Ever since leaving the ballpark on Sunday afternoon, I’ve been racking my brain to come up with something to say about Andy Phillips racking up four RBIs and six total bases in his first start of the year and the first Yankee Stadium start of his career, but I’ve got nothing. I’ve said it all already. The man can hit. He should be a permanent part of the Yankees’ 25-man roster and deserves the opportunity to establish himself in a platoon or even a starting role at first or second base. What happened Sunday was that the rest of the Yankee universe began to notice.

To his credit, Joe Torre may actually have been ahead of the curve. Torre was the man responsible for recalling Phillips when Ruben Sierra went down with a torn bicep, recognizing that Sierra’s only contribution to the team was at the plate and that Phillips is, above all else (and all others), a hitter. Torre then reacted to the two dismal losses that began the current homestand by inserting Phillips into Sunday’s starting lineup in place of left-handed fan favorite Tino Martinez despite the fact that the Rangers were starting a righty. Phillips then delivered with an RBI double in his first at bat and a three-run homer in his last. The home run earned him a curtain call from the Yankee Stadium crowd and, after the game, Joe Torre said, “he showed that we want to see him a little bit more.” Tom Singer of MLB.com went as far as to call Torre “a devotee of Phillips.” I hope he’s right.

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Randy Johnson was not overpowering yesterday, but he delivered his best performance in pinstripes as the Yanks bombed the Rangers and cruised to a tension–free 11-1 victory. Johnson’s fastball still isn’t blazing in the mid-to-high nineties, but he was still effective. The Rangers were impressed. Tyler Kepner reports in the Times:

“He was a lot different than what I’ve seen in the past and what I’ve experienced with him,” said Rangers catcher Rod Barajas, who caught Johnson with the Arizona Diamondbacks and went 0 for 3 yesterday.

“It’s not what we expected. We expected Randy Johnson to be throwing inside – hard four-seamers and sliders. He kept us off-balance. He hit both sides of the plate, and that’s not how you really know Randy Johnson. He was sinking the ball away and getting some weak ground balls. He did a great job of making adjustments.”

Third baseman Mark DeRosa added:

“It was like seeing a totally new guy out there,” DeRosa said. “He was throwing sinkers away and sliders away, where last year he would just be coming right in at 96, 98. But he still dominated.”

Derek Jeter (three hits including a solo homer) and rookie Andy Phillips (double, three-run dinger) led the offense. Jeter was one of several Yankees who spoke in a brief, players-only meeting before the game. Jeter would not comment about what was said, but Bill Madden hit the nail on the head:

The circumstances demanded a meeting, but as Lou Piniella was fond of pointing out during his tenure in Seattle as manager of the Mariners: “If you’re going to call a team meeting, it’s always best to make sure it’s the day before the Big Unit is pitching.”

Done and done.

Meanwhile, as expected, Jaret Wright will miss some time, four-to-six weeks to be exact. Chien Ming Wang will be called up later this week and start in Wright’s place.

This is getting ridiculous. I think we all expected Kevin Brown and Jaret Wright to take their lumps against the Rangers’ young power bats, but to have the Yankee offense manage just five runs over two games against rookie Chris Young and notorious free agent disaster Chan Ho Park is difficult to take. Actually (and even worse), just two of those five runs came against the two Texas starters, the other three coming against the Ranger bullpen.

On Friday night the Yankees failed to score despite getting their leadoff hitter on base in the first, second, and sixth innings. In the fifth, Luis Sojo again windmilled Tony Womack home with two outs only to watch him get thrown out by several strides. In the eighth, the Yanks couldn’t get a runner home from second with one out. Save for a Hideki Matsui double in the fourth (which drove home Gary Sheffield who reached on a leadoff walk), the offense wasn’t able to break through until the ninth inning, when three pinch hitters–Rey Sanchez, Andy Phillips!, and Jorge Posada (John Flaherty got the start with Brown on the mound)–combined to produce two one-out runs (Sanchez singled, Phillips reached on an error after chopping the ball in front of the plate, and Jorge doubled them home). But by then it was too late, as Kevin Brown repeated the formula of his first start by allowing four runs in the first and another in the third before he and the bullpen (Stanton and Quantrill on this night) shut the Rangers down the rest of the way.

