YANKEE NOTES
After debating it back and forth, Joe Torre opted to give the slumping Jason Giambi the night off.
“I felt it’s a strange left-handed pitcher [in Detroit’s Nate Robertson] and I thought about it [Monday] night,” Torre said before yesterday’s game with the Tigers. “We discussed it before he left [the Stadium on Monday] and he said, ‘Whatever you think.’ “
Torre noted that he tried to reach Giambi on his cell phone Monday night to inform him of his decision. Torre left a message, only to discover afterward that Giambi had switched numbers. Cracked Torre of the person whose number he had called, “That person is not playing.”
Giambi, who broke a 1-for-40 slump on Monday with two hits and two walks, said he understood his manager’s decision.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” Giambi said. “Joe said, ‘Take a blow and we’ll get ready to run you down the stretch.’ I said that’s fine.”
In Giambi’s absence, Nick Johnson played first base last night and Ruben Sierra was the DH.
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Torre had sympathy for Detroit manager Alan Trammell, whose Tigers are threatening the 1962 Mets’ mark for futility. According to Torre, the season can still be a valuable experience for the Tigers’ former All-Star and championship-winning shortstop.
“I started with the Mets in ’77 and we were going nowhere. But I certainly learned a lot about managing,” Torre said. “[Trammell’s] been on championship teams. He knows what winning’s supposed to feel like.”
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Assuming the Yankees make the playoffs, is it important for them to have a great final stretch heading into the postseason? Not necessarily.
“Back in 2000, we limped in. We lost 15 of 18 games, and we won the World Series,” Torre recalled. “Last year, we won 103 games and we left after four games. It’s tough to read.”
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“This Week in Baseball’s” Jennie Finch yesterday was on the field, where she met Derek Jeter . . . Pitching matchups the rest of the series: tonight, Andy Pettitte (17-8, 4.35) vs. RHP Gary Knotts (3-5, 4.74); tomorrow, Roger Clemens (13-9, 4.18) vs. RHP Nate Cornejo (6-14, 4.40).
