Yankees Correspondent Report: YANKEES - 5/16/02

YANKEES - 5/16/02

May 20, 2002

LATEST TEAM INFO:
The Yankees are four games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. Last night�s loss to the Devil Rays snapped a seven game win streak for the Bombers. Before last night�s bombing, El Duque was leading the AL with a 2.13 ERA. His ERA is still a respectable 3.44. Reports indicate that Hernandez tweaked his back while warming up last night and it was tight when he left the game, it doesn�t appear to be anything serious though. El Duque didn�t have his typical stuff and he left his pitches up in the strike zone. Look for him to rebound in his next start. The pitching staff has been doing well. Mussina, Clemens, Lilly, and El Duque all have sub 4.00 ERAs (as does the injured Pettitte). Even Boomer�s numbers would help most fantasy teams (he already has 5 wins) even with the 4.53 ERA.

INJURIES:
Pettitte threw off a mound on May 14. Pettitte felt great after the outing, but will likely have another bullpen session on May 16. After that he�ll have several rehab starts in the minors so figure on a return in the first week of June. Hitchcock pitched last night in relief of El Duque and didn�t do too badly. Look for Lilly to hold onto his rotation spot.

RUMOR MILL:
All the rumors are about the Yankees acquiring an OF such as Cliff Floyd, Shannon Stewart, or Jose Cruz Jr. to replace the RF Spencer/ Vander Wal platoon. I think these are all rumors since the platoon isn�t doing that badly; here are their combined numbers .280 AVG/ .356 OBP/ 23 runs/ 4 HR/ 15 RBI/ 19 BB/ 37 K. While the HR and RBI production is low, there is no cause for panic, especially since these guys are hitting 8th in the lineup. Don�t look for a deal to happen anytime soon, especially since it would involve Nick Johnson.

ON THE FARM:
Juan Rivera and Marucs Thames are the names to remember. Both impressed Torre in spring training. Both are mentioned in many of the rumors involving the Yankees acquisition of another OF. Rivera will get the first call to the majors should there be an injury; Rivera is batting .301 AVG/ .339 OBP/ 17 runs/ 4 HR/ 19 RBI/ 6 BB/ 16 K. Thames is struggling with a .218 AVG/ .295 OBP/ 15 runs/ 4 HR/ 14 RBI/ 11 BB/ 16 K.

LINE-UP CHANGES:
1. Soriano
2. Jeter
3. Williams
4. Giambi
5. Posada
6. Ventura
7. White
8. Vander Wal/ Spencer
9. Johnson

QUICK VIEW:

Add:
Ted Lilly (new) - only if you need a starter for the next week or two. Lilly hasn�t missed a beat with Pettite out. But with Pettitte�s return in a couple weeks and Hitchcock�s return to the Yankees, Lilly will have a small margin for error, but he�ll make a nice stop gap if you need another short-term starter.

Hold:
All Yankee starters and batters in the 1-6 slots.