Yesterday, the Yankees again got the leadoff hitter on in the first inning (Derek Jeter’s on-base percentage is .471 and he’s on pace to walk a career high 144 times), but failed to bring him home. In five different innings the Yankees didn’t get a man on base until after the second out, scoring that man only once (in the third, a Bernie two-out double followed by a Sheffield RBI single). Alex Rodriguez reached third with two outs in the sixth, but was stranded when Posada struck out to end the inning.

Again, the Yankees finally broke through with pinch-hitters after the game was essentially out of hand. Down 10-1 in the eighth (six runs off Jaret Wright, two each off Steve Karsay and Felix Rodriguez), Torre began pulling his starters. Bubba Crosby singled for Sheffield, Matsui walked, Rodriguez moved them over via a groundout and Giambi got Crosby home via another. Almanzar then walked Posada and Buck Showalter brought in lefty Ron Mahay to pitch to Tino Martinez, prompting Torre to give Andy Phillips his second pinch-hit at-bat in as many games. With runners on the corners, Phillips blasted Mahay’s first pitch into the gap in left, but Kevin Mench was able to chase it down, nabbing the ball in the top of the webbing of his glove as he charged toward the warning track. The Yanks stranded another two-out baserunner in the ninth.

Of course the big story was the pitching.

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Anyone got anything good to say?

Friday Night: Texas 5, Yanks 3.

Saturday Afternoon: Texas 10, Yanks 2.

Friday night pits Chris Young (1-1, 7.62 ERA) vs. Kevin “Don’t Bring Me” Brown (0-1, 9.00) at the stadium. Could be a wild one. Then again, watch it be a pitcher’s duel…what are the odds? Hmmm.

Texas Rangers

2004 Record: 89-73 (.549)
2004 Pythagorean Record: 87-75 (.537)

Manager: Buck Showalter
General Manager: John Hart

Ballpark (2004 park factors): Ameriquest Field (111/109)

Who’s replacing whom?

Richard Hidalgo replaces Eric Young and Brian Jordan
Greg Colbrunn replaces Brad Fullmer
Mark DeRosa replaces Herb Perry
Sandy Alomar Jr. replaces Geral Laird (minors)
Chris Young inherits the starts of Joaquin Benoit and R.A. Dickey (DL/bullpen)
Pedro Astacio replaces John Wasdin and various failed experiements
Matt Riley replaces Jay Powell and Jeff Nelson

Current Roster:

1B – Mark Teixeira
2B – Alfonso Soriano
SS – Michael Young
3B – Hank Blalock
C – Rod Barajas
RF – Richard Hidalgo
CF – Laynce Nix
LF – Kevin Mench
DH – David Dellucci

Bench:

S – Gary Matthews Jr. (OF)
R – Mark DeRosa (IF)
R – Sandy Alomar Jr. (C)
R – Chad Allen (OF)

Rotation:

R – Ryan Drese
L – Kenny Rogers
R – Chris Young
R – Chan Ho Park
R – Pedro Astacio

Bullpen:

R – Francisco Cordero
R – Carlos Almanzar
L – Brian Shouse
L – Ron Mahay
R – Doug Brocail
L – Matt Riley
R – Nick Regilio

DL:

R – Greg Colbrunn (1B)
R – Frank Francisco
R – Erasmo Ramirez
R – Joaquin Benoit
R – R.A. Dickey
R – Ryan Bukvich

Typical Line-up

R – Alfonso Soriano (2B)
L – Hank Blalock (3B)
R – Michael Young (SS)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – David Dellucci (DH)
R – Richard Hidalgo (RF)
R – Kevin Mench (LF)
L – Laynce Nix (CF)
R – Rod Barajas (C)

Let me take this opportunity to piggy-back Steve Lombardi’s post today about Ceclia Tan’s new book, “The 50 Greatest Yankee Games.” Tan is an eclectic author who has written extensively about the Yankees for some time now; she was able to interview Yankee greats like Yogi Berra, Jerry Coleman, Roy White, Reggie Jackson and Don Mattingly and Paul O’Neill for her book (if you want a complete listing of Tan’s interviews, including ones with Elliott Maddux and Jim Kaat, click here). This book is choice beach/bathroom/bedtime reading material for the die-hard Yankee fan. Lots of fun. And just to be balanced for you Yankee haters out there, may I suggest “Yankees Suck!” by Jim Gerard. This one should be right up your alley. The title says it all.

