BALTIMORE – Willie Randolph grimaced and shook in anger. The Yankee third base coach quickly recovered. Yet, the subtle spasm of disappointment 18 innings into the season said much about the offense of a supposed powerhouse.
In the ninth inning Wednesday, the Yankees faced two pitchers and were given five outs, yet scored no runs. Baltimore twice failed to complete makeable double plays. Second baseman Jerry Hairston booted a Jorge Posada hard grounder that, rather than ending the inning, left runners at first and second with one out.
Rondell White followed with a grounder to first. Jeff Conine got the force at second, but the relay to first got away from pitcher Willis Roberts covering. Randolph was waving frantically for Bernie Williams to score. But as is so often the case, especially on the basepaths, Williams was in a fog. Instincts failed him again as he failed to recognize the potential for confusion around first between the pitcher and first baseman covering.
Williams sauntered into third and did not turn the bag hard. By the time he picked up Randolph, it was too late to capitalize on what had been a loose ball. Randolph was annoyed that after all this time Williams still does not heed his harping to think about what could happen on the bases. More pertinent to the moment, though, Randolph was frustrated because “we really could have used that run.”
Shane Spencer followed with a fly out and the Yankees did not get an insurance run they ultimately did not need en route to winning 1-0 over Baltimore.
But that the Yankees were beholden to Williams’ baserunning for offense spoke to how deflated their offense had been going into last night’s series finale at Camden Yards.
The Yankees’ only RBI hits through 18 innings were via a two-run homer by Derek Jeter on Opening Day and a solo blast Wednesday by Robin Ventura. They had three RBIs as a team or half as many as Yankee castoff David Justice, who is in Oakland because the Yanks wanted to upgrade their offense. They had scored as many runs (four) as Jason Giambi’s kid brother, Jeremy.
The Yankees were hitting .194 as a team. Most disturbing were their clutch failures: 2-for-25 with men on base, 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Jason Giambi had begun his Yankee career by failing in his first three at-bats with men in scoring position.
Early in both games, the Yankees had opportunities to score big and seemed to shut down when they didn’t. In the opener, Jeter, Giambi and Williams drew consecutive one-out walks in the first and the Yanks took a 1-0 lead on a throwing error by catcher Geronimo Gil. But Ventura grounded into an inning-ending double play and the Yanks did not score again until the eighth inning, by which time they trailed 8-1 on the way to a 10-3 setback.
On Wednesday, Williams opened the second inning with a single and Ventura walked. Jorge Posada lined to left. Melvin Mora, only playing because the defensively suspect Marty Cordova is injured, made a terrific, sprawling catch, saving one and possibly two runs. The Yanks did not even put another man into scoring position until Ventura homered in the seventh. In the eighth, they wasted a leadoff double by Soriano and in the ninth, Williams’ inattentive baserunning helped keep them off the board.
For now, panic has not swept the Yankee clubhouse. They are a veteran team that is expecting to produce a major run total this season. Hitting coach Rick Down said that mechanically and with their approach the Yankees are mostly doing fine. Mostly, because Giambi in particular has been having overanxious at-bats. He admitted yesterday he is “trying to get comfortable.”
Also, after a very patient, eight-walk opener, the Yanks managed just two walks and were not as discerning in their plate judgment Wednesday. For example, Derek Jeter saw seven pitches in four at-bats, never took a ball and put the first two pitches into play in his final two at-bats.
Two games into the season, the Yankee offense had yet to get on a run.