Closer Look

Torre's lineup tinkering produces 10 hits, six runs in Game 2

By John Donovan, SI.com

Joe Torre pushed all the right buttons in Game 2. Al Bello/Getty Images

NEW YORK -- -- Joe Torre tinkers once in a while. He'll be the first to admit it. If his lineup isn't producing, if he's not getting the results he wants, he'll take a pencil and an eraser to his lineup card and go wild. He figures, as manager, it's his prerogative.

Sunday, the New York Yankees skipper wanted to do some major editing to his lineup. He had a leadoff hitter who wasn't doing squat. He had a power guy, who was struggling but who was misplaced at No. 7 in the order. His big first baseman was struggling near the top of the lineup.

So Torre tinkered. He moved a couple of guys. He left his leadoff hitter, second baseman Alfonso Soriano, alone. And the Yankees beat the Florida Marlins 6-1 in Game 2 of the World Series to square things up at one win apiece.

Genius, eh?

"That's what makes him The Godfather," slugger Jason Giambi said. "It always seems to work out."

Well, maybe not always. Torre had changed his lineup before Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, dumping Giambi to No. 7 in the order. In that game, Giambi blasted two home runs in the 6-5 Yankees win.

That same lineup, though, produced only seven singles in a listless Game 1 loss to the Marlins on Saturday night.

SI.com's John Donovan So everybody goes south happy. The Marlins steal Game 1 and the Yanks get right in Game 2. And so, after two games in a frigid Yankee Stadium, it's off to South Florida for Games 3, 4 and 5. That's where the real Series begins. SPOTLIGHT HERO: Andy Pettitte On three days' rest, Pettitte took a four-hitter into the ninth inning. The great equalizer, he has won three consecutive Game 2 starts to get the Yankees even at 1-1. GOAT: Mark Redman The Marlins' lefty consistently fell behind and committed a cardinal sin by grooving a 3-0 pitch that Hideki Matsui belted for a three-run homer in the first inning. GO FIGURE 13 -- Hits for the Marlins so far in the Series, all singles. That's smallball. 14 -- Postseason starts (out of 29) in which Pettitte has allowed two runs or less. In nine World Series starts, he has not allowed an ER four times. 41 -- Years since a Yankees starter pitch a shutout in the World Series: Ralph Terry, 1962, Game 7.

That Game 1 loss was evidently so disturbing that Torre took out that big old eraser Sunday morning and went to town.

His biggest problem was figuring out what to do with Soriano, who came into the game hitting just .222 this postseason, with a team-worst 18 strikeouts in 54 at-bats. Soriano has looked awful, swinging at pitches well outside the strike zone, and generally looking completely overmatched at the plate.

The wise old manager pulled Soriano aside for a talk in the trainer's room inside the Yankee clubhouse Sunday afternoon, just to get a feel for where the kid's head was. After 5-10 minutes, Torre decided Soriano's head was in the right place, and Soriano was penciled back into the leadoff spot.

"The only thing I wanted him to do was have a plan," Torre said. "To me, being in between is worse than being wrong, because when you're in between, you're never right. So that was basically the conversation."

Said Soriano: "I just told him I'm confident. I had a couple bad games, but I'm comfortable at the plate. He's like my father. I like when he talks to me."

Soriano stayed at the top of the lineup, but Torre decided to drop first baseman Nick Johnson (who was hitting .163 this postseason) to eighth and move Giambi back up to No. 3. He also played Juan Rivera in right field in place of Karim Garcia.

The Yankees responded with 10 hits in the victory. Soriano blasted a two-run home run. Giambi and Rivera both had doubles. And Johnson had three hits, including a double and a surprise bunt for a base hit in the second inning.

Torre will have yet another lineup in Florida for Games 3, 4 and 5 next week. There, he'll have to do without a designated hitter. Giambi will play first, with Johnson heading for the bench.

"We've got a ... lineup that you can move them around any which way you want," Torre said. "This is probably the only club I've ever managed that nobody has come in and said 'I have trouble hitting in this spot' or 'I need to hit here' or whatever. That, for a manager, makes just dealing with a lot of things easier."

Willing players also give Torre carte blanche with his lineup, something that his players have not failed to notice.

"He always messes with the lineup," said shortstop Derek Jeter, who has hit leadoff for Torre on occasion. "The thing is, it doesn't matter if you hit 1, 2, 3 or ninth, you still have to have good at-bats."

The Yankees had those in Sunday's win. And everybody knows what will happen if they don't get them the next time around.