But last week, Ernie Johnson Jr. moved smoothly from his familiar basketball hosting job to a major- league baseball booth. And this was anything but an ordinary booth.

TBS Sports sent Johnson into a sanctified area — covering the Yankees in postseason play.

Johnson was the No. 1 voice, joining Ron Darling and John Smoltz during New York's three-game American League Division Series sweep of the hapless Minnesota Twins.

Now, Johnson and his partners move on to cover the best-of-seven battle between New York and either Tampa Bay or Texas.

Johnson can't be tagged a rookie baseball play-by-play man.

In the early 1990s, he had a three-season stint calling Atlanta Braves games for SportSouth (now FSN South), where he worked with a very special partner — his father, Ernie Johnson Sr., a former major- league pitcher and Braves play-by- play announcer.

Johnson also has seen spot duty on TBS's weekend major-league telecasts.

Still, his career in basketball, golf and college football has often had the term "studio host" attached to it. And he has made the most of it, sharing the 2002 Emmy with NBC's Bob Costas and then becoming a single winner in 2006.

Still, it was somewhat of a gamble for TBS to insert Johnson into the headline job, replacing Chip Caray, considering the network has several other more experienced baseball men in its broadcasting stable.

Rather than simply survive, Johnson thrived during his three- game debut.

He was able, in subtle terms, to remind viewers that the Yankees, while often trailing early, were still . . . well . . . the Yankees.

In my mind, a trio in a baseball booth remains a crowd. Still, Johnson and his partners meshed as if they had worked together for several seasons.

Their pacing, including the ability not to step on one another's lines, added to the telecasts.