August 6, 2002
Offense Slumps, But Clemens, Rivera to Return
Borrowing the style -- it's "flattery," not "plagiarism" -- of
the inimitable Larry King, here are a few "dot-dot-dots" on
the current state of the Yankees ... The team comes off a
much-needed Monday off-day to a homestand starting with three
games against the Royals, who have lost 12 of 14, and three
with the A's, who have split their last 18 ... Several
pitching matchups are fascinating as Roger Clemens comes back
Wednesday against hard-luck Jeff Suppan while a rebounding
Andy Pettitte faces off with KC ace Paul Byrd Thursday ... In
Oakland, the Bombers see struggling Tim Hudson and then Cory
Lidle, coming off a one-hitter ...
...
The Yankees have dropped three out of five, but given the
offensive slump affecting nearly everyone, it could be worse
... A step through the lineup: Soriano (2 for his last 13),
Jeter (5-for-21), Giambi (2-for-14), Williams (on fire at
6-for-25), Mondesi (a moderately acceptable 3-for-13), Posada
(1-for-15), Ventura (1-for-13), White (3-for-14) and Johnson
(1-for-8) are all in minor funks ... John VanderWal (1-for-1
in August) and Shane Spencer (who has not played this month)
have been the offensive leaders ... Seriously, though, look
for an explosion against the poor Royals; the Yanks are going
to bust out all at once ...
...
The rotation gets a boost Wednesday when Roger Clemens returns
from the DL ... Rocket made two perfunctory rehab starts and
won't go deep into the game (90 pitches or so), but all
indications are he is fine ... After David Wells was nominated
for Comeback Player of the Year in this space last week,
Boomer went out and got lit up for five runs in two innings
against Anaheim; he's always a health risk, but stay with him
... Clemens' return bumps Jeff Weaver to the bullpen, but
remember -- Clemens, Pettitte and Hernandez have all spent
time on the DL this year, and Weaver could be called on to
step in for any of them or for Wells ...
...
Speaking of the bullpen, uber-closer Mariano Rivera is
eligible to return from the DL tomorrow, but it is likely he
will be held out until the weekend ... The rest of the 'pen
has struggled lately, but 10 shutout innings Sunday was a real
boost, as Mike Stanton picked up his fifth win and Ramiro
Mendoza his fourth save ... As projected, Mendoza has been the
most valuable Yankee reliever in Rivera's absence ... Weaver
threw two of Sunday's shutout innings, lowering his Bronx ERA
to 6.50, still ahead of the 6.93 mark held by Sterling
Hitchcock, who has pitched only once since being activated ...
Steve Karsay has thrown just 1.1 IP since July 30 ...
Probable Starters
8/6: Mussina vs. KC (Hernandez)
8/7: Clemens vs. KC (Suppan)
8/8: Pettitte vs. KC (Byrd)
8/9: Hernandez vs. OAK (Hudson)
8/10: Wells vs. OAK (Lidle)
|
...
Giambi and Wells both had back treatment on Monday's off-day,
and Wells could miss his next scheduled start Saturday; Weaver
would fill in ... Jeter is on the verge of surpassing his
career-best 30 SB, and if you need steals, he looks to be
running the rest of the year ... Ron Coomer played
back-to-back games 7/31-8/1 to give Ventura a rest but
otherwise has been seeing less action lately ... Ventura is
eighth in all of MLB in RBI -- think the Yanks had that in
mind when they swapped Dave Justice for him? ... Mike Mussina
continues his Rick Helling impersonation, with 13 wins and
4.83 ERA; he's given up 11 ER over his last nine innings ...
...
Clemens is starting to make noise about a contract extension,
but the hunch here is that he'll end up taking a chunk of
fellow Longhorn alumnus Tom Hicks' money to end his career in
Texas ... Thursday is Jorge Posada Bobblehead Doll Day; if you
are a believer in the bobblehead magic, be sure Jorge is in
your starting lineup against Kansas City ... These columns,
updated weekly or as breaking news warrants, are archived at
http://dellepro.dellhost.com/doherty/sports/ESPN/. Further
questions and comments: RotoYanks@yahoo.com.