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Some baseball fans have been predicting, and anticipating the Yankees’ fall for four or five years now. The critics have been louder than ever this spring considering the team’s mediocre start. The years 1965 and 1982 have been invoked as reminders of what could happen to the current team. Yesterday, veteran New York scribe, Vic Zeigel wrote a piece in the Daily News, making the 1965 comparison:

The Nothing Lasts Forever Club, the Bronx chapter, is about to meet for the first time since 1965. Warning: the last meeting came a year too late and was no help at all.

…The Yankees keep telling us it’s early, way early. That there’s plenty of time, plenty. (“Just you wait, ‘Enry ‘Iggins, just you wait.”) But what if these April problems aren’t solved? October doesn’t come with a guarantee. Early can get late, and time isn’t always on your side. Could it be that this team has the disease of 1965?

When George Steinbrenner hired a motivational coach last week, memories of the 1982 team came rushing back. That was the year Steinbrenner made the mistake of trying to build a team around speed. (The local press eventually dubbed the team “The Bronx Burners.”) After the Yankees lost the 1981 World Serious to the Dodgers, and the Boss apologized to the fans on behalf of his team, he allowed Reggie Jackson to walk away as a free agent. Steinbrenner ostensibly replaced Jackson’s power with Ken Griffey in right, and Oscar Gamble at DH. Davey Collins was signed as a free agent, and Jerry Mumphrey, Lou Piniella, and Bobby Murcer, all competed for playing time in the outfield (Dave Winfield, of course, was the left fielder).

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Wednesday night’s 11-2 victory behind Meat Pavano’s best Yankee outing was nice, but last night’s 4-3 victory, which required clutch hits, manufactured runs, tight defense and, above all else, an unyielding bullpen, was the sort of victory that really could turn this team around.

The one disappointing aspect of last night’s game was that Mike Mussina is still pitching like the rapidly aging veteran of April through August of last year rather than the days-of-old ace of September. Through the first four innings he alternated pitching out of jams (the worst a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third which he ended by turning a comebacker into a rapid-fire 1-2-3 double play) and setting the side down in order (which he actually only did once, requiring a double play to keep it to three batters in the fourth). In the fifth he gave up five singles, which lead to three Blue Jay runs. Then in the sixth he gave up a single and a walk to the first two batters, got the first out via a sac bunt, and was pulled from the game by Joe Torre, who could have yanked him an inning earlier without argument from me.

The Yankee bats, meanwhile, were silent through three, the only baserunners being Rey Sanchez (starting for Womack against a lefty) who was hit by a pitch and Alex Rodriguez, who walked in the second only to get picked off, yet another unnecessary out on the bases.

The opposing starter was Gustavo Chacin (prounounced SHA-seen), who had intrigued me as he had pitched seven strong innings in the Bronx last September to beat the Yankees his major league debut and entered last night’s game with a 1.42 ERA and a 3-0 record in three starts. Chacin is an interesting cat to watch. A lefty from Venezuela, he makes an odd pause prior to his delivery. He also wears Oakleys on the mound, but unlike the prescription lenses of Eric Gagne or Francisco Rodriguez, Chacin’s are tinted and hide his eyes. Chacin also has a strangely drawn mouth with thin, rather bluish lips that turn down at the corners at sharp angles. Combined with the shades, his poor complexion, and the Blue Jays’ gray caps, this gives him a creepy, robotic look. It’s as if he were some sort of evil android from the future. (Strangest of all, he wore the shades for his MLB mugshot. Maybe he really is a robot from the future!)

