The Futility Infielder

The Yanks looked good for eight innings last night and terrible for one, holding on to beat the Royals 6-3. Alfonso Soriano and Bernie Williams each hit 2-run homers off of Kevin Appier, Karim Garcia connected for a solo shot (his third homer in three games), Jason Giambi stole a base standing up (!), and Andy Pettitte pitched well until the Yankee defense let him down in the seventh inning, but the bullpen bailed him out.

Leading 6-0, the Yanks suddenly looked like a Little League team behind Pettitte, making three errors in the seventh. For starters, Alfonso Soriano snagged a tough Raul Ibanez grounder that he should have eaten and threw wildly past first. The ball bounced into the stands, sending Ibanez to second. Joe Randa punched a single, scoring him, and then Ken Harvey quickly followed with another single. Pettitte settled down to strike out Mendy Lopez and induce Mike DiFelice to fly out.

Two strikes away from getting out of the jam, Andy gave up a scorcher to Desi Relaford down the first-base line which Nick Johnson couldn't come up with. Relaford took second, Harvey took third, and Randa scored. Then Soriano made his second error of the inning, hurrying to pick up Angel Berroa's grounder. Another run.

Joe Torre mercifully yanked Pettitte, who'd pitched well, throwing 76 out of 107 pitches for strikes, walking none and striking out six (Dandy Andy's on a 10-1, 3.13 run since June 8). Jeff Nelson came on and got Mike Sweeney to hit a comebacker, ending the threat. Nelson took care of business in the eighth as well, striking out two, and Mo Rivera pitched a solid ninth, with the game ending on a 4-6-3 double-play. That's six in a row for the Yanks, only two off their longest winning streak of the season (June 24–30 vs. the Rays, Mets, and Orioles).

Soriano's been hitting the ball HARD lately. In the past nine games (going back to the beginning of the first K.C. series), he's 12-for-43 with 10 extra-base hits (seven doubles, one triple, two homers). His plate discipline's gone to hell, but that's another story.

The Yanks recalled Juan Rivera before last night's game. Rivera will get a shot in right, despite Garcia's recent hot streak. This is mostly to keep Rivera eligible for the postseason roster, but it's a fairly dubious move; he's hitting only .237/.285/.351 this season in 123 PA. He's at .244/.290/.348 for his young career in 218 PA, and it's pretty apparent to everyone beyond Joe Torre that he's more suspect than prospect.

Hopefully this won't disrupt Garcia too much, because he's really earned his playing time. He's now at .343/.403/.629 as a Yank, and his defense has been solid as well. His plate discipline has shown improvement -- he's walked once for every 10 ABs as a Yank, the magic threshold of a responsible hitter. With Cleveland he'd only walked five times in 93 AB this year and six in 202 AB last year. Maybe it's a sample-size fluke, maybe it's having Soriano behind him in the order. But maybe this guy is for real, returning to the level he showed last year when he drove in 52 runs in his 53 games with the Indians after August 6.

On the subject of roster controversy, here's a headline from the New York Times today: "Weaver Does Nothing to Secure Roster Spot." And it makes sense. With a 7.75 ERA since the All-Star break, Jeff Weaver's spot in the major leagues, much less the Yankees rotation, is now in question. With the return of Jose Conteras looming, and perhaps Jon Lieber as well (not to mention Gabe White), the Yanks may not feel obligated to send Weaver out there for his regular pounding. Only the questionable health of David Wells works in Wevo's favor right now, but Wells is reportedly coming along nicely.

As for White, once he returns from his groin pull, expect the bell to toll for Jesse Orosco. At 46, Orosco appears to have finally reached his sell-by date. His ERA is 12.27 as a Yank and 8.16 overall. Nine out of the 20 batters he's faced have reached base, and when they hit him, they've hit him hard, for a .615 slugging percentage.

The Yanks are intent on carrying only 10 pitchers in the postseason. Add it up and you've got Clemens, Mussina, Pettitte, Wells, Hammond, Osuna, Nelson and Rivera as locks, leaving Weaver, Contreras, Hitchcock, Orosco, and White battling for the last two spots. White's almost a certainty IF he's healthy, and Conteras would appear to have the advantage on Weaver based solely on the fact that nobody's tattooed him lately. Hitchcock is insurance either way, but he could stick if the Yanks carry 11.

Fifteen position players means the Yanks have an imbalance to settle. They're heavy with outfielders (Williams, Matsui, Garcia, Sierra, Dellucci, Rivera) but have only one backup infielder in Enrique Wilson. Delluci's defense would appear to make him a lock as a reserve, and Garcia's surge ought to make him impossible to ignore. Ruben Sierra's been the forgotten man of late, and since he can't really play the field, he figures to be the one on the bubble. Erick Almonte might get a shot as an infielder, or the Yanks could make a waiver deal for a corner man. Adding it up we get: Posada, Flaherty, Giambi, Johnson, Soriano, Jeter, Boone, Wilson, Matsui, Williams, Dellucci, Garcia, Rivera. That's 13, leaving two spots up for grabs.

Lawrence Rocca of the Newark Star-Ledger suggest the Yanks look no further than their special-assignment coach, Luis Sojo, who still takes grounders every day. It's a half-crazy idea, but still more sane than Rocca's suggestion of Chuck Knoblauch, who was in the house last night and received a loud ovation. Sojo played briefly in the Mexican League earlier this year, hitting .410/.451/.590, though that tells you more about the level of play than it does about Looie Looie. As for Knoblauch, the Daily News reports that the 35-year old might attempt a comeback next year. Here's rooting for the Lil' Bastard to find a second act to his career.