CLEVELAND – Alex Rodriguez isn’t the only Yankee who looks like he is swinging a wet newspaper instead of a bat. However, because of his past October failures as a Yankee, Rodriguez is under the spotlight.
So when he went 0-for-4 in last night’s 2-1 ALDS Game 2 loss in 11 innings to the Indians that put the Yankees in an 0-2 ditch and one game away from first-round elimination for the third straight season, A-Rod was asked about it.
“I am pressing. I have to start swinging at strikes,” said Rodriguez, who struck out on a 3-2 pitch with Bobby Abreu on second and two outs in the ninth with the score tied, 1-1. “If the pitch isn’t a strike, go to first base and trust [Jorge] Posada and [Hideki] Matsui.”
Because the Yankees are batting a feeble .121 (8-for-66) there are more problems than Rodriguez. Johnny Damon is 1-for-9, Derek Jeter is 1-for-8, Matsui and Posada are 0-for-7, and Robinson Cano is 1-for-7.
Still, it’s Rodriguez under the gun due to having four hits in his past 50 postseason at-bats, and last night’s 0-for-4 stretching a hitless streak to 19 at-bats.
“A-Rod is not the only one,” Joe Torre said. “You can’t put it on A-Rod.”
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Torre was asked if he might move Jason Giambi into the Game 3 lineup; Giambi is 9-for-17 (.529) against the Indians this year. “We are going to look at it,” said Torre, who could use Giambi as the DH for Matsui or play him at first base instead of Doug Mientkiewicz.
“We’ll try and get our thoughts organized.”
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With the infield in during the eighth inning and Travis Hafner at the plate, Mientkiewicz was on the grass when Hafner hit a laser right at him for the second out.
“If that ball had gone through my glove you could have dug a hole and said, ‘Here lies No. 11,’ ” Mientkiewicz said.
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Torre sent Bronson Sardinha into left field to replace Damon in the 11th inning with runners on second and third and one out.
“Bronson has a stronger arm, whatever helps the team,” Damon said about being lifted in the middle of a frame.
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The spanking Chien-Ming Wang received from the Indians in Game 1 Thursday night didn’t force Torre to delete the right-hander from the list of possible candidates to start Game 4 Monday night at Yankee Stadium if the Yankees can win Game 3 tomorrow night.
“We have options,” Torre said. “We could use Moose [Mike Mussina], we could bring Wang back and [Phil] Hughes got his feet wet. I am not afraid to bring Wang back.”
Legendary public address man Bob Sheppard has been scratched from working Games 3 and 4 due to a bronchial infection. Jim Hall, Sheppard’s backup, will fill in.
The absence will stop a streak of working 121 consecutive postseason Yankee Stadium games for Sheppard, who is 90-plus years-old.
“Doctors are monitoring my progress,” Sheppard said.