YANKEE NOTES
Smart move by Joe Torre. After Boston’s Pedro Martinez decided not to go to Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Milwaukee, Torre opted to replace him with another member of the Red Sox. Torre yesterday named reliever Ugueth Urbina to take the place of Martinez.
Why get the Red Sox all hot and bothered about any slight, real or imagined?
Martinez preferred to stay home and rest his arm for the second half of the season, and Torre then reviewed a ballot that he sent to every American League manager. Urbina was high on that list.
One player Torre was extremely unhappy to leave off his squad was Jim Thome, the Indians’ slugger who has an AL-leading 25 home runs and 59 RBIs. Too many quality first basemen, Torre explained, was why Thome was not selected.
“Not only is he a good player, he’s a good guy,” Torre said. “I’ve been in the same clubhouse with that young man and nobody wants to play the game more than he does. It’s just one of those positions. Believe me, if you were able to take people you like, he’d be on the club.”
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Shane Spencer has a sprained wrist and had not played in five games. Of course, Spencer is not going to play much with the addition of Raul Mondesi, who is the Yankees’ new starting right fielder.
The only scraps of time on the field for Spencer will come at designated hitter, as a pinch-hitter and if he can squeeze into left field, where he’s competing with Rondell White and John Vander Wal. Torre said if Spencer passed a batting practice test last night, he will likely DH today.
“As soon as I figure out what his role is, I’ll tell him,” Torre said. “Right now the only thing I can tell him is he’s not playing right field.”
The intense heat makes for a less-than-crowded dugout, as players tend to scatter to cooler locales during the game. “Guys like to go upstairs under the guise of hitting into the net,” Torre joked.
Ron Coomer, who missed nine consecutive games with a pinched nerve in his neck, was in the lineup last night as the DH.
Mike Mussina (11-3, 4.72) faces Chuck Finley (4-10, 3.88) this afternoon.
