ALCS Notebook

Torre turns down Wells' offer to pitch

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Posted: Saturday October 10, 1998 08:40 PM

Wells threw 114 pitches Wednesday, going 8 2/3 innings in the Game 1 win AP

CLEVELAND (AP) -- David Wells walked into manager Joe Torre's office on Saturday and offered to pitch Game 4 of the AL championship series.

A sign that the New York Yankees have lost faith in their pitching staff? Not at all.

A sign that they're nervous? Absolutely.

The Yankees sent rookie Orlando Hernandez to the mound against the Cleveland Indians in their biggest game of the season Saturday night. The Indians led the ALCS 2-1 and would put the Yankees on the verge of elimination with one win.

Wells, who beat the Indians in Game 1 last Tuesday, is scheduled to pitch again Sunday. He's been the Yankees' most dominating pitcher down the stretch and was willing to pitch a day early.

"I feel pretty good right now," he said. "When you get in situations -- not taking away from anybody else -- but I feel pretty good. I want to pitch. I guess I'm stubborn."

Torre's response?

"He said, 'If you want to change your mind, I can pitch.' I said, 'Only if you can pitch tomorrow, too,'" Torre said. "I appreciate the offer and he was sincere."

Torre wasn't about to scramble his rotation on a moment's notice, even if the Yankees desperately needed a win.

The Boss speaks

Manager Joe Torre held a brief team meeting before Game 3, and the Yankees went out and lost 6-1. There was no meeting before Saturday's game.

There was a visit from owner George Steinbrenner, who made his feelings known in the clubhouse.

"He's in there ranting and raving right now -- 'We're going to kick some butt' -- and I think it's great," Yankees pitcher David Wells said.

Tribe's power trio

Thanks to Cleveland's success in recent years -- and the expanded playoff format -- Cleveland sluggers Manny Ramirez, David Justice and Jim Thome all are ranked on the top 10 list for career postseason home runs.

Ramirez, with 13, was fourth going into Game 4 of the AL championship series. He trails only Mickey Mantle (18), Reggie Jackson (18) and Babe Ruth (15).

Justice and Thome had each hit 10 postseason homers before Saturday's game and round out the top 10.

How many birthday candles?

Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez turns 29 on Sunday -- at least, that's what he says. There have been reports that Hernandez is really a few years older.

Indians starter Dwight Gooden joked about it after Hernandez recalled that he watched Gooden pitch while growing up and somewhat copied his style.

"That makes me feel old," joked Gooden, who's 33. "But he's probably my age, you know."

Sound mound

At New York's request, AL officials measured the mound at Jacobs Field before Game 3 of the AL championship series on Friday night.

The verdict? The Indians have a legal mound -- not that the mound seems to have made much difference in Cleveland's performance this year anyway.

Cleveland had a 4.57 ERA at the Jake during the regular season and a 4.44 ERA overall.

Testing, testing

If the managing gig doesn't work out, Cleveland's Mike Hargrove could always get a job as a broadcast technician.

While holding a news conference before Game 4 of the AL championship series, the Indians manager stopped in midsentence to look down at a reporter's tape recorder.

"Your tape just ran out," he told the reporter. The remark got a big chuckle out of the press corps covering the game.

Related information
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Needy Yankees pit 'El Duque' against Gooden in Game 4 Once again, playoffs come down to Hernandez family The Scout's View: Yankees The Scout's View: Indians
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