JOE Torre said he would believe until he turned blue that the Yankees would begin to hit, and they finally did.
For one whole inning, Sunday night against the A’s, they bombed away for six runs that were enough to get them to the ALCS, proving you never disregard the heart of champions, the value of experience in the clutch and all the things that continue to make them the Yankees until proven otherwise.
Hey, they hung on to win, 7-5. So never mind that if Terrence Long would have caught Tino Martinez’ playable fly ball, the Yankees would have settled for two runs in that first inning and Code Blue would have been sounded for the champs so exhausted by their effort, they resumed hitting like chumps.
The Yankees scored one run in Game 4 after scratching four on dinks, dribblers and atrocious Oakland infield play in Game 3. So one big, gift, inning aside, the mighty Bronx Bombers tiptoed into the ALCS on little cat’s feet. After losing 15 of their last 18 regular-season games, they roused themselves defensively through the division round. But their bats missed the wake-up call, which continues to put excruciating pressure on a pitching staff that, not being what it used to be, is in danger of not being able to handle the overload.
In the Yankees’ wildest dreams, Denny Neagle holds the Mariners to two runs in 5 2/3 innings last night. And in their worst nightmare, somebody named Freddy chainsawed their bats into kindling. The Yankees lost Game 1, 2-0, which isn’t the end of the world. But certainly a team that has scored in only three of its last 27 innings can see it from here.
It was presumed that having already survived Tim Hudson and Barry Zito, the Yankees would be swinging free and clear against the Seattle. It was presumed wrong.
The Mariners, who gave up only seven runs in three games against big-banging Chicago, had the second-best ERA in the American League and, as demonstrated by Jose Paniagua, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki last night, a bullpen deeper than a Paul O’Neill funk.
Most important, Seattle has a much better defense than Oakland, which means in this series the Yankees are going to have to make do on three outs. They still look like a team that could use four.
In the sixth, a Knoblauch double and a Jeter walk only led to more frustration. O’Neill and Bernie Williams both struck out, and David Justice’s fly ball came down on the warning track in Mike Cameron’s glove.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Garcia, but we have not been hitting the ball,” said Torre. “It’s frustrating.
“Our hitters are pretty professional. We have meetings and talks about the pitcher’s stuff and what he throws in certain situations. We are prepared and we go up there.
“They grind it right down to the last out and when you realize the names you write down every day are the ones that have played for you, it surprises you when they don’t hit.”
The only Yankee who consistently hit through the Oakland series was Martinez, with eight hits and four RBIs. And the only guy in the house surprised last night that the Yankees continued to get shut down was their manager.
Nevertheless, Torre last night kept dancing with the ones who brung ’em to the ALCS. He took Jose Canseco off the playoff roster and added Jason Grimsley, going with one less bat when, so far, it always looks like the Yankees could always use one more.
The dusted-off Knoblauch’s two first-inning hits keyed the Game 5 victory, and Torre had hoped the ignition remained turned. “What that showed me the other night is if we get our top guys on base it makes it harder for them to pitch through the middle of our lineup,” said the manager.
But the middle guys keep flailing. O’Neill, who struck out with two on and nobody out in the sixth after hitting the ball hard into two outs, finally was yanked for Glenallen Hill to face lefty Rhodes with one on and two out in eighth. Hill struck out, just like O’Neill has been doing.
O’Neill said he understood and Torre said, basically, if you are waiting for a new right fielder today, you will turn blue before it happens. “He has done it for me and for that reason alone he has stayed there” said the manager.
“If [the slump] continues, I can’t say I made the wrong decision because that’s the commitment you made when you put your lineup together for the season.”
That lineup isn’t working, and really hasn’t worked exceptionally well all season. The Yankees were sixth in the American League in batting average, runs and RBIs.
Gil Heredia’s Game 5 implosion aside, the Yankees faced good pitching in the first round. And Freddy Garcia and that bullpen were strong last night, too. But the Yankees stopped hitting long before Oakland, and aren’t long for these playoffs unless they resume.