[Mariano] Rivera played catch Monday with the pitching coach, Ron Guidry, and while he told reporters that he felt fine, Torre had a different report Tuesday.

“He felt tight yesterday when he threw,” Torre said. “But before he went out there, he did a lot of work. We’ll just see how it feels. He told me it felt better today.”

Rivera received treatment on the elbow before batting practice Tuesday and did not play catch. Torre will not use him until this weekend at the earliest.

“I’m not concerned, because the tests they took showed nothing that needs to be tended to other than to get this thing out of there,” Torre said. “And he is going to be honest, because he understands how important he is.”

After striking out in his first at-bat as the designated hitter Monday, Jason Giambi retreated to the clubhouse and made a drastic move: He snipped off his mustache. Anything to end a slump that reached 0 for 19 last night.

“Hey, it couldn’t hurt,” Giambi said. “Change something up.”

A more logical reason for Giambi’s slide is the tendinitis in his left wrist, which required a cortisone shot last Thursday. Because of the weakened wrist, Giambi said, he does not have the usual snap in his swing, causing him to swing under pitches and foul off balls he should drive.

“I’m not really torching it,” Giambi said. “I’m hitting it good, but I’m not hitting it great. I just need to work on a few things.”

Giambi said doctors told him he could not damage the wrist by playing, and Joe Torre said he rested him Tuesday because the Royals started a left-hander.

Because of a day off Thursday, Jaret Wright will be skipped his next time through the rotation. Wright will start next Tuesday at home against Tampa Bay.

“They make the decisions,” Wright said. “If that’s what they go with, I’ll do whatever I can to stay ready.”

Joe Torre said Wright would be available in relief if Cory Lidle had a short start Friday in Baltimore.

Ron Villone had another rough outing Monday, allowing two runs and getting two outs. He has an 8.72 earned run average since Aug. 2, and a heavy workload may be catching up to him.

“I don’t think it’s anything more than a little fatigue,” Joe Torre said. “We’ll try to be a little more careful with him.”

Villone made 17 appearances in August, tied with his teammate Scott Proctor for most in the American League. Villone insisted there was nothing wrong with him physically.

Octavio Dotel has pitched only five and a third innings since coming off the disabled list, and Joe Torre said he still planned to get more work for Dotel to decide whether he belonged on a possible playoff roster.

But Dotel admitted his arm was still building strength after elbow surgery in June 2005, and he did not say he needed more work.

“The way they’ve been using me is pretty good,” Dotel said. “They realize I’m coming back from Tommy John surgery, and they don’t want to push me too hard. I really appreciate the way they’re hanging in with me.”