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Now batting ... Justice, O'Neill and Knoblauch are in, Spencer out
NEW YORK (AP) -- Come playoff time, Joe Torre puts experience over stats. Chuck Knoblauch will be the left fielder, David Justice the right fielder and Paul O'Neill the designated hitter when the New York Yankees' manager gives umpires the lineup card for Wednesday night's playoff opener against Oakland. Knoblauch struggled through a season in which he hit just .250. Justice was even worse, hitting .241 with 51 RBIs, and driving in runs in just one game after Aug. 30. O'Neill hasn't played the outfield since Sept. 7 because of a fractured left foot. "It goes back to what your game plan was, I guess, coming out of spring training," Torre said Tuesday. "These are the players that we commit to and, to me, I think over and above that was the fact that nothing has really happened to change my mind, wanting these guys in the lineup." Torre's option was to bench either Justice or O'Neill and start Shane Spencer, a right-handed hitter, against lefty Mark Mulder (21-8). Lefties are hitting .242 with five homers in 198 at-bats against him, while righties are batting .251 with 11 homers in 662 at-bats. "I've improved a little bit facing lefties this year," Mulder said. "I'm throwing more strikes. I'm able to use more of my pitches against them. I'm going to approach them the same way I've approached a lot of other lefties, a lot of two-seamers but, hopefully, get ahead in the count. That's the big thing for me." O'Neill hit .244 with two homers in 127 at-bats against left-handers. Justice hit .214 with seven homers in 112 at-bats and Spencer batted .312 with four homers in 64 at-bats. "David Justice, I know he has struggled," Torre said. "But it's really tough to overlook the fact that his record in postseason play is pretty impressive. And Paul O'Neill seems to be healthy enough to do what he needs to do as the DH." O'Neill will drop to sixth in a batting order that has Knoblauch leading off, followed by shortstop Derek Jeter, center fielder Bernie Williams, first baseman Tino Martinez and catcher Jorge Posada. Justice hits seventh, followed by third baseman Scott Brosius and second baseman Alfonso Soriano. It appeared that backup first baseman Nick Johnson would get the final roster spot as a left-handed pinch-hitter over Randy Choate, who would be the third left-hander in the bullpen and the 11th pitcher on the 25-man roster. Johnson, a rookie brought up late in the season, batted .194 (13-for-67) with two homers and eight RBIs. He wasn't worried about his status. "You go with the flow," he said. "Same old, same old." Choate, who allowed 34 hits in 48 1/3 innings, pitching his best in the final month of the season. Choate said he might not find out until Wednesday, when rosters must be submitted. "I'm leaning toward 10 pitchers," Torre said. "I'm just leaving that door slightly ajar at this point in time to make the decision when I have to make the decision."
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