Glove Song
GLOVE SONG (story link)
By GEORGE KING
April 7, 2006 -- ANAHEIM - Derek Jeter doesn't want to hear about the bulging biceps that pop out of Yankees pinstripes.
The captain wants all the chatter about scoring 1,000 runs to stop.
Instead, Jeter would like to remind everyone that posting slow-pitch softball numbers isn't the recipe for success.
"Everyone talks about offense, but it doesn't win games," Jeter said late Wednesday night after the Yankees flushed a 4-0 lead thanks to leaky glove work by him and Robinson Cano helped the A's to a 9-4 victory. "Pitching and defense [wins]."
With the Yankees 1-2, George Steinbrenner has experienced an up-and-down beginning to the season. The Boss was overjoyed about the vote for a new Yankee Stadium going his way but unhappy over the way his club lost Wednesday. Steinbrenner refused to comment on the sloppiness through his spokesman, Howard Rubenstein.
In three games, Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang have pitched well enough to win. Yet only Johnson has a victory, and he was fortunate to work when the Yankees scored 15 runs Opening Day.
Jeter sabotaged Wang with a crucial error Wednesday night when the shortstop booted what should have been an inning-ending double play. Jeter misplayed Frank Thomas' grounder and opened the gates for the A's to score three runs in the fourth and cut the Yankees' lead to 4-3.
Playing on the infield grass with Milton Bradley at third, no outs in the eighth, and the score tied 4-4, Cano allowed Jay Payton's grounder to glance off his glove because he was peeking at Bradley, who scored and put the A's up a run. They added four more runs, the final three coming on Thomas' booming three-run double off Kyle Farnsworth.
Defense gets lost when the Yankees are discussed. Everybody is impressed with the bats, and rotation questions dominate the pitching department. Nobody dwells on the defense that was the difference between leaving Oakland 2-1 instead of 1-2 and on the two-game losing streak they bring into Angels Stadium tonight.
In three games, the Yankees have committed three errors, and Cano had an error reversed that led to a run Tuesday night in a 4-3 loss.
Because Johnson is their only true strikeout pitcher, it's imperative the Yankees catch the ball, especially with Wang on the mound. His best pitch is a sinking fastball that produces ground balls like the ones Thomas hit to Jeter and Payton hit to Cano.
So how are the Yankees defensively?
On the left side of the infield Jeter has won two straight Gold Gloves and Alex Rodriguez could add his first as a third baseman. If the Yankees have to worry about Jeter catching and throwing the ball, they are in huge trouble.
On the right side, second baseman Cano worked extensively with coach Larry Bowa on his fielding, is better going to his left, and has a strong arm. He has to concentrate on every pitch, something he didn't do as a rookie last season. Joe Torre has made defensive substitutions for Jason Giambi at first base the past two years but doesn't have Tino Martinez or Tony Clark on the bench this season. Giambi did, however, look good turning a 3-6-3 double play Wednesday.
The outfield of Hideki Matsui in left, Johnny Damon in center and Gary Sheffield in right is a tick above average, with Damon a better ball-tracker than Bernie Williams but not an improvement throwing.
As for booting heavy-legged Thomas' double play ball that turned Wednesday night's game around, Jeter said it was on him.
"I took my eye off it too soon," said Jeter, who committed 15 errors in 159 games last year. "I have to make that play. You have to play defense."
Especially with the pitchers the Yankees have in the rotation.
george.king@nypost.com
By GEORGE KING
April 7, 2006 -- ANAHEIM - Derek Jeter doesn't want to hear about the bulging biceps that pop out of Yankees pinstripes.
The captain wants all the chatter about scoring 1,000 runs to stop.
Instead, Jeter would like to remind everyone that posting slow-pitch softball numbers isn't the recipe for success.
"Everyone talks about offense, but it doesn't win games," Jeter said late Wednesday night after the Yankees flushed a 4-0 lead thanks to leaky glove work by him and Robinson Cano helped the A's to a 9-4 victory. "Pitching and defense [wins]."
With the Yankees 1-2, George Steinbrenner has experienced an up-and-down beginning to the season. The Boss was overjoyed about the vote for a new Yankee Stadium going his way but unhappy over the way his club lost Wednesday. Steinbrenner refused to comment on the sloppiness through his spokesman, Howard Rubenstein.
In three games, Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang have pitched well enough to win. Yet only Johnson has a victory, and he was fortunate to work when the Yankees scored 15 runs Opening Day.
Jeter sabotaged Wang with a crucial error Wednesday night when the shortstop booted what should have been an inning-ending double play. Jeter misplayed Frank Thomas' grounder and opened the gates for the A's to score three runs in the fourth and cut the Yankees' lead to 4-3.
Playing on the infield grass with Milton Bradley at third, no outs in the eighth, and the score tied 4-4, Cano allowed Jay Payton's grounder to glance off his glove because he was peeking at Bradley, who scored and put the A's up a run. They added four more runs, the final three coming on Thomas' booming three-run double off Kyle Farnsworth.
Defense gets lost when the Yankees are discussed. Everybody is impressed with the bats, and rotation questions dominate the pitching department. Nobody dwells on the defense that was the difference between leaving Oakland 2-1 instead of 1-2 and on the two-game losing streak they bring into Angels Stadium tonight.
In three games, the Yankees have committed three errors, and Cano had an error reversed that led to a run Tuesday night in a 4-3 loss.
Because Johnson is their only true strikeout pitcher, it's imperative the Yankees catch the ball, especially with Wang on the mound. His best pitch is a sinking fastball that produces ground balls like the ones Thomas hit to Jeter and Payton hit to Cano.
So how are the Yankees defensively?
On the left side of the infield Jeter has won two straight Gold Gloves and Alex Rodriguez could add his first as a third baseman. If the Yankees have to worry about Jeter catching and throwing the ball, they are in huge trouble.
On the right side, second baseman Cano worked extensively with coach Larry Bowa on his fielding, is better going to his left, and has a strong arm. He has to concentrate on every pitch, something he didn't do as a rookie last season. Joe Torre has made defensive substitutions for Jason Giambi at first base the past two years but doesn't have Tino Martinez or Tony Clark on the bench this season. Giambi did, however, look good turning a 3-6-3 double play Wednesday.
The outfield of Hideki Matsui in left, Johnny Damon in center and Gary Sheffield in right is a tick above average, with Damon a better ball-tracker than Bernie Williams but not an improvement throwing.
As for booting heavy-legged Thomas' double play ball that turned Wednesday night's game around, Jeter said it was on him.
"I took my eye off it too soon," said Jeter, who committed 15 errors in 159 games last year. "I have to make that play. You have to play defense."
Especially with the pitchers the Yankees have in the rotation.
george.king@nypost.com
posted by Walking Contradiction at 4:51 AM
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