YANKEE NOTES
TORONTO – Joe Torre said he wasn’t ignoring George Steinbrenner’s wishes that Kenny Lofton never play right field again after making an error there Aug. 9. Instead, Torre started Lofton in right last night against the Blue Jays in order to give Gary Sheffield’s legs a night off the unforgiving SkyDome turf.
“We have talked about that and I am not doing this to poke a finger in his eye,” Torre said of The Boss. “I am doing this for the well-being of everybody around this.”
Torre, who used Sheffield as the DH last night, plans to either rest Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui during the four-game series.
Lofton found himself in the middle of a controversy the last time he played right when he made an error that helped the Blue Jays beat the Yankees at the Stadium. Upon exiting the Stadium, Steinbrenner said, “I never want to see him in right field again.”
“I talked to Kenny and told him to do the best he can,” Torre said of Lofton, who made his second career start in right one night after collecting his 2,000th hit. “I told him, ‘Don’t worry, it’s my decision. Leave the criticism to me.’ I am confident he will catch the ball.”
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Torre rarely puts added more emphasis on one game, but he admitted last night that Esteban Loaiza‘s outing tonight is critical for several reasons.
“It’s very important for his psyche and what our starting staff is all about and what decisions we make here,” Torre said of the veteran right-hander who has struggled mightily since being acquired from the White Sox on July 31 for Jose Contreras.
Torre is going back to a five-man rotation after Monday’s off day and Loaiza is the leading candidate to be shifted to the bullpen. In four starts for the Yankees, he is 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA and has allowed 30 hits 201/3 innings.
Jason Giambi went through a workout yesterday in Tampa that didn’t include batting practice and GM Brian Cashman said he doesn’t know when Giambi will start hitting. Giambi has been slowed by a left groin problem and an upper respiratory infection while coming back from a benign tumor.
Torre, who hasn’t spoken to Giambi, gets his information from Cashman and said, “[Giambi] feels tired.”
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According to pitching guru Billy Connors, Felix Heredia‘s outing for Double-A Trenton on Wednesday night wasn’t as bad as the numbers. Connors told Cashman the lefty reliever was victimized by a bad defensive play and bloop hits in his two-inning stint in which he allowed four hits and three runs.
