Always, there is turmoil surrounding the Yankees, a constant sky-is-falling mentality caused by the high expectations of … well, being the Yankees.
So it is that manager Joe Torre is rumored to be on his way out, that announcer and former right-hand man Joe Girardi may be in, that Roger Clemens is hired at $4.5 million per month and that the season is supposedly all but over because of the hated Red Sox.
What else could it mean that they lost the first game of a doubleheader 5-3 Wednesday afternoon to the White Sox, the only team in baseball at the start of the day with an on-base percentage below .300, the team with the second-fewest runs scored and one that scored three times in one inning after averaging 3.5 runs per game in the previous 15 home games?
And winning 8-1 in the second game hardly soothed the wounds of four losses in six games.
“We just have to find our groove right now, and we’re not there,” Torre said. “We know we have one of those eight-out-of-nine streaks in us. We know we’re much better than this.”
If they aren’t, then Girardi, the fired Florida manager and Cubs finalist, is waiting very close at hand. Very close, as in nearly the same clubhouse as an analyst on one-third of Yankees broadcasts.
“It’s uncomfortable at times here,” Girardi said, “because of the respect I have for Joe and the job I know Joe does.
“When you’ve managed before and you’ve been in that position, it’s going to happen. It comes with the territory, and I kind of laugh it off.”
But, Girardi insists, “I enjoy what I’m doing, [but] I do want to manage again.”
He obviously would not turn down the Yankees job, despite the tumult that goes with it.
But the Cubs job remains the one he really desires.
“Anyone who has managed understands it’s a wonderful opportunity,” Girardi said. “It’s a wonderful place, a wonderful city, wonderful fans. There are a lot of people who would like to manage the Cubs.”
He thought he had a chance last off-season, but it had become obvious Lou Piniella was the first choice.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Girardi said. “You just move on. I’ve experienced a lot of firsts in the last year. I had never been fired from a job before. I have never basically not [been able] to get a job because I’ve only been interviewed for one [before]. It’s part of life, and you live and learn.”
Life for the Yankees is disjointed these days, and a sense of urgency is settling in.
“We definitely need to get some wins and get as many of them as we can,” center fielder Johnny Damon said.
“When we’re hitting well, we’re not pitching well, and when we’re pitching well, we’re not hitting well,” Game 1 loser Mike Mussina said. “If you keep doing that all year, you’re going to end up a .500 club at best.”
The Yankees haven’t finished below .500 since 1992, when, of course, they also were in turmoil.
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dvandyck@tribune.com
