Boston ? If you’ve been dazed and confused by the sudden influx of strangers wearing pinstripes, do not be disheartened. The Yankee core – or what’s left of it – has the same, slightly uncomfortable feeling about the turnover.

“Who’d we sign today?” is what one veteran was asking Monday afternoon. The question was half-joke, half-curiosity, since the Yankee didn’t know how much the roster had changed in the 24 hours after a 4-3 loss to the Mets.

The answer said plenty about the Yankees’ fear of the Red Sox, not to mention their own vulnerability. Joe Torre tries to pass off this stretch of late-May miniwars as nothing more than just eye candy for rivalry crazed fans (and ESPN), but there’s more anxiety around the organization than anyone’s letting on, a feeling compounded by Monday night’s 9-5 loss to the Red Sox.

Why else would GM Brian Cashman have indulged in a signing orgy, adding the washed-up Erubiel Durazo, Jason Romano and Richard Hidalgo in the last three days? Terrence Long, another journeyman, arrived on May 4 after being released by the Reds’ Class AAA affiliate. And Carlos Pena, a former rising star who worked his way down the ladder of success with the A’s and Tigers, has been at Class AAA Columbus for over a month.

This is called volume, discount shopping. The Yankees do it because a) they can afford to write endless checks and b) they’re not above gambling on has-beens as castoffs.

But that’s not to say Cashman’s efforts have created a sense of calm or security in the clubhouse. Sure, they’re being proactive in the wake of injuries to Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, but they’ve subsequently morphed in a team of question marks.

Put it this way: while everyone in the room is hoping Melky Cabrera passes his hurry-up audition, no one really knows what the kid is made of. Same goes for Long, the outfield replacement du jour, or Coulter Bean, the long reliever who appeared Sunday night at Shea, looking if not larger than life, at least larger than his uniform.

The result is that the Yankees not only look mercenary, they look weak, or at least disadvantaged. Derek Jeter was right when he said, “No one’s going to feel sorry about our injuries.” But it just doesn’t feel the same when Cabrera is amicably flipping a ball to fans in right field after the final out of the third inning, instead of Sheffield ready to start a street fight with all five states of Red Sox Nation.

Not even the indestructible Johnny Damon is holding up under the wave of injuries. A cracked bone in the center fielder’s foot left Torre no choice but to use him as the designated hitter, although the Yankees’ first choice would’ve been to keep Damon on the bench this week at Fenway.

The fact that Damon declined Torre’s offer to sit out the Red Sox series says plenty about the former Idiot’s commitment. He understands his obligation not just to the Yankee outfield, but to this northeast corridor war.

Still, Damon wasn’t in the field Monday night, replaced by Bernie Williams, who was flanked by Long and Cabrera. The obvious question any outsider would ask was: Who are these guys?

Damon, nodding, said: “It does have a spring training feel to it, but it’s something we have to deal with. It could make the difference.”