Yankees Shocked by News : Game: After a 6-2 victory over Detroit, they express surprise at the severity of Steinbrenner’s punishment.

NEW YORK â€”  New York Yankee players and coaches got their first clue about George Steinbrenner’s fate when they heard the crowd. They knew the cheers meant Steinbrenner had been given a stiff penalty.

Those cheers from the crowd of 24,037 came in the fourth inning when the announcement of the Commissioner Fay Vincent’s decision was made on the radio as Yankee starter Dave LaPoint was pitching to Detroit’s Cecil Fielder.

The game was delayed by the 90-second standing ovation, and when it resumed, LaPoint gave up two-run homer to Fielder, his 33rd homer of the season.

“It looked like the fans were charging the mound before Fielder hit the home run,� said La Point, who ended up getting the victory in a 6-2 win over the Tigers. “That’s a terrible bunch of fans to react that way. It’s a shame that the fans who were out there erupted and made a joke out of it.

“It upset a lot of us.�

After some players ventured into the clubhouse to listen to radio reports and relayed the news of the decision, they reacted for the most part not with sadness or glee, but with shock. They could not believe The Boss would be gone.

“We were prepared for a suspension, but this is way beyond what we were expecting,� pitcher Andy Hawkins said.

Pitcher Greg Cadaret grew speculative. “This place is going to be a zoo again for a couple days. Who knows if they’re going to have a fire sale? The trading deadline is (today). They might define jobs better. The club’s been in turmoil all year. You get tired of all the off-field distractions around here.�

After the game, Stump Merrill talked to his troops for about 10 minutes, then emerged from the clubhouse.

Merrill seemed a bit choked up; Steinbrenner had given Merrill his greatest professional moment when he named him Yankee manager on June 6.

“Obviously for me, as a proud Yankee, it’s a sad day,� Merrill said. “The man has been great to me. He’s meant a lot to me, and a lot to my family. I have nothing but respect for the guy. I have to go by the way he treated me. He has treated me with respect for 14 years.�

Coach Mike Ferraro, a longtime Yankee employee, said, “I didn’t think it would be this bad. I was thinking in terms of him possibly not being suspended or suspended for one year, but never being out of baseball.

“I feel badly for him. I know how much he wanted to win. I know how much he loved being a Yankee.�

Interestingly, no players expressed glee, despite the Yankees’ recent problems.

LaPoint went so far as to criticize the commissioner. “I think it’s pretty severe,� he said. “I think it’s too harsh. (Steinbrenner) made some strange moves and signed some high-priced players. I think that had a lot to do with it.�

Second baseman Steve Sax and longtime Yankee relief ace Dave Righetti were sympathetic.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t be that severe,� Sax said. “He has been great to me and it started with my negotiations. When I hurt my leg he wouldn’t let me drive my car. He sent a driver. Nobody did that, not the Dodgers. This is a drag.�

Said Righetti: “He tried to portray himself as the bad guy. But he’s a man and he has feelings, too.�

Jesse Barfield and rookie Oscar Azocar knocked in three runs.

Barfield hit a solo homer off Steve Searcy (1-2) and added a two-run double.

Azocar hit his fourth homer in 14 major league games, a two-run shot in the fourth to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.