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Carl Pavano earned his first win as a Yankee last night, as the Bombers breezed past Ted Lilly and the Jays, 11-2. Pavano worked quickly and pitched efficiently. In an e-mail exchange this morning, Cliff and I talked about how Pavano reminds us of Andy Pettitte. For me, it’s a physical thing. Pavano is a big boy like Pettitte, with a big ass and strong legs. Curiously, he has narrow shoulders and his uniform top hangs in a funny, schlubby way. He’s also got strong facial features, a sturdy chin, and a fine Roman nose. Pavano would look just fine in a toga. Cliff noted that he is a good, but not great pitcher, who has fine control and who may share Pettitte’s ability to pitch well when the team really needs a win. We aren’t alone in making the comparision–which to be honest, isn’t such a stretch. Steve Lombardi, who has just launched his own Yankee blog, “Was Watching” is on to it too:

Carl Pavano is starting to remind me of a right-handed version of Andy Pettitte. Both of them have that Betty Davis eyes thing going at times. Both of them are big body pitchers that you would expect to throw harder than they really do chuck. Their uni numbers are close – 45 now for Carl, 46 then for Andy. And, it seems like they be alike in the sense that they’re capable of throwing a great game or a hosting Tee-ball session. I know many were down on the signing of Pavano based on the “one-year wonder” theory. But, I think I’m going to like him–as I did Pettitte.

Lombardi’s site should prove to be a must-read for Yankee fans as the season unfolds. I especially like how he came up with the name of his blog:

Talking about some long-term baseball announcer, someone once said (and I think it was Bob Costas but I could be wrong) that the announcer’s voice was the male voice that was most heard in their house after his father. Listening to Phil for nearly a quarter-century, it was something like that for myself as well.

Phil was always entertaining to me. And, one of the items (with respect to his coverage) that always stayed with me was his habit of scrawling “WW” on his scorecard for plate appearances where he “wasn’t watching.”

As a result, when I decided to start a Yankees-focused Weblog, almost out of the chute, I thought that WasWatching.com would be an appropriate handle. After all, my intent for this blog is to provide running commentary, personal musings, and the like, on the Yankees. In order to do this, I will have to do the opposite of “WW”–-meaning that I have to watch what is going on.

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With the Yankees providing no much joy in Mudville these days, I’ve had to find pleasure in other places. Fortunately, the spring is in full bloom here in New York. (Today, it’s plain hot.) Some trees are sporting great big flowers, others already have little green leaves begining to sprout. The ladies are wearing skirts, strutting (or even strolling now) with purpose, while the guys are cranking their necks around to catch a look. Hey, things are beautiful in New York.

When I entered the subway station on 50th street and Broadway last night, I saw two young Spanish police officers comparing batting stances. I don’t know if they were copying their favorite player or giving each other tips, but they looked just like Sweet Lou did on Monday night in the middle of the game, holding his hands up as if he was holding a bat, talking with one of his coaches about hitting, as his team was getting pounded. I spoke with the token booth clerk, a big Yankee fan, for a couple of minutes before the train rumbled into the station.

At 86th street, a group of kids buffaloed their way on the train, full of laughter. I had my earphones on so I didn’t catch what they were up to, but when I saw several seated passengers smile, I stopped my music to see what was going on. The kids must have been in junior high, maybe freshmen in high school. There were six of them, and they were scattered around the car. They weren’t rowdy or aggresive. There was nothing cutting or harsh about them. One boy laughed so innocently that I was actually taken aback. It was a pure, high-pitched giggle, very clean, and genuine. What is cracking them up, man? Well, it turns out one of them had a whoopee cushion. Need I say more? It’s funny, cause I was thinking about whoopee cushions a few weeks ago, remembering how honest and inexpensive a laugh they can provide.

I wish I would have had one to keep me entertained later in the evening.

Oh, and one last thing that I think is good is the Red Sox signing Tim Wakefield to an extension. He’s been a great Red Sox, and it’s cool to see them show him some appreciation.

That’s it. I’m fed up. Maybe I’m a couple of days late, but as Alex will tell you, I tend to be both level-headed and optimistic when it comes to my favorite ballclub. Still, after attending last night’s 6-2 loss to the Devil Rays, I want my $5 (actually $13 and change thanks to Ticketmaster) back and an apology, not from the Boss or the skipper, but from the team.

