"Even though it's loose, you can see it in people's eyes," lefty Phil Coke said. "As soon as that phone rings, it goes dead silent."

After a shaky opening month, the relievers have tried to prepare themselves for a tough reality. Because they have been generally ineffective, roles in the bullpen remain undefined. Regardless of the situation, a ringing phone means any one of several Yankees relievers could be getting the call to pitch.

"We're getting used in such a different fashion every time we step on the field,'' said Coke, who admits that in several instances this season he and his colleagues may have been caught mentally unprepared. ''We've got to be ready from the first inning.''

To hammer home the message, the venerable Mariano Rivera called a relievers-only meeting in Boston last week to address how to end a stretch in which the bullpen has emerged as a glaring weakness.

''We have to do our thing,'' said Rivera, who opened the floor during a 10-minute talk with his fellow relievers. ''We can't go about business the same way we've been doing it, don't give too much credit to the hitters and just go at it.''

That Rivera would even call the meeting highlights the urgency of the bullpen issues facing the Yankees . With the exception of the Hall of Fame-bound closer and setup man Brian Bruney, who is on the 15-day disabled list, the bullpen remains a mishmash of arms with usage varying wildly game to game.

''We understand it's an issue we need to work out,'' said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who has resorted to mixing and matching to find a combination strong enough to bridge the gap to Rivera, who has struggled somewhat, too.

By definition, unpredictability is a part of life for relief pitchers, who many times have no idea when their number will be called. Still, Baseball players, being slaves to routine, find ways to compensate for the unknown, and some stay on the lookout for situations that may arise in which they are often used.

In getting mentally ready to pitch, this anticipation can often provide an edge.

''It's always nice to know when you'll have an opportunity to come in,'' said David Robertson, who while in Triple A took comfort in knowing that late in close games, he was likely to appear. ''But still, you're out there for nine innings and you'll never know when your time will come.''

But the Yankees have been denied that luxury.

In the beginning, the unpredictability of use was somewhat by design. With some turnovers in the bullpen from last season, Girardi said he was hesitant to slot roles out of spring training. He hoped his relievers would work their way into defined roles.

Instead, inconsistency continues to dog the unit.

The bullpen allowed 54 earned runs and finished the month of April with a 6.46 ERA, both second-worst in the American League, all while giving up a league-high 15 homers, deficiencies that were made painfully clear last week against the Red Sox.

Boston's bullpen, which played a major role in the Red Sox's threegame sweep of the Yankees , finished April with a 2.88 ERA, earning the second-best ranking in the league. Batters hit only .229 off Red Sox relievers, nearly 100 points less than what the Yankees bullpen allowed.

In an ideal situation, Girardi could take the arms in his bullpen, and starting with the closer, assign each one with slotted roles. Bruney had already seized the eighth-inning role, leading Girardi to believe that the bullpen picture was starting to clear up.

Bruney's injury, however, has put those plans on hold.

''I think if we stay healthy we can slot them into certain roles,'' Girardi said. ''Bruney had kind of taken over the eighth inning, and now he's down, so you kind of have to start over again in a sense.''

Only three of the 10 pitchers who have cycled through the Yankees bullpen this season have enjoyed a defined role. Rivera and Bruney, before he was injured, have manned the back end of the pen, while Edwar Ramirez has been the designated mop-up guy, appearing mostly in games in which the Yankees are way ahead or behind.

But for the rest, appearances have been a virtual grab bag, a sign that nobody has asserted themselves enough to earn a set spot.

Coke said he tries not to get too caught up in which role he is used.

''As a bullpen guy, you've got to be willing to do what you've got to do.''

Right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo believes that roles will eventually shake out, and that he would like to be able to get a stronger sense of when he would enter games.

''Right now, I think nobody's got a role in the bullpen and you've got to be prepared for whatever situation comes up, be ready every day,'' Albaladejo said. ''I think it will change the more we play.''

Until then, Girardi said he is willing to stick with the relievers he has in the bullpen now.