Yankees 6 – Devil Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG – Unwilling to wait for their high-priced stable of underachievers to bloom, the Yankees last night made several of the boldest moves since Brian Cashman and Joe Torre surfaced in The Bronx.
Minutes after they topped the Devil Rays, 6-2, in front of 13,217 at Tropicana Field, the Yankees announced a bevy of changes they hope can jump-start a team that played dead during the first 25 games.
Robinson Cano, the organization’s top prospect, comes from Columbus tonight and will be the starting second baseman.
That means Tony Womack shifts from second to left field, a spot he has never played. Hideki Matsui goes from left to center, the position he played in Japan for 10 seasons.
Bernie Williams, who has always prided himself about being a Yankee center fielder, is on the bench to give his hyper-extended right elbow a chance to heal.
And, oh by the way, Randy Johnson won’t start tomorrow night due to a left groin problem he suffered Friday night. Sean Henn, a 24-year-old lefty who hasn’t pitched above Double-A, makes the start. He was 2-1 with a 0.71 ERA in four starts for the Thunder.
Cashman said the plan is for Johnson to miss just one start unless the injury lingers. If it does, it could be a DL situation.
To make room for Cano, a 22-year-old left-handed hitter who was hitting .333 (36-for-108) with four homers and 24 RBIs for Columbus (Triple-A), the Yankees designated reliever Steve Karsay for assignment.
He has 10 days to clear waivers, be traded or released. Owed $6 million, nobody is going to claim Karsay and it’s unlikely there will be a trading market for the righthander who missed most of the last two seasons due to shoulder surgery and appeared in six games this year.
“We were looking for a way to get going and we will see what we see,” Cashman said. “Cano did very well at Triple-A.”
In an 11-day span the Yankees have promoted four players (Andy Phillips, Chien-Ming Wang, Henn and Cano) from a system that has been heavily criticized as anemic.
And they have done it to plug the youngsters in key spots. In Cano’s case, his promotion resulted in three other moves. That tells you what the Yankees think of him.
Womack, who played right field in 1999 and has emergency experience in center, took the news in stride.
“It shows these guys want to win and so do I,” Womack said. “I am not going to make a big deal out of it. Catch the ball and throw it to the closest guy.”
Matsui echoed Womack’s line.
“It’s not a problem at all,” said Matsui, who made two starts in center last season and 46 in 2003.
As for Williams, he vowed to return to center.
“I would like to say no, absolutely,” Williams said when asked if we had seen the last of him in center. “At this point everybody is focused on winning games. Your pride goes out the window.”
Torre didn’t say how he would juggle Williams and Jason Giambi in the DH spot, which will grow deeper when Ruben Sierra returns from the DL.
That could happen as soon as Friday.
Giambi is suffering from a tight right forearm and hasn’t played the last two games.
“We will take a look at it,” Torre said. “Everybody we are talking about, except for Ruben, is used to being an every-day player.”
So, how long are Torre and Cashman married to last night’s changes?
“How long depends how we do,” Torre said.
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Changing times
Here are the lineup and roster moves the Yankees made last night:
Tony Womack to left field
Hideki Matsui to center field
Bernie Williams to bench/DH
Robinson Cano called up, will play second base
Steve Karsay designated for assignment
