction (of the Yankees).”

The feeling is mutual, GM Brian Cashman said.

“We’re happy to have Ruben back,” Cashman said. “He’s a quality player off the bench for us. And at times during the regular season he becomes even more than that for me.

“He is good for us in games. He is good for us in the clubhouse.”

JIM ABBOTT: NO
I’m not sure how someone with an 87-108 career record gets on the ballot, even if they are missing a hand. Then I remembered something. During Abbott’s final season, he played for the Brewers and ended up batting 21 times. But here’s the astounding thing: He had two singles and drove in three runs. The guy has one hand! Imagine being a major league pitcher and giving up a single to Jim Abbott? I would have immediately retired and travelled the earth like Ricky Williams. Anyway, I think those two hits, as well as the no-hitter at Yankee Stadium, and the fact that he was a decent major league pitcher for a few years, warranted Abbott’s place on the ballot. But that’s it.

Wes Welker returned a kickoff for a touchdown and was ready for quarterback duty if necessary. In a week when A.J. Feeley was out with an injury and Jason Garrett was the backup, Welker would be pressed into service had Sage Rosenfels and Garrett been injured.

”He’s the man,” Rosenfels said of Welker.

“If I’m coaching 20 years from now and he wants to be on my team, he can be on it. He does it all.”