Two corner Yankee outfielders, both yearly 120-RBI producers, have been gone now 43 games. Alex Rodriguez, failing repeatedly in the clutch, hardly has picked up the slack.
Randy Johnson, though better lately, still has an ERA of 4.84. The Yankees have committed the fourth most errors in the American League. And that still doesn’t reflect the plays A-Rod, converted shortstop, still isn’t making at third; or Bernie Williams, converted center fielder, isn’t making in right while center fielder Johnny Damon’s arm provides an extra base to the opposition guaranteed.
Every position has lost a starter at some point to injuries, the latest being Robinson Cano, who went on the DL yesterday with a hammy as bad as the moon risen over the Bronx. The Yankees still are 43-32, despite it all.
“I’ve said it before, when someone gets hurt it’s up to someone else to pick it up,” said Derek Jeter.
The Best Team Money Can Buy – winners of eight of their last 10 series, keeping the worst of their losing streaks to two four-gamers – have been doing that more often than not.
“I don’t necessarily think we’re overachieving,” said Mike Mussina.
“We’ve had injuries, haven’t really gotten our pitching going all at the same time, but last year was a much bigger overachievement considering who we expected to have out there and who we ended up with in big situations.
“Chien-Ming Wang, Cano, [Aaron] Small, Chacon, did so much. We had to use was every trick in the book, every experience.” A lot of the same tricks and same experiences the Yankees are using this year, winning on memory, or so it seems sometimes with their lineup so diminished by the absence of Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui, so compromised waiting for Rodriguez to go on the kind of tear that can get them hot for a month.
Despite leaving an average of 9.1 runners per game in their last 12 games, the Yankees had won seven of them. Last night, seven stranded runners caught up to them in 5-2 loss to the Braves.
Monday night they left 10 and won anyway, when Jason Giambi homered twice. Last night they lost when Jeter couldn’t get the ball out of the infield with runners at second and third and two outs in the third; when Johnny Damon struck out with the tying run on second in the seventh; when Rodriguez, now 4-for-19 on the homestand, struck out and Jorge Posada lined out with Jeter on second in the eighth.
Jeter and Damon are clutch guys. Even clutch guys will need more clutch guys behind them as the race, which now has the Yankees trailing by four in the loss column in the division and six in the wild card, intensifies. This isn’t anymore about stat guys creating indexes that, fairly or not, damn Rodriguez’s late contributions in close games. Most games are won early and in the middle, too, and Rodriguez isn’t winning those for the Yankees either.
“I’m very pleased with how we are going about things and I don’t anticipate it changing,” Torre had said before the game about his team’s ability to overcome. “Expectations are so high, you can’t get too full of yourself or down on yourself and we have people who had been here a while who set that tone. Jeter, of course, but also Bernie [Williams] and Jorgie [Posada]. Don’t underestimate the leadership Mo [Mariano Rivera] gives us, too.” Mussina, Giambi, Jeter are all having big years, or else the Yankees would have collapsed by now, despite all their intangibles, just like the Braves finally have after 14 straight division championships.
“We changed pieces all the time but the manager’s philosophy sustained us,” said John Smoltz. “That philosophy still exists today, we just stink, that’s all.
“Bobby Cox’s ability to get guys on the same page is incredible.” So is Torre’s. And Jeter’s. It’s just that the pages turn faster, to a better ending, with threerun homers.
