YANKEE NOTES
It’s clear Tony Womack doesn’t like playing the outfield – and he likes talking about it even less.
Womack revealed his unhappiness regarding a shift from second base in clipped responses before last night’s game with Pittsburgh.
Manager Joe Torre wants Womack to begin preparing for center after being moved to left. Womack wasn’t even in the lineup against the Pirates, and he admitted it’s unsettling to need to look at the lineup each day.
“Yeah, but what are you gonna do?” he said. “I’m just gonna get myself ready and play when I’m supposed to. “That’s the only thing I can control.”
Womack went into last night buried in a 4-for-40 slump and had only four doubles and one triple so far this season. Asked if he’s reevaluating his choice to come here, he said, “I don’t ever second-guess anything.”
Asked to assess his season, he answered, “The year’s not even over. I don’t assess myself until the end of the year.”
In St. Louis, Womack said he was a second baseman. “I always will be,” he said yesterday. “Here? It’s [Robinson Cano’s] job.
“I’m an outfielder. I play in the outfield now. I’m not thinking about going back to second here.
“I’m learning left, and now I’ve gotta learn center. That’s what it’s about right now. Second base doesn’t exist.”
Is he OK with that?
“I don’t have a choice,” he said. “What do you mean, OK? I don’t have a choice.”
Torre understands Womack wants to play and has been in regular communication with him.
“He’s very frustrated,” Torre said. “I said, no, he’s not a second baseman [in St. Louis] only because I don’t want people thinking we’re shuffling him back and forth. “I think the fact you say he’s a left fielder is a compliment to him.”
Torre wasn’t sure when Womack would play center, just as he wasn’t sure when Hideki Matsui (sprained right ankle) would play the field again. Torre indicated it would be a while for Matsui, meaning a week or more.
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Rey Sanchez (bulging discs) isn’t sure when he can resume baseball activities and thinks he might be headed to Tampa.
“Still hurts,” Sanchez said. “Maybe a little better [than last weekend] because I’ve been sitting and resting.”
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John Flaherty is expected to catch Randy Johnson tonight, Torre said. Flaherty caught Johnson’s stellar outing last Saturday.
“We’re looking for combinations, and that’s as good a combination as any,” Torre said. “Because when you decide to give Jorge [Posada] a rest, it sort of keeps you from having to think about it too much.”
