The Only Constant in Torre's Lineup Is
Change
By BUSTER OLNEY
ary Denbo types the Yankees' lineup into a computer and prints a copy, the letters capitalized and in black ink, each name in the batting order separated by boxes, and Denbo tacks or tapes the batting order onto a centrally situated wall in the clubhouse. Eyes follow Denbo as he crosses the room, but no player rushes to see if he is in the lineup; the vast majority of the players already have a pretty good idea whether they are in or out, having been alerted by Manager Joe Torre the day before. But there is some mystery in the Yankees' lineups this season, unlike in previous years, and players eventually amble over and peer at the batting order the way floor traders
stare at the big board on Wall Street.
After Joe Kerrigan was named manager of the Boston Red Sox early this month, he announced his intention of using more of a set lineup than his predecessor, Jimy Williams, did; Kerrigan cited the Yankees as an example of a team with an established batting order. Yet nothing about the Yankees is set these days, when the Yankees (76-55) are in first place in the American League East, four games ahead of Boston, but not really playing that well. Torre has been juggling names, trying to find a comfortable combination to settle his inconsistent offense, without satisfaction.
"If we find something we like, we'll go with it," said Torre, who prefers a regular lineup to keep his players' minds at ease.
And for most of the last four years, the Yankees have had a steady lineup, Chuck Knoblauch leading off, followed by Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez. But Knoblauch has slumped for much of the year, his front shoulder pulling away from home plate as he swings and his head jerking upward, and Knoblauch is being held out of the lineup increasingly in the second half of the season. With that key component removed, Torre tinkers, pulling the levers of his lineup like a slot machine, waiting for something to hit.
Torre occasionally moves players up and down the lineup to shake them out of minislumps - he will shift Williams to the No. 2 slot occasionally, for example - but wants something established. His basic problem is that his two primary options in left field, Knoblauch and Shane Spencer, are vastly different hitters. Knoblauch's strength in his career has been getting on base at the top of the lineup, and Spencer, a power hitter, is better suited for the middle of the order. If Knoblauch goes out of the lineup and Spencer goes in, everything changes.
When Knoblauch doesn't lead off, Jeter usually does - 18 times this season. Jeter has also batted third, in four games. In consecutive games on the recent road trip, he batted second, then third, then first. Torre has tried nine hitters in the No. 2 slot, including David Justice (for the first time in his career), Knoblauch (for the first time since 1997), the rookie Nick Johnson and catcher Jorge Posada. Spencer has hit cleanup in five games, Williams has hit as low as fifth. O'Neill has batted second in 14 games, third in 57 games, sixth in 47 games, seventh in three games. Martinez has batted in every slot from fourth to seventh. The rookie Alfonso Soriano has batted first, second, seventh, eighth and ninth.
Torre begins forming lineup ideas when he learns how an opponent's rotation is going to fall - if a left-hander is going to pitch during the course of the series, Torre figures he will probably have a chance to rest the left-handed-hitting O'Neill, or possibly Martinez. If a day game follows a night game, Posada might get a day off. While watching a game, Torre will draw ideas for the next day's lineup, perhaps because some hitter is struggling, or looks tired. Soriano got a rare day off Sunday after Torre watched him drag a bit Saturday.
If Torre is thinking about making changes, he might think through options during the day. He will sit in his office hours before the game, and the first-base coach Lee Mazzilli will walk in and Torre will ask for an opinion - What do you think about hitting Jeter third? - and Mazzilli or the bench coach Don Zimmer will offer some thoughts, sometimes disagreeing, sometimes suggesting alternatives. Torre will occasionally write out two possible lineup cards and hand them to Zimmer: "What do you think?"
The Yankees have left-handed hitters in O'Neill, Justice and Martinez, and Torre's primary objective is to separate them, to prevent the opposing manager from freely using left-handed relievers late in the game. If the right-handed-hitting Jeter bats second, then a left-handed hitter bats third, followed by the switch-hitting Williams, then a lefty, then the switch-hitting Posada, then another lefty. If Seattle Manager Lou Piniella wants to use the left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes, then he must either limit Rhodes to just one left-handed batter or assume the risk of having him pitch to at least one right-handed batter.
Soriano hit ninth in the batting order for much of the season to keep the speediest Yankees in line - Soriano ninth, Knoblauch first, Jeter second - and keep them from being stalled by slower base runners who bat ahead of them. But lately, Soriano has hit eighth and even seventh, to capitalize on his power, in the absence of the injured third baseman Scott Brosius.
Jeter, Williams and O'Neill, the players most affected by the changes, all say they do not care where they hit; O'Neill and Williams say there are subtle differences in hitting in the different spots, because different situations arise. If O'Neill bats second, he might be more apt to try to pull a grounder through the right side of the infield with a runner anchored at first base; Williams might be intent on advancing the runner. "To me, the most important thing is that I'm in the lineup, rather than where I'm hitting," Williams said.
Spencer expressed unhappiness about his sporadic playing time in a meeting with Torre on Friday. He started in left field Sunday and drove in four runs, and Torre stated quickly that Spencer would play tonight, when the Yankees open a three-game series with Toronto at Yankee Stadium. Torre would be happy to embrace anything that works, with just five weeks left in the regular season, and take the mystery out of the lineups posted by Denbo.
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