MINNEAPOLIS -- George Steinbrenner feels his Yankees are
letting down New York and hinted changes could be coming unless the
team starts winning.
The Yankees owner confirmed his discussion with manager Joe
Torre and general manager Brian Cashman and said Saturday it was up
to the two of them to solve the problem, ominously adding a "right
now" to the end of his remarks.
Steinbrenner held the conference call with Torre, Cashman and
team president Randy Levine on Friday, after his team was swept by
the Kansas City Royals, the club with the worst record in the major
leagues. The undermanned Minnesota Twins then handed the Yankees
their sixth straight loss, their longest losing streak since
dropping seven in a row in September and October 2000. That year,
they recovered to win the World Series.
"Steinbrenner, through me, confirmed the discussion that he had
with Joe Torre and Brian Cashman and Randy Levine yesterday,"
Steinbrenner spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Saturday. "George
offered to do anything they needed to get back on winning ways.
Torre said, `You've given us everything we need. We don't need
anything more. It's up to the two of us to win.'
"George was very concerned. He didn't show anger, but his
fighting spirit is there, and he wants to win for New York fans. He
feels we're letting them down, but it's really in Torre's and
Cashman's hands right now."
If these Yankees don't get things turned around -- and fast --
drastic changes could be ahead.
"It's a long season and George isn't a very patient man and we
understand that," Torre said after the loss Friday. "In dealing
with George, when you lose and you're supposed to be winning, it's
not a happy time. But when you win, he's constantly driving you to
improve, so the tone doesn't change much."
After losing 6-3 to Minnesota on Friday night, New York is 27-27
-- thanks in part to an embarrassing three-game sweep this week by
the Royals, just the third time in the Yankees' storied history
that they've been swept three games by a team with the worst record
in the majors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
That prompted Steinbrenner to request the conference call, which
Torre and Cashman characterized as a "state-of-the-team"
discussion. Both said no decisions were made during the call.
"It was just a conference call to talk about the team,"
Cashman said. "That's all it was."
But Torre made no secret that Steinbrenner is unhappy. The
Yankees are, after all, losing to far less talented teams, at least
on paper.
The Royals are a ragtag group of journeymen and youngsters, most
of whom belong in the minor leagues.
And the Twins were playing without their two best hitters -- Joe
Mauer and Justin Morneau. That didn't stop them from piling up 11
hits, including two homers off starter Mike Mussina.
"You have to beat the teams you are supposed to beat," Cashman
said. "It's tougher to accept than what took place during the
Boston series."
The Yankees' losing streak started last Saturday in Game 2 of a
three-game series against the defending World Series champions. The
17-1 drubbing ended a string of 16 wins in 18 games.
"It's been tough," catcher Jorge Posada said. "We got in a
cold stretch, and then we got hot, and we're back at it again. We
can't let down. We can't really look down. We just have to keep
looking forward and just fight."
The Yankees have shown very little fight in the last week.
Torre attributed the malaise to a crumbling confidence,
something that puzzles him in a clubhouse filled with high-priced,
cocksure veterans.
"There's no question it's surprising," Torre said. "The thing
that we can't get away from is that this game is played by human
beings. As much as we like to live with the statistics and what
people should be doing, it's still a matter of having to breathe
and eat and sleep and all that stuff.
"If we're expected to contend, we're going to have to control
that a little better, no question."
Torre has put much of the blame on the Yankees' rotation, which
has not been anywhere near the dominant levels it reached during
their World Series runs.
"It's tough to put your finger on any one thing," Torre said.
"I always point toward starting pitching because that really seems
to key everything else we do."
That was the case on Friday night. Mussina started strong,
retiring eight of his first 10 batters as the Yankees jumped out to
a 3-0 lead. But he gave up two runs in the fourth and three in the
fifth, and New York managed just two hits in the final six innings
of yet another loss.
"We got a lead and he pitched very effectively early," Torre
said. "And then it just fell apart for us, basically."
Everything is falling apart for the Yankees right now. Just how
much longer Steinbrenner will give Cashman, Torre and the rest of
the team to right the ship is anyone's guess.
"He's put up a lot of money to put this kind of a ballclub in
our dugout," Torre said. "This isn't the results that should be
accompanying that."