Proctor carried his personal game equipment out to the field long after Saturday's 7-0 loss to Oakland and set it ablaze on the gravel outside the Yankees dugout, leading to tabloid headlines of "Proctor All Fired Up" and "Proctor in shambles, burns glove."

"It was all just a joke, man, I mean really," Proctor said today. "Just something I've done in the past."

Proctor, who said he couldn't remember if the fire worked when he was struggling in Triple-A, has allowed six runs and 10 hits in his last 4 1-3 innings.

"If I go out there and start throwing shutout innings, then I'll feel a lot better," Proctor said. "Until then, got to go out and prove yourself on the field. I wish it was that easy, just burn stuff and start turning things around."

Proctor gave up Barry Bonds' 749th career homer in a win over San Francisco on June 22 and was charged with the loss in the Giants' 13-inning victory the next day. He issued a bases-loaded walk to Ramon Hernandez that forced in the winning run in the Orioles' 3-2 win Tuesday.

After allowing three runs and three hits in one-third of an inning Saturday, Proctor had seen enough. The 30-year-old right-hander said he didn't destroy any team-owned stuff and was hoping he didn't get a hard comebacker before he had a chance to break in his new glove.

Manager Joe Torre didn't sound like he had any plans to discipline him.