Baseball

Bench Pressed
The Yankees' reserves don't have the juice of those of recent vintage

For several years the bench along Yankee Stadium's first base line was well stocked. There was Tim Raines, sitting next to Darryl Strawberry, sitting next to Joe Girardi, sitting next to Homer Bush, sitting next to Chad Curtis, sitting next to Luis Sojo, sitting next to Charlie Hayes, sitting next to Mariano Duncan. Whenever manager Joe Torre needed a proven bat or a sound defensive replacement, he had ample resources to call on. From 1996, the year New York won the first of its three World Series of the '90s, through last season, the Yankees—even with their loaded lineup—ranked fifth in the American League with 65 pinch-hit RBIs. "They always had a threat coming off the bench," says Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, "a guy who could hurt you."

Now Torre has infielders Clay Bellinger and Wilson Delgado and catcher Chris Turner, who had played in 212 major league games among them entering the season, plus outfielder Felix Jose, a 35-year-old who suffered a strained groin in his first game in April and hadn't played in the big leagues since 1995—hardly the proven bench Torre has had. Even after Bellinger's pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning beat the Braves on Sunday, Yankees pinch batters ranked ninth in the American League with a .235 average and had only one home run and three RBIs. "We have a different kind of depth—more utility, more speed," says DH Shane Spencer, "but do we have the guys who have been through it all before? No."

In December the Yankees traded Curtis, whose .357 average was second to Strawberry's team-leading .375 among New York's pinch hitters in 1999, to the Rangers for two minor league pitchers. The Yankees allowed Sojo, an underappreciated middle infielder, to go to the Pirates as a free agent and Girardi, a team leader and gritty veteran backstop, to sign with the Cubs. Strawberry, who was to have been New York's DH against righthanders, was suspended for a year in February for violating the baseball commissioner's drug policy. Chili Davis, the switch-hitting DH, retired. As a result the Yankees left themselves without a late-inning power threat. ( Jim Leyritz, who has nine home runs since the start of last season, no longer can be considered such a threat.) New York, which finished the week at 30-22 and a game ahead of Boston, had, typically, found other ways to win, but for the long term, its bench remains a concern.

Early in the season, while third baseman Scott Brosius and shortstop Derek Jeter missed a combined 29 games with injuries, Torre rushed talented yet raw rookie infielder Alfonso Soriano into the breach. In 15 games he hit .167 with six errors and was returned to Triple A Columbus. Turner, who wasn't even supposed to make the Yankees coming out of spring training, had one of the bench's few highlights last Saturday against the Braves, replacing the injured Jorge Posada in the second inning and hitting a solo homer in Atlanta's 11-7 win. New York signed free agent Roberto Kelly to fill Curtis's role as fourth outfielder, but he has been sidelined with a sprained right elbow since April 19. Jose, a onetime A's phenom, was called up from Columbus to take Kelly's place, but after returning from the disabled list on May 30, he struck out looking as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning on Saturday and, at week's end, had two hits in eight at bats for the season.

As the Yankees search for answers, the 36-19 Braves—whose bench often has been disastrous in the postseason, including in a 4-0 New York sweep in last year's World Series—boast one of the National League's most potent reserve corps. "Since I've been here," says Jones, "we've spent so much money on starting pitching and position players, we've taken a hit on down-the-line players. That's changed."

Atlanta signed outfielder Bobby Bonilla after he was released by the Mets in January, thinking he might make the team as a deep reserve; through Sunday he was batting .298 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 113 at bats. Shortstop Walt Weiss, a backup with the emergence of rookie Rafael Furcal, was hitting .267. Wally Joyner fractured a bone in his right foot early in spring training, and Reggie Sanders struggled during the early going, yet they now provide the Braves with punch off the bench.

Atlanta tied for seventh in the league last season with 30 pinch-hit RBIs but was first this year with 19. The 2000 bench was also batting .042 higher than last year's. "No question, their depth makes them a much better team than last year," says Torre. "They have more power, more speed and more guys who can provide it."

Decrepit Devil Rays
Age-old Troubles

Although Devil Rays general managing partner and CEO Vince Naimoli has kept a tight lip, it's hard to imagine that he's happy with the work of Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar, who—cranking the team's payroll up to $64.4 million—has assembled not only one of the American League's oldest rosters but also (not coincidentally) its most disappointing.