YANKEE NOTES
Mired in a slump, Rondell White was out of the Yankee starting lineup last night. Joe Torre hopes White’s problem can be explained away by simple fatigue.
Hitless in his last 16 at-bats before last night’s game with Oakland, White had just four hits in his last 38 at-bats as his batting average fell to .232.
“I’m not kinda struggling, hell, I’m struggling right now,” White said.
This is nothing new for White, who was acquired this season to provide the Yankees outfield with some punch. There hasn’t been much of that lately, but not to worry, he says. This is all part of what you get with White, a career .295 hitter.
“For my whole career I have one month where I forget how to hit, and usually I come back and the next month I’m OK,” White said. “I’m disappointed, but it’s a long season. I just have to not put pressure on myself and swing the bat better. The last five games, I’ve been terrible. That happens.”
Torre suggested White take the entire day off, with no batting practice, but White did spent time in the cage.
“We’ve been working him hard, playing him every day,” Torre said. “That’s part of the thing when you’re learning your players, to see what you want to do to help. Right now he’s struggling, it looks like he’s trying to pull the ball too much.”
White will take any sign of progress, no matter how minor it seems. Tuesday night, he battled back from an 0-2 count to work a walk off Barry Zito in the first inning, setting the stage for five more runs in a six-run Yankees inning. Then he went 0-for-3.
“When you’re struggling you do what you can to get on base,” he said.
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Unlike White, Shane Spencer was on a tear, with 11 hits in his last 20 at-bats.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Spencer said. “I was trying to do too much with the baseball, trying to drive the ball too much.”
Andy Pettitte, who is out for at least a month with tendinitis in his left elbow, leaves for Tampa tomorrow to begin his workout program. He’ll rejoin the Yankees when they play in Tampa on Tuesday.
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With his shoulders aching, Bernie Williams (.236, one home run, seven RBIs) has not contributed much this season, and Torre estimates his center fielder will need two more weeks to regain his strength.
“We’re waiting for Bernie,” Torre said. “He gets frustrated with himself but it’s going to be a slow process until he gets that strength back. The only concern you have is he fights himself, because his numbers aren’t anywhere. That’s tough to think about.”