East remodeling the basement
Lowly Tampa Bay takes three of four; it had been 10 years since Yankees were
in cellar after April
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Might this be rock-bottom? Or will the losses
continue at an eye-opening rate?
As the Yankees scurried out of Tropicana Field last night after an
uninspiring 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, no one claimed to have the
answer. The Yankees are as baffled as everyone else.
Joe Torre felt it was necessary to address his team behind closed doors
before last night's game, but it had no immediate effect. The Yankees fell
behind early and couldn't catch up. In losing to the Devil Rays for the third
straight night, they reached a new low: The Yankees (11-18) are tied with
Tampa Bay for last in the AL East.
"The way we've been playing," Derek Jeter said, "we deserve to be in last
place." And the way the Yankees are playing, they're on a pace to go 61-101.
Unlike one night earlier, George Steinbrenner was not among the 16,662 fans,
which for the Yankees' sake was a good thing. Even with Bellamy Road
diverting his attention, The Boss is fuming over the early returns on his
$200-million investment.
The Yankees are eight games behind first-place Baltimore. "We have to start
winning games one at a time," Jeter said. "You can't worry about how many
we're out."
Asked if he ever imagined that a team with so many former All-Stars on its
roster could be playing this badly, Jeter said, "We have, and that's the
bottom line."
The Yankees are in last place after April for the first time since June 20,
1995. Of course, they did go on to earn the wild card that season.
"We're being tested right now," Torre said. "We have to keep fighting and
realize there is no magic formula right now."
The Yankees sure wish there was. Last night's loss looked very similar to
their previous two. Their offense couldn't pick up Chien-Ming Wang, who
struggled with his control in his second career start. Wang denied feeling
any pressure, but Torre wondered if he felt the weight of turning the team
around.
Wang also made a mental error in the third inning. With runners on first and
second, none out and the Yankees down a run, Carl Crawford hit a bouncer to
Wang, whose momentum carried him toward third base. Instead of getting the
lead runner, Wang chose to throw to second, hoping for a double play, which
would have been nearly impossible with Crawford running. Although Wang got an
out, the Devil Rays scored two in the inning and never gave up the lead.
Gary Sheffield's two-run homer in the fourth pulled the Yankees within a run,
but the Devil Rays scored two runs in the fifth for a three-run lead,
seemingly the equivalent of a 100-run deficit for the Yankees these days.
"I think we're pressing a little bit," Bernie Williams said. "Who wouldn't in
this situation?"
On this night, the Yankees were silenced by 6-9 Mark Hendrickson, the
one-time New Jersey Net who had been 1-4 with a 7.88 ERA in six games against
the Yankees. He gave up two runs, seven hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings
and left to a standing ovation.
One year after setting a major-league record for come-from-behind victories,
the Yankees appear defeated at the first sign of a deficit.
They ended the game with 11 straight outs and were sent down in order in the
ninth for the fourth straight game. It's no wonder Mariano Rivera has had
only one save opportunity in the last 21 games.
The Yankees return home tonight to open a three-game series, and there's no
telling how the fans will react to them. Boos would not surprise Torre.
"You get what you earn," he said. "We understand what goes with playing this
game in New York for a team that's supposed to win. You can't go hide. You
have to go out there, take your lumps and look forward to the day we turn
this around."
Said Jeter, "Bottom line, we have to win."
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