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Clinch or clench? Champagne getting flat for stumbling Yankees
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The New York Yankees hoped to carry some momentum into the playoffs. Instead, they've been toting around several cases of champagne from city to city while struggling to clinch their third straight AL East title. The Yankees limped into Camden Yards on Friday night having lost four straight and 12 of 15. The champagne stayed boxed in Tampa Bay, where New York went 0-3 against the last-place Devil Rays, losing the last two games 11-1 and 11-3. And the Yankees, who began the day with a magic number of one over Boston, got off to a horrible start in their three-game series against Baltimore. The Orioles scored 10 runs in the second inning against 19-game winner Andy Pettitte and reliever Dwight Gooden, a burst helped by a bad throw from second baseman Chuck Knoblauch. This isn't how New York wanted to enter the playoffs, limping toward the finish and sneaking in during the final weekend. "Obviously, none of us are going to lie and say we don't wish we would have gotten it over with sooner," left-hander Denny Neagle said. "You'd like to able to set up your rotation, rest the guys you'd like to get rested. That's the best thing about clinching early." The Yankees appeared headed in that direction earlier this month. New York led the AL East by nine games on Sept. 13, but that now seems like a very long time ago. Manager Joe Torre gathered his players together Friday afternoon for a team meeting, a rarity for a team on the brink of entering the playoffs. "It's tougher to win in the end," Torre said. "Games mean the same, but they're tougher to win this time of year." At least the Yankees have come to the right place for a win. They clinched the 1996 AL Championship Series in Baltimore and won the AL East at Camden Yards in 1998 and 1999.
The way the Yankees see it, there's no time like the present to get their act together. "Would we have liked to have it earlier? Yes," Neagle said. "But is there going to be any kind of panic setting in? No. Sure, we're disappointed, because we know we're not playing the type of ball we're capable of playing. But I think the guys in the clubhouse realize better now than October 10th in the divisional series. That's the last time you want to have a stretch like we're in." The Yankees aren't worried about taking momentum into the playoffs. By next week, everyone will start anew. "Ideally, teams would prefer to be playing well at the end of the season," said right-hander David Cone, who will start Saturday. "Then again, once the playoffs start, everyone's record is 0-0. Things have a way of changing in the playoffs." Orioles manager Mike Hargrove, who guided the Cleveland Indians to the playoffs for five straight seasons, figures the Yankees will do just fine in the postseason, even if they aren't coasting in. "I'm sure what they're going through is not fun," Hargrove said. "But they're the world champions. They're still a very good team. The players they put on the mound, the players they put in the field, they're All-Star quality people. "They're awfully good. They can limp all they want to right now, but I'll tell you, when the postseason starts, it's a whole different ball game."
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