The Yankees have now completed five series on the young season and won just five games. They are tied with the Devil Rays and Royals for the worst record in the American League, and have not recorded consecutive wins since the first two games of the season (which had an off day between them).

On the whole, the problem remains the pitching, the Yankees have the third worst ERA in the majors (only the D-Rays and Rockies are worse, and that’s according to the stats before last night’s 6-2 loss to the Rays). Their team ERA (prior to last night’s game) was 5.65, but they’ve allowed a staggering 6.5 runs per game (including last night) thanks to some very costly errors and their pitchers’ inability to pitch around them.

Last night, despite a noble effort from Randy Johnson, was the 2005 Yankees at their worst. Worse even, in my opinion, than Saturday’s brutal 7-6 loss in a game they lead 6-2 in the seventh inning.

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If George hollars…well, as Joel Sherman suggests, playing the Devil Rays sure can help a slumping team too. As for the early-season slump, Mike Mussina tells Sherman:

“This team right now is the same as a veteran player starting slowly and people not sure if he is off to a slow start or he has lost his skills,” Mussina said. “If a 38-year-old starts badly, the tendency is to think he is done. If a 28-year-old starts poorly, the tendency is to say he is off to a bad start. We are an older team, so there are doubts.”

John Harper elaborates:

Usually the easiest way to dismiss a Steinbrenner rant about his team, especially an April rant, is to find an American League scout at the ballpark and listen to him tick off the reasons why the Yankees will win 100 games with their eyes closed.

Last night, however, one such scout didn’t offer the usual roll of the eyes at the mention of Steinbrenner’s headline-making criticism. Instead he raised his eyebrows and said he wonders if maybe, just maybe, the Yankees’ sluggish play so far is not merely an early-season aberration.

The scout then listed those potential problems, in what he considered the order of priority, from the “geezer bullpen” to the offensive inconsistency, to the age and lack of depth in the starting rotation.

Last night was a good start. Let’s hope Randy Johnson gets his ya ya’s out tonight.

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Walk. Homer. Double. Ground out. Single. Single. Single. Single. Single. Single. Double. Walk. Single. Grand Slam. Ground out. Walk. Fly out.

17 batters, 59 pitches, 11 hits, 3 walks, 13 runs.

That’s what the Yankees did in the bottom of the second inning last night, not only getting off the schnide, but doing so with a historic offensive outburst. The Yankees 13-run second inning tied the record for the most runs scored in the second inning of a game (accomplished four other times, just once before in the AL), fell one short of the franchise record for runs in any single inning (14 on 7/6/20 in Wash), and was the most ever scored in one inning by the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have scored 13 runs in one inning just three times, including last night, the most recent coming on June 21, 1945 in Boston.

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Tampa Bay Devil Rays

2004 Record: 70-91 (.435)
2004 Pythagorean Record: 68-93 (.422)

Manager: Lou Piniella
General Manager: Chuck LaMar

Ballpark (2004 park factors): Tropicana Field (96/96)

Who’s replacing whom?

Travis Lee replaces Tino Martinez
Josh Phelps replaces Jose Cruz Jr.
Jorge Cantu inherits playing time from Rey Sanchez
Alex S. Gonzalez replaces Geoff Blum
Nick Green replaces B.J. Upton (minors)
Alex Sanchez replaces half a season of Rocco Baldelli
Eduardo Perez inherits playing time from Robert Fick
Charles Johnson replaces Brook Fordyce
Chris Singleton replaces Damian Rolls
Scott Kazmir inherits Victor Zambrano’s starts
Hideo Nomo replaces John Halama
Seth McClung replaces Jorge Sosa
Casey Fossum replaces Jeremy Gonzalez, Paul Abbott and Chad Gaudin

Current Roster:

1B – Travis Lee
2B – Jorge Cantu
SS – Julio Lugo
3B – Alex S. Gonzalez
C – Toby Hall
RF – Aubrey Huff
CF – Alex Sanchez
LF – Carl Crawford
DH – Josh Phelps

Bench:

