JOE Torre might consider batting everyone eighth tonight. Alex Rodriguez is again feeling the heaviest weight of a team-wide offensive plummet in October. But as Torre said yesterday, “We’ll put Alex in the group with everybody else.” In other words, the Yanks are batting .121 through two games and Rodriguez is not making every out.
For the second straight Division Series, an AL Central staff has unplugged the 900-plus-run electricity of the Yankees offense. The Tigers, relying heavily on their arms, vanquished the Yankees last year. And the Indians are on the brink of doing the same.
The Yankees need a three-game winning streak to avoid a third straight first-round ouster. And here is the advice for how the Yankees at least get back to Cleveland for a decisive Game 5: Hit, then hit some more, and when in doubt, hit again.
The Yankees cannot know for sure what they have in Roger Clemens tonight in Game 3, since he is pitching for the second time in more than a month. And they cannot be fully comfortable if there is a Game 4 with up-and-down Mike Mussina or Chien-Ming Wang on short rest.
So an offense that has done less damage in this series, to date, than the Lake Erie midge needs to be ready to win anything from a blowout to a shootout.
Through two games, the Yankees have scored four runs on eight hits in 20 innings. They have combined to go 1-for-19 with men on base, including 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. You know what Torre’s horror script looks like? One in which his nemesis, Kenny Lofton (four RBIs, two runs scored) has produced more runs than the entire Yankees roster.
“We’re a good offensive club,” GM Brian Cashman said. “Just, right now, for two days, we didn’t hit.”
In the opener, especially the Yankees lefties did a wonderful job against southpaw extraordinaire C.C. Sabathia by grinding out at-bats.
“We did everything right but get the big hit,” Doug Mientkiewicz said.
The Yankees got Sabathia out after five innings, 115 pitches and three runs. But in the ensuing 15 innings, the Yankees have three singles, a solo homer by Melky Cabrera and two walks.
Much of that is explained by how special Fausto Carmona was in Game 2. He was Kevin Brown at his peak, throwing a sinker at 93-96 mph that had dastardly downward and lateral movement.
Now here is the scary fact for the Yankees: Sabathia and Carmona would be available on full rest to tag-team Game 5 in an updated version of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. Of course, down 0-2 in games, the Yankees would take Sabathia, Carmona and every other top starter in the majors for Game 5 because it meant they reached the decisive contest.
They should benefit in the next two games when the starting pedigree diminishes drastically for Cleveland with Sabathia and Carmona yielding to Jake Westbrook and, if necessary, Paul Byrd in Game 4. Now keep in mind, the Yankees thought last year they were getting a break in Division Series Game 3 when the opponent was Kenny Rogers, who instead was brilliant. So bizarre things happen in October; again remember the Lake Erie midge.
But Westbrook and, especially, Byrd are the kind of righties without overpowering stuff that this Yankees lineup normally beats up on.
“Our offense is capable of scoring runs,” said Rodriguez, who has four hits in his past 50 postseason at-bats.
As a way to freshen his club, Torre cancelled a workout that would have included batting practice yesterday. He did announce an intention to deploy Jason Giambi, either as first baseman or perhaps as DH rather than slumping Hideki Matsui. Torre probably did not need to mention Giambi because there were pretty strong hints he would play tonight. He is 6-for-14 lifetime with two homers and five walks against Westbrook. And Cashman was at work yesterday with his son, Teddy, who was wearing a jersey with Giambi’s name and No. 25 on the back.
“We’ll probably shake it up a little bit,” Torre said of his lineup.
The shake needs to lead to an offensive awakening, or else the 2007 Yankees are going to be put to sleep permanently.