TORRE THINKS MORE MOVES ARE LIKELY
By DAN MARTIN
July 14, 2006 -- Joe Torre seemed content with the makeup of the Yankees
yesterday morning, except for his desire for another starting pitcher,
and the manager expected changes.
"My sense is, by the end of the month, we'll have some help," Torre said
before the team agreed to terms with free agent right-hander Sidney Ponson,
who was released by St. Louis on Wednesday. "The thing I admire about
Brian [Cashman] is he's not jumping through hoops [to get someone]."
Help, or at least the possibility of it, came in the form of Ponson.
And yet, Torre knows the way the team is constructed now is not ideal.
While the Yankees reached the postseason a year ago by receiving an
unexpected boost from young players like Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang,
the prospects of having similar good fortune again this year are slim.
"There's no glaring hole," Torre said. "The only thing you're aware of is
the same thing with Robbie Cano last year. We're asking Cano to be this
experienced player and you can't do that. However, we fall into it just
like we asked Wang to be this guy we count on. Well, that's what we're
doing with Melky [Cabrera]."
Cabrera was called up and forced to become an integral part of the Yankees,
due to injuries to Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui. And although he has
performed ably, the 21-year-old has hardly replaced either veteran.
"Melky's gone through some dips, but when we need an at-bat, he seems to
thrive on it," Torre said. "But we don't like to rely on it, even though
he's come through. Down the stretch, you'd like to have more experience."
Torre has seen all of his position players go down with an injury at some
point this year. That includes Cano, who's still rehabbing from a hamstring
injury and won't return before at least later in the weekend, according to
the manager.
"I'd rather deal with this than what we had to last year, when I think all
of our [starting pitchers] went on the DL except for Randy Johnson," Torre
said. "We can work through this."
But overtaking the Red Sox won't be easy, especially with Shawn Chacon
relegated to the bullpen until he regains his control. That could be where
Ponson comes in, although he has been cut by two different teams since
September.
When asked if he preferred getting another pitcher or hitter, Torre said,
"I think it changes daily. If our pitching gets knocked around, I want a
pitcher, if we get blanked, I want a hitter. But I feel very confident in
the personnel we have."
http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/torre_thinks_more_moves_are_likely_yankees_dan_martin.htm
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