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June 21, 2003



by Larry Mahnken

Interleague play is a gimmick, and as such, its luster was bound to wear off quickly.

And so it has. Does anybody feel any different about these games against the Mets than they do about, say, the Indians or Rangers? Part of that is the result of the 2000 Subway Series, which settled the issue of bragging rights in NYC until they meet again in another October, and I think the end of the Clemens/Piazza saga put the final nail in the coffin. But in the end, overkill destroyed the appeal of interleague play. The Yankees have played the Mets six times a year since 1997. It's just another game on the schedule now. MLB finally got the sense last season to start rotating the divisions that meet in interleague play, but they kept the "regional rivalries" alive, so the Yankees and Mets still play two series. Because of that, the matchup against the Cubs felt much more exciting than this weekend's Mets series, although much of that is likely due to the fact that the Mets aren't a very good team.

You wouldn't think that such a poor team could be assembled for so much money, but there you go. Last night, it looked for an inning like they might beat the Yankees anyway, Andy Pettitte struggled with his control and a flat breaking ball, loaded the bases, and then got out of it. Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter got much-needed HRs, and Soriano was robbed by Shinjo of a second one, but neither is likely out of their funk. Soriano went 1 for 5 again, and Jeter's other two hits were in the infield. A Giambi homer off Benitez capped it, and the Yankees ended up with a relatively easy win--their seventh in eight games since the no-no.

Good news and bad news on the injury front. Bad news: Antonio Osuna went back on the DL with a groin injury, and the Yankees recalled Mike Thurman. I have no idea why they recalled Thurman. They do seem to prefer going with veteran arms they know will be mediocre rather than youngsters who might be great and might be awful.

The good news is that Nick Johnson took a huge step towards returning yesterday. The cast was removed, a bone scan revealed that the break is healed, so he should be back in two weeks or so. Bernie Williams is also making good progress, and should be back around the break. Soon enough, the team will be healthy, on track, and all this crap about firing Torre will be forgotten. Unless they lose in the first round again, that is.