R – Eduardo Perez (corners)
R – Nick Green (IF)
R – Charles Johnson (C)
L – Chris Singleton (OF)

Rotation:

R – Dewon Brazelton
L – Scott Kazmir
R – Rob Bell
L – Mark Hendrickson
R – Hideo Nomo

Bullpen:

R – Danys Baez
R – Lance Carter
R – Travis Harper
L – Trever Miller
L – Casey Fossom
R – Seth McClung
R – Doug Waechter

DL:

R – Rocco Baldelli (OF)
R – Jesus Colome
R – Kevin Cash (C)
R – Franklin Nunez

Typical Line-up

L – Carl Crawford (LF)
R – Julio Lugo (SS)
L – Alex Sanchez (CF)
L – Aubrey Huff (RF)
R – Josh Phelps (DH)
L – Travis Lee (1B)
R – Jorge Cantu (2B)
R – Toby Hall (C)
R – Alex Gonzalez (3B)

[commentary to come]

This weekend, the Daily News reported that the Yankees’ plan for a new stadium is coming along nicely. The new park will be a few blocks away from where the stadium is now. If all goes according to plan, the new stadium could open in 2009.

Hey, so long as they stay in the Bronx…

Enough is enough. I am bitterly disappointed, as I’m sure all Yankee fans are, by the lack of performance by our team. It is unbelievable to me that the highest-paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk. They are not playing like true Yankees. They have the talent to win and they are not winning. I expect Joe Torre, his complete coaching staff and the team to turn this around.

The above words were issued by George Steinbrenner immediately after today’s 8-4 Yankee loss to the Orioles dropped his team to 4-8 on the season, their .333 winning percentage better than only the triple-A squad in Colorado and equal to that of Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay, three teams with a combined 3 winning seasons since 1992 (all by the Royals).

The Yankees 4-8 record is their worst this “late” in the season since 1991, Stump Merrill’s last season as Yankee manager, when the team opened 4-8 and finished fifth in the east at 71-91.

After this afternoon’s loss, Joe Torre held a closed-door team meeting. The panic button has been pressed. The shit has hit the fan(s). So what’s gone wrong? I have no idea.

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Coming Sunday to a New York newspaper near you: How the Yankees stink, let us count the ways. Meet the Mets, folks, the boys out in Queens are exciting, and vibrant, while the Yanks are old, flat and dull. Or words to that effect. You know the routine.

Yo, Saturday’s game was truly awful. It was the first time all year that I’ve been truly upset. I mean, it didn’t last too long, I didn’t let it ruin my evening (it is still April), but when Flash Gordon gave up the three-run dinger to Roberts, man, it felt like getting punched in the gut.

The Indians and White Sox played an entire game in the time it took the Yanks and O’s to get through four innings. To be honest, even if the Yanks had pulled it out, the game would have been a chore to sit through. But losing the way that they did was just depressing.

There are a lot of things that don’t look good about them right about now.

Kevin Brown makes his season debut tomorrow. Sorry if I’m not feeling overcome with confidence. But hey, we’ve got to hang with ’em when they are down. Let’s hope they can salvage a “w” and move on. No use lookin after spilt milk now, is there?

Dear Bruce,
You’ll never pitch another big league game like the one you threw tonight.
Soak it in and enjoy it. You done good.
Yours truly,
Bitter Belth in the Bronx

The Yanks kick off a three-game series in Baltmore tonight at 7:35 as Carl Pavano makes his first start since taking Melvin Mora line-drive off his right temple. Sunday, Kevin Brown is expected to return from the DL to make his 2005 debut against Daniel Cabrera. Brown’s return will, in all likelihood, return Andy Phillips to Columbus. Phillips remains the only Yankee hitter without a plate appearance, thus the Yankees have wasted this opportunity get a good look at the best hitter in their minor league stystem. Is it too much to ask that Torre start him at first against the lefty Chen tonight? That’s a rhetorical question.

Fri 4/15 7:35 YES (Pavano v. Chen)
Sat 4/16 4:35 YES (Mussina v. Lopez)
Sun 4/17 1:35 YES (Brown v. Cabrera)