Bob Klapisch: Pettitte's early exit dooms Yanks

Andy Pettitte

Saturday, April 28, 2007

BERGEN COUNTY RECORD

There are a million reasons for the Yankees to be panicking today, but their greatest trauma is the lack of movement on Mariano Rivera's cut-fastball. The fact that he was unable to survive a mop-up assignment in an 11-4 loss to the Red Sox on Friday means the Yankees are now, officially, in crisis.

This isn't about a losing streak (seven) or the dismal standings (last place, 6½ games out). It's about the Red Sox squaring up on Rivera for the second time in a week, which occurred on a night when Andy Pettitte was knocked out in the fifth inning.

That makes it 19 of 21 games the Yankees have needed four or more pitchers. The rate of burnout is almost beyond comprehension. When Joe Torre says, "we need to pitch better" it's more than a declaration for reporters. It's an open plea to his starting rotation.

Mostly, though, the Yankees are groping for answers about Rivera. He allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base, charged with four runs in just one-third of an inning, raising his ERA to 12.15. In what already had been an unthinkable night for the Bombers, Rivera's collapse was almost too much for Torre to comprehend.

The manager wants to believe Rivera was simply too strong after four days' rest. That may or may not be true, but something's robbed the life from Rivera's cutter. There he was, staring at the ground as Torre took the ball out of the closer's hand. Rivera was too dazed to be angry. The Yankees were just as woozy. The ramifications were as subtle as a fist to the face: if Rivera is no longer a late-inning guarantee, who's to say the Yankee dynasty isn't in irreversible decline?

It's a crazy question, but there's legitimate reason for doubt. Rivera had rest, maybe too much. But his mechanics, historically perfect, were visibly out of sync. The front shoulder flew open, the right arm dragged behind and the magical, last-second darting action on his cutter was gone.

The final blow was the walk to Dustin Pedroia, the Sox' No. 9 hitter who was batting .189. When it was obvious that Rivera couldn't prevail over Boston's worst hitter, Torre mercifully decided on a change.

Rivera's suddenly wobbly status is one more hole in a landscape full of question marks: there's no production at first base, no help on the bench, a bullpen close to ruin. One major league executive nailed the scouting report when he said, "I wouldn't call this one of the better Yankee teams of the last few years."

In any other year, Torre might've already been replaced in a typical George Steinbrenner coup. At the very least, The Boss would've humiliated his manager by firing a hitting instructor or pitching coach. But people who are close to Steinbrenner say he's not healthy or alert enough to take down Torre. One team source says, "[Steinbrenner's] ratio of good days to bad days is getting worse all the time."

If Steinbrenner's medical condition is indeed deteriorating, it's hard to imagine Torre being replaced before the end of the 2007 season. That responsibility would be left to general manager Brian Cashman, who, until now, has been the manager's closest ally in the organization.

Indeed, many of the Yankees' early problems can be attributed to Cashman's personnel decisions, not necessarily Torre's strategy choices. It was the GM, for example, who signed Kei Igawa, awarding him $20 million before anyone knew the left-hander wasn't good enough to stay in the rotation.

Cashman is the one who believed in Carl Pavano, refusing to trade him when he had a chance in spring training. The right-hander is again on the disabled list, having practically awarded himself a leave of absence because of a mysterious "grabbing" sensation in his right forearm.

Just how removed is Pavano from the Yankees' day-to-day operation? Torre said Friday "there's no timetable" for his return, which is to say, he's become an invisible man.

Even in their darkest moments, though, the Yankees have counted on a few axioms. A ninth-inning save is always safe in Rivera's hands. Derek Jeter would always hit in the clutch. Chien-Ming Wang would always get ground balls. And Pettitte could deliver the Yankees from the clutches of any losing streak.

That was the goal when Pettitte took the mound Friday night. His big-game resume, his calm demeanor and his familiarity with Bronx pressure were exactly the ingredients the Yankees thought would stop the Red Sox cold.

But it didn't happen quite like that. In fact, Pettitte was betrayed by a lack of control, leading to the unthinkable – he was knocked out in the fifth inning, forcing the overworked Yankee bullpen into action one more time.

For the first time all year, the Yankees had lost their invincibility, completely and unconditionally. Not even Pettitte could save them now. He became one of a long list of starters who couldn't get even 18 outs; the average of 4.9 innings per appearance from Yankee starters was already the worst in the majors.

So there was Pettitte, getting roughed up in a three-run fifth, squandering what'd been a 4-2 lead, taking the long, lonely walk back to the dugout. The Stadium crowd gave the lefthander a nice hand, but there was no mistaking the sense of shock in the ballpark.

If Pettitte was unable to reverse the Yankees' downward spiral, then who could? The question alone was enough to create panic. No one wants to utter that word – panic -- but whatever the Yankees call it, it's been a horrible month in the Bronx.