BOSTON – No organization understands the need for players to be with their families in difficult times better than the Yankees. George Steinbrenner, one of the most demanding bosses in the world, constantly tells his players their loved ones come ahead of their jobs.
Yet, since Michael Coleman is nursing a tender right hamstring, the Yankees would like to hear from Bernie Williams in regards to how his father, Bernabe, Sr., is doing and when their All-Star center fielder and cleanup hitter may rejoin the club.
“I didn’t get a call and didn’t get a message. Obviously we need to hear from him to find out what the gameplan is,” said Joe Torre, who by 5 p.m. last night hadn’t heard from Williams since Thursday. Nor had Brian Cashman by 7 o’clock last night.
Tino Martinez is one of the few Yankees with Williams’ cell phone number but it didn’t do the first baseman any good because Williams left the phone on the plane when he landed in Puerto Rico, Monday.
If Williams, who has missed the last six games in order to be with his hospitalized father who is battling pulmonary fibrosis in Puerto Rico, can’t make it back soon, the Yankees will have to decide to play a man short or put Coleman on the shelf even though Cashman said last night Coleman’s leg is improving.
“If Bernie was here, I might think about DL-ing [Coleman], but since he isn’t here, we will leave it the way it is,” Cashman said. “I talked to [Torre] after the game and I don’t think we are going to DL [Coleman].”
Putting Williams on the DL isn’t an option at this point, Torre said.
If they did decide playing a man short and using Clay Bellinger in center is a burden, the Yankees would likely promote 26-year-old outfielder Donzell McDonald from Columbus (Triple-A). McDonald, the MVP of last year’s Arizona Fall League, has never played in the big leagues.
Cashman expects to find out something today regarding Williams. Torre, who had been hearing from Williams every other day since he left the club Monday in Kansas City, thought he would have heard something Saturday.
“He knows we want him back as soon as he can get back,” Torre said of Williams.
The Yankees have gone 4-2 without Williams. Coleman going 7-for-13 (.538) against the Royals helped the Yankees win three straight. However, Coleman was forced out of Friday night’s game against the Red Sox after two at-bats. Bellinger, a versatile player Torre likes to use as Chuck Knoblauch’s late-game defensive replacement, has started the last two games in center, gone 0-for-5 and fanned four times.
