ALL THE Yankees of old had to do was keep a game close because they’d invariably think of something in order to win it. Not so much for this team of old Yankees; well, pretty much not at all for this group.
Before yesterday, the Yankees had somehow conspired to go a miserable 7-21 in games decided by one or two runs. Blame it on the bullpen, blame it on a lineup unable to produce big hits when necessary, or blame it on both a plan and execution gone terribly awry.
Yesterday, however, blame was not part of the equation. Instead, it was nearly the way they drew it up on the blueprint. The Yankees overcame Kei Igawa’s latest fiasco to defeat the Twins 7-6 at the Stadium on the strength of a bullpen three-inning shutout bridge of Luis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth that kept the game even until Hideki Matsui’s eighth-inning home run created a save situation for Mariano Rivera.
On this day the bullpen set-up men were able to give Joe Torre some peace of mind rather than creating a scenario in which the manager was forced to give his relief pitchers a piece of his mind, like when one threw a public temper tantrum after being lifted.
“They have to continue to do it. We need to have that a great percentage of the time,” Torre said. “The bullpen has got to get the job done, it’s as simple as that.
“Once we have a game under control, we need to keep control. We can’t lose control. That’s only going to happen through the bullpen.”
If the plan was always to rely on a Vizcaino-Proctor-Farnsworth bridge – as opposed to walking the plank with the trio – it most assuredly never included Andy Phillips, who found himself toiling in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after finishing spring training fifth on the first-base depth chart and subsequently being waived through the majors.
Phillips was one of those bad-things-happening-to-good-people TV movies of the week, with his demotion the least of it. In spring training 2006, he learned his wife had contracted cancer. In spring training this year, he learned his mom had been seriously injured in a horrific auto accident.
Phillips’ wife, Bethany, a folk musician, is now cancer-free and preparing to record her first CD. Phillips’ mom, Linda, is recovering from the collision. And Phillips is the lineup on a regular basis after Jason Giambi and Doug Mientkiewicz went down with injuries, Josh Phelps was released and Miguel Cairo wasn’t a reasonable every-day option.
“He’s it, every day,” Torre said after Phillips’ 2-for-3 lifted his average to .286 following his June 19 promotion from the minors, and included a critical double in the club’s five-run second inning.
Phillips is no kid, 30 in April, and he’s had chances before, including last summer. But given the same chance last year as he’s receiving now, he gripped the bat way too tight and produced nothing. Hence, the Yankees turned to people like Craig Wilson and Aaron Guiel for at-bats.
That was different, Phillips said. He’s different, he explained.
“From the time I’ve gotten back, I’ve had a completely different mindset,” Phillips said with more than a twinge of Alabama in his dialect. “I’m relaxing, having fun and not trying to do too much.
“Before, my approach was like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, putting pressure on myself all the time. Every at-bat I’d go up thinking, I had to do something – or else.
“I wanted so badly to do well, to help the team out, to be the guy who contributed. Obviously that didn’t work too well. So this time, I just told myself to go out and play and have a good time.”
If the Yankees can get a big bopper to play first in a deal that makes sense, they most assuredly will. For now, however, the assignment belongs to Phillips, and that’s a nice story. “A great story,” said Derek Jeter.
And the captain hadn’t even read the column yet.
