[新聞] Girardi Girds Yankees for an Uphill Trip

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Girardi Girds Yankees for an Uphill Trip

By PAT BORZI
Published: August 18, 2008

The last of the reporters were filing out of his office Sunday afternoon when
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi spun out of his chair and approached a bookshelf
behind him. He reached for a blue binder on the shelf that contained scouting
reports.

 “O.K., who do we have next — Toronto and Baltimore, right?” Girardi said,
presumably to the Yankees media relations director, Jason Zillo, the only
club employee within earshot.

That quickly, Girardi had put aside the Yankees’ first series victory in
almost a month and moved to the next job. With 38 games to play, 10 games to
make up on Tampa Bay in the division race and five and a half games to make
up on Boston in the wild-card race, the Yankees face a difficult, but not
insurmountable, task in trying to assure themselves a postseason berth.

The 2004 Houston Astros are the only team to come from seven games back
through 122 games or later to earn a wild-card berth, according to the Elias
Sports Bureau. The Yankees trailed the Red Sox by seven through 122 games,
before cutting two games off Boston’s lead by beating Kansas City on
Saturday and Sunday.

The Yankees can also draw hope from last year’s Philadelphia Phillies, who
overtook the collapsing Mets for the National League East title after being
seven games back with just 17 to play.

As the Yankees begin a six-game trip Tuesday night at the Rogers Center, much
of what can happen remains within their control, particularly in the more
realistic pursuit of the wild card. They face the Red Sox six more times —
 three times next week at Yankee Stadium, then the final three games of the
regular season at Fenway Park.

But the Yankees are also entering a stretch in which they will play 16 of
their next 22 games on the road, including the makeup of a May 11 rainout at
Detroit that begins a 10-day trip to Tampa Bay, Seattle and Anaheim. That
could be troublesome for a team that is 28-31 outside the Bronx and dropped 7
of 10 games on its most recent trip.

“We knew we were going to go through this because of all the home games we
had in July,” Girardi said. “Back on the road, back to work.”

Over all, the Yankees will face teams with winning records in 28 of the final
38 games. Besides two series each against the Rays, the Red Sox and the Blue
Jays, the Yankees play the other two divisional leaders, the Angels and the
Chicago White Sox. The White Sox (70-53) are tied with Minnesota atop the
American League Central.

Depending on how that race goes, either the White Sox or the Twins will be a
wild-card factor, too. Chicago and Minnesota each entered Monday a half-game
behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race and four and a half games in front
of the Yankees.

“You’re constantly reminded, because people are always talking about it,”
 the Yankees’ captain, Derek Jeter, said. “The teams we’re trying to
catch, we play. Bottom line is, if we win our games, we’ll be fine.”

Hideki Matsui’s return from an inflamed left knee should help. He was
scheduled to be activated from the disabled list in time for Tuesday’s game,
and will be a designated hitter for the rest of the season, according to
Girardi.

But the Yankees also need better production from their marquee hitters. “If
we don’t, we’re not going to win,” said the cleanup hitter Alex Rodriguez.
“That’s what it comes down to. Three, four, five in the lineup have to come
up big, and we haven’t lately.”

Rodriguez’s game-tying three-run homer in the first inning of Sunday’s 15-6
rout of Kansas City was welcome, given his .235 average with runners in
scoring position when the day began. Rodriguez batted all five times Sunday
with men on base, delivering three hits and five runs batted in and walking
twice. Jason Giambi’s grand slam Sunday produced only his third
multiple-R.B.I. game since July 2, when he drove in six runs against the Red
Sox. Since then, he has hit .211 (20 for 95).

Two places ahead of Rodriguez, Jeter went 4 for 4 Sunday, his fourth
consecutive multihit game. He has hit .631 (12 for 19, all singles) in that
stretch.

“You can expect those guys to contribute, because they’ve done it before,”
 Girardi said.

But those hitters will have a quick challenge this week, having to face the
Blue Jays’ A. J. Burnett on Tuesday and the even more imposing Roy Halladay
on Thursday. Halladay shut down the Red Sox on Saturday night at Fenway Park
for his 14th victory and 8th complete game of the season.

Combined, Burnett and Halladay are 4-1 against the Yankees this season.
Halladay threw a two-hit shutout against them in mid-July. And the Blue Jays
are only two games behind the Yankees in the American League East. So against
the odds, and against some very good pitchers, the Yankees will go back on
the road this week, traveling uphill.

INSIDE PITCH

CARL PAVANO pitched better than PHIL HUGHES in their Sunday rehabilitation
starts, and General Manager BRIAN CASHMAN would not rule out Pavano;s
starting for the Yankees on Saturday in Baltimore. Pavano, returning from
reconstructive elbow surgery and pitching for Class AA Trenton, held Reading
to one run and six hits with six strikeouts in six innings. Hughes, in a
start for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, allowed five runs and eight hits
in three and two-thirds innings against Lehigh Valley, the worst team in the
International League at 52-76. “That’s why we’ve been getting him ready,
so he can come back and pitch for us, whether it’s Saturday or some point
beyond that,” Cashman said of Pavano, who has one major league victory since
2005. Pavano is in the final year of a four-year, $39.95 million contract.
... JOBA CHAMBERLAIN accompanied the Yankees to Toronto, where he was
expected to continue his throwing program.

News source：http://0rz.tw/fd4By

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