THE Yankees, historically adept at catching The Boss’s flak, able to win four of the last five World Series by flawlessly catching Joe Torre’s drift, aren’t doing as well this year with the baseball.
They have 80 errors, the third most in the American League while turning its fewest double plays, which the leather of baseball law says never translates into first place.
“We are near the bottom of the heap,” says Joe Torre, “and very lucky right now. In any sport [bad defense] doesn’t equal a first-place team.”
You can’t blame the three ground balls the infield screwed up Tuesday night on balls lost in rose-colored glasses. The Yankees can flip their shades as well as any team, and last fall, when the playoffs began, a lower-middle defensive team suddenly, almost mystically, picked it up, so to speak.
The Yankees made only four errors in 16 post-season games. In fact, they won the Oakland series by making the plays while Miguel Tejada was having a horror show in Game 3, and Tino Martinez’ fly ball was being turned into a triple by Terence Long in Game 5.
“You don’t win four times in five years by not paying attention all the time,” said Torre, not a subscriber to the theory that when the going got tough, a season’s worth of tough leather suddenly softened. “I really can’t say they work harder or concentrate harder in the postseason.”
What the manager will say is that he can’t believe Scott Brosius, two years removed from a Gold Glove, has 21 errors, and Derek Jeter, who had nine and 14 errors in 1998 and 1999, already has 13.
“I don’t know if it’s frustrating as it is not understanding,” said Torre. “I don’t have an answer.
“Why does a .330 hitter hit .270 one year? It happens. Brosius makes spectacular plays and a lot of errors. He is just having a weird year. He is frustrated by the fact that it happens on routine balls and it has to creep into your mind when the ball is hit. You start thinking about stuff you never thought about.
“The guys on the left side of the infield, you never have to keep an eye on them as far as work habits. The kid at second base [Alfonso Soriano] is still learning. He does some things a second baseman can’t do range-wise. He has good hands and he’s going to have to work through it. I don’t think he’s a liability by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not taking Brosius out for defense. Who am I going to put in?”
A year ago, when Chuck Knoblauch couldn’t hit the broad side of Rich Garces, Torre played sponge-batted and sure-handed Luis Sojo to get through the playoffs. Sojo is still purportedly on the team, as is Enrique Wilson. Together they have a less-than-confidence inspiring 60 at-bats, which makes you wonder if the Yankees shouldn’t still be looking for an upgrade at backup infielder by Tuesday’s trading deadline, just in case the 4-out innings become epidemic in the fall.
No, says Brian Cashman. “[The Knoblauch] situation just got so bad, you had to make a change,” Cashman said. “And that’s not the case here. We have great complimentary players in my opinion, if situations dictated [using them] and I think only injuries or pinch-hitting would dictate it.”
Hope this isn’t a bobble by a GM, who usually leaves little to chance. We’re talking the 25th guy on the roster here, but nobody wins in October if they can’t catch the ball.
“It’s a surprise when you see the numbers we have, especially on the left side,” said Cashman. “I know we need to be better.”
Torre, who has only one superior defensive position player, Tino Martinez, plus what used to be Derek Jeter at short, says he can’t put his finger on the problem, but know damn well, those 4-out October innings inevitably cause the dike to crash.
“You are lucky if you survive,” he said. “Veteran pitchers do handle [errors behind them] better because they don’t think in the past.
“But unless you strike everybody out. You need defense to make your pitching hold up.”