The Yankees were too old, the worst $207 million team of all time.
They were 11-19 on May 6.
No, wait, maybe the Yankees were nothing if not experienced. Veterans, like teenagers and thoroughbreds, go when veterans are ready. They won 10 in a row, 16 of 18, and were 27-21 in late May, within easy striking distance of the American League East and the wild-card lead.
Hold on. Not so fast. This team may have megastars, but it also has a decrepit center fielder in Bernie Williams, washed-up arms in the middle of the bullpen, and overpaid, underachieving pitchers in the rotation.
The Yankees lost six in a row, nine of 10, falling back to 30-32. Another George Steinbrenner threat came whirring out of Gotham’s fax machines. Then they won six in a row and were 36-32. They lost four in a row and were back to .500.
Then, after getting whipped by Detroit on July 1, the Yankees won eight of nine, including their dramatic, post-all-star break victory against Curt Schilling and the rival Red Sox. Again, they were within 1 1/2 games of the AL East lead, one game behind Minnesota in the wild-card race.
“We’ve been through so many ups and downs this year that you don’t want to get carried away about this latest streak,” Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. “But the difference between this run and some of the others is Jason Giambi. He’s been phenomenal, and when he’s hitting like he capable, it gives our lineup a completely different dimension.”
Giambi, the Yankees’ hulking first baseman who reportedly admitted during grand jury testimony he had loaded up on steroids earlier in his career, may have struggled with the adjustment to his natural talent. But in a nine-game stretch entering today, Giambi was 13-for-25 with six homers and 11 RBIs.
A hot Giambi can’t do anything about the Yankees’ pitching, though. On Friday, the Red Sox drubbed the Yanks 17-1.
No secrets to Derrek Lee
Until this year, Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee never had hit better than .282 in seven previous big-league seasons. He was batting .377 well beyond the halfway point this season. His seasonal highs had been 32 homers and 98 RBIs. He entered Saturday on pace for 49 homers and 131 RBIs.
Lee has been asked to explain his meteoric performance this season, but there is no enchanting pregame routine, altered stance or sexy swing change to extend conversations at Chicago’s coffee machines. Instead, Lee credits the mundane reasons offered by so many other 29-year-old hitters who were making the leap from good to great: maturity and experience.
“Your approach is better,” Lee said. “You see pitchers more often, you know what they’re trying to do. You make adjustments and the older you get, you make adjustments quicker. When you’re younger, for most guys you don’t make adjustments as quick.”
By the way, until his all-star news conference this week, it had been awhile since Cubs followers had asked Lee about delivering the bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in the “Bartman Inning” while playing for the Florida Marlins in the 2003 National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field.
“Not so much, anymore,” said Lee, whom the Cubs acquired in a trade for Hee Seop Choi after the 2003 season. “When I first came over, I didn’t know if they would like me very much, but they’re great fans and they warmed up to me pretty quick.”
Three shades of West
Since June 1, the NL West-leading San Diego Padres were 16-23 entering play Saturday. They were leading the division because the second-place team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, were 16-29 since May 26. And on it goes in baseball’s worst division.
“We’ve been playing some bad baseball in the National League West. I’m not afraid to say that,” Padres ace Jake Peavy said. “We have some serious talent, but a lot of the West has been hurt. I think Arizona is the only team that has stayed relatively healthy, other than having Brandon Lyon down. There’s no doubt the teams in the West are going to put up a lot better showing in the second half. I know the San Diego Padres are.”
Footnotes
With Rafael Palmeiro joining the 3,000-hit club, will baseball’s next big milestone be Gary Sheffield (436) or Rodriguez (405) reaching 500 homers before Barry Bonds (703) hits No. 755 to tie Hank Aaron? No, that’s not the question. The question is, by how many homers will the 29-year-old A-Rod eventually surpass Aaron and Bonds? … Baseball no longer has a steroid problem. At least, it’s no worse than in other sports. Those who rant focus on the Mark McGwire-Barry Bonds’ era when baseball didn’t have a steroid policy. “The percentages have gone way down,” the Royals’ squeaky-clean Mike Sweeney said. “I’m sure there are guys out there who find a way to beat the system, through designer steroids or human growth hormone that they’re talking about. But I know the numbers are way down. Therefore some of the fastballs are coming 4 or 5 mph slower and home run totals are down.” … I’m with John Smoltz. Somehow, baseball has to arrange its schedule so every team gets to host the Yankees. “You play every American League team home-and-home every other year,” the Braves’ ace said. “To me, that can be worked out.”
