Friends fear for Strawberry

Amid the excitement of opening day at Yankee Stadium, Dwight Gooden's thoughts were still in Florida

Gooden took a break from his search for friend and former teammate Darryl Strawberry to raise the banner for the New York Yankees' third straight World Series title.

"It's scary because you want to find him, but you don't know what to expect," Gooden said.

Police are looking for Strawberry, who late last week failed to report to a residential drug treatment centre where he was serving two years of house arrest.

Gooden, who retired Friday, spent the weekend driving around Tampa, Fla., with Yankees drug counsellor Ron Dock and Ray Negron, who advised Strawberry and Gooden when they played with the Yankees.

"Obviously, it's something you can't say you're comfortable doing," said Gooden, who has also battled drug addiction.

Strawberry, 39, never returned to his apartment at the centre Thursday night after a drug counselling session.

In addition to battling his addiction, Strawberry is also undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

"The longer they go without finding him, the scarier it gets," Yankees manager Joe Torre said Sunday.

It was the second time Strawberry has left the facility and the third time he's violated the terms of his 1999 sentence on drug possession and solicitation of prostitution.

He last left the centre in October for a drug binge with a friend.

That time, Strawberry turned himself in the next morning.

The fact that he has been gone for days now worries those close to him.

"Hopefully, he's OK and we can just wait to see each other again," Gooden said.