No Boss means no hot seats for Yanks

No Boss means no hot seats for Yanks

Brian Blanco/AP

Joe Girardi is not on the hot seat after an 0-3 start, but if the late George Steinbrenner were around, who knows?

ST. PETERSBURG The last time a Yankees team opened a season with three straight losses, they went on to win more games than any team had ever won in the American League before capturing the first of three straight World Series.

The Ya nkees may very well turn things around starting Monday, but this isnt 1998 and it has nothing to do with the players taking the field.

David Cone calls it the Boss factor, and its no longer a part of the Yankees universe.

Theres less sense of urgency, Cone said. Less of that desperate feeling that things could change in a hurry around here.

Cone was the losing pitcher in the third game of that 1998 campaign, getting rocked for seven runs over 5-1/3 innings in Oakland. He remembers feeling a sense of dread in the clubhouse after the loss, but it wasnt until two days later when the Yankees fell to 1-4 that the feeling of panic started to settle in.

We were angry, Cone said. We had a big team meeting and everyone had a chance to speak. We were upset, because we knew that guys jobs were on the line. There was talk about (Joe) Torre getting fired, so we had a real sense of urgency at 0-3 and 1-4. It was like, Something better ha ppen here or things are going to change.'

You can argue that Joe Girardi the catcher on that 98 team was out-managed by Joe Maddon over the weekend, as the Rays manager shifted his players around the field like chess pieces, seemingly making the right move each time.

Girardis intentional walk to Sean Rodriguez in the first inning Friday came back to bite the Yankees, though they were still in position to win the opener until Mariano Rivera had one of his rare blown saves.

Everything they did worked out perfectly, Alex Rodriguez said. Everything we did worked out imperfectly.

Despite the season-opening sweep at the hands of a Rays team many believe is the best in the American League East, there is little chatter about Girardis job being on the line aside from some fanatics on Twitter.

Who knows if things would be different if The Boss were still around, but Hal Steinbrenner has proven to be a cool, calculated ow ner who doesnt overreact to small sample sizes. Thats good news for Girardi, but the absence of the pressure once created by George Steinbrenner could be what separates this team from the 98 club, considered one of the best in baseball history.

Not too many things are going to change with this team, Cone said. There may be a bullpen change or some pitching changes down the road, but those were coming either way.

Cone is right. CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda pitched poorly in their debuts, but it will take a whole lot more for either pitcher to be in danger of losing his job. The lineup may have gone 5-for-25 (.200) with runners in scoring position and scored only six runs over the last 24 innings four of them while the Rays tried to protect a six-run lead in the ninth inning Saturday but what changes would they make?

None.

That doesnt mean the Yankees dont know the importance of this weeks trip to Baltimore for a three-game set with Buck Showalters upstart Orioles, who sit tied with the Rays atop the AL East at 3-0.

I dont think theres a sense that heads are on the chopping block, but they are probably feeling that they need to get some wins here in Baltimore, Cone said. Theres a pride factor in that clubhouse. The Rays are their direct competition in the division and they just got it handed to them here.
he 1998 Yankees were motivated in part by a fear of change. Thats no longer the case, so theyll have to rely on the pride factor Cone spoke of to carry them through their first challenge of 2012.

You dont look at whose job is on the line, Rivera said. Its a long season. We know what were capable of, so we dont worry about those things. Weve lost three games before. Its magnified because we just opened the season, but its still three games.