[新聞] Getting house in order before October

[leddy (耿秋)]

Getting house in order before October
BY JIM BAUMBACH
Newsday Staff Writer

September 1, 2006


These are somewhat unusual times in the Bronx, at least as far as recent
memory is concerned. The calendar flipped to September today, and in turn the
Yankees officially entered cruise control.

It's a far cry from last season, when the Yankees dug such a deep hole in
April, they needed every single win down the stretch.

With 30 games left, the Yankees sit comfortably atop the American League
East, 8? games ahead of the Red Sox going into Boston's game against Toronto
last night. Only an unfathomable collapse can doom the Yankees.

So let's mark the first day of September by turning our focus ahead toward
October baseball, and debate the most pressing questions that the Yankees
have to answer before the postseason.

1. To what lengths do they go to keep players healthy?

Of course there are no guarantees in this department, but the Yankees have
already begun to value rest over their win total.

Mariano Rivera's strained right forearm muscle is of major concern because of
who he is and what he means to their success, especially in the postseason.
That's why the Yankees sat him down for six consecutive days last week.

Although the Yankees used Rivera yesterday to save their 6-4 win over the
Tigers, Joe Torre said they may find a "block of time" to rest him
completely, a good idea being that he is on pace to throw his most innings
since 1996.

Also it's a good bet the Yankees will keep Jason Giambi out of the field for
perhaps the rest of the season, if only to avoid any chance of the slugger's
body further breaking down. He cramped up so bad in Anaheim last weekend that
he needed IVs.

Watch for the Yankees to also rest Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor, Johnny
Damon and Jorge Posada.

2. What role does Octavio Dotel fill in the bullpen?

The Yankees know by now what they have in Farnsworth and Proctor, and they're
going into the final month envisioning Proctor and Farnsworth pitching the
seventh and eighth innings of postseason games and handing the lead to Rivera.

So far, Torre has been trying to use Dotel as a righthanded specialist in
late-inning situations, bringing him in for a batter or two before using
lefthander Mike Myers for a lefthanded hitter.

Expect the Yankees to use Dotel more often for more than a few batters in
September as they get a better feel for what role the former closer will be
most effective in come the postseason.

3. Who's the fourth starter in the playoffs?

Figuring out the first three postseason starters won't be a hard task for the
Yankees. As long as they get home-field advantage in the first round, it
stands to reason Mike Mussina will open, followed by Chien-Ming Wang, who is
10-2 with a 2.76 ERA at home, which would put Randy Johnson in line for Game
3 on the road.

But who goes in the fourth game? Jaret Wright or Cory Lidle? And should we
throw Jeff Karstens in the mix? Karstens has been impressive in his first two
starts but lacks experience. Wright finally got an out in the seventh inning
two nights ago, a result of Ron Guidry's pep talk to attack the strike zone.
Lidle has been inconsistent so far for the Yankees. They have one month to
make their cases.

4. Where does Hideki Matsui fit in?

Good question. When Matsui is activated, which probably won't be for at least
another week or two, he will primarily be a designated hitter, an easy way
for the Yankees to ease him in. But the Yankees know they can't keep him
there full-time, because they can't rely on Giambi playing first base every
day.

Melky Cabrera has been playing a better-than-adequate leftfield complete with
a strong and accurate arm, so it will be interesting to see how the Yankees
handle this one. It's possible given the severity of Matsui's injury and his
lack of playing time this season that they use him off the bench in late-game
big spots.

As for Gary Sheffield, the Yankees have no reason to count on him, given his
comments about not being in a hurry. The hand specialist who operated on
Sheffield also has told the Yankees he won't be cleared to hit off a tee
until the middle of the month.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Here's how the Yankees regulars performed in August:

Johnny Damon .305 (39-for-128), 9 HR, 23 RBIs

Derek Jeter .295 (36-for-122), 24 runs, 18 RBIs

Bobby Abreu .357 (41-for-115), .460 OBP, 30 Ks

Jason Giambi .311 (23-for-74), .476 OBP, 6 HR

Alex Rodriguez .277 (31-for-112), 5 HR, 30 Ks

Robinson Cano .332 (34-for-97), 12 2B, 23 RBIs

Jorge Posada .225 (20-for-89), 4 HR, 27 Ks

Melky Cabrera .311 (33-for-106), 21 runs, 15 BB

Craig Wilson .244 (19-for-78), 6 RBIs, 3 BB

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◆ From: 220.132.198.21
→ leddy:看來Giambi真的令人擔心
推 charlie01:還好啦,希望他多休息,一壘就交給排球來守
→ charlie01:相較之下反而擔心MO有時候想讓他休息卻非出來不可...
推 charlie01:這篇還提到季後賽的輪值了,如果有主場優勢就會是
→ charlie01:穆帥開門,小王接著,RJ開客場,這很合理...
推 leddy:如何讓天天V, 天天P, MO好好休息, Farns傷好出賽, 才是最難
推 Aragom:Torre應該要多用用Dotel阿...這樣才可以知道季後賽堪用否
推 leddy:他現在被Torre當一人右投使用