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Welcome to my special page dedicated to the New York Yankees
The Baseball Season in 2002 has just started, and those Bronx Bombers are living up to their name as they lead the American League in homeruns. Follow their season with me on this special page as you will read stories, see stats, and know everything to know about the 2002 Yankees. FOR THE LATEST GAME RESULTS, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN. |
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2002 Team Roster
Jorge Posada,Alberto Castillo,Jason Giambi,Alfonso Soriano,Derek Jeter,Robin Ventura,Enrique Wilson,Ron Coomer,Rondell White,Bernie Williams,Shane Spencer,John Vander Wal,Gerald Williams,Nick Johnson, Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina,David Wells,Andy Pettitte,Orlando Hernandez,Ted Lilly,Mariano Rivera, Mike Stanton,Steve Karsay,Randy Choate,Adrian Hernandez,Ramiro Mendoza
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Moose leads Yanks over Rays
May 8, WED- Mike Mussina pitched 7 strong innings, and Alfonso Soriano delivered the clutch hit as the Yankees squeezed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5-2 at Tropicana Field. Soriano went 3 for 4 with 2 rbi's and Derek Jeter's 7th inning single to score Soriano broke up a 2-2 tie and led the way to victory. Mariano Rivera ignored rumors of his struggles and pitched a solid 9th for his 9th save. Mussina improved to 4-2 and the Yankees hope to continue their winning ways tonight against Tampa Bay at 7:15 pm on the YES Channel. |
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Yankees have all-star dreams
The Yankees, who sent seven players to the All-Star Game in Seattle last season, look to have a number of representatives again this season, as MLB.com launches the RadioShack 2002 All-Star Online Ballot. To vote, log onto www.mlb.com and vote for your favorite Yankees. |
What, us worry?
NEW YORK -- The Yankees know what it means to have their backs up against the wall. Just over six months ago, they were on a plane headed to Oakland, down two games to none in the best-of-five American League Division Series.
They came back to win three straight, en route to another AL championship.
So despite being seven games behind the Boston Red Sox in the loss column, there is hardly a sense of urgency in the Yankees' clubhouse. In fact, they think it's almost humorous that people would even be asking such questions in the first week of May. Even those Yankees that weren't around last year are amused by the idea of the clubhouse being some kind of panic room.
"It's silly right now. We're what, 35-40 games into the season? We have 120 left, and so many things can happen," said Steve Karsay. "These guys don't panic, they come to the park and are ready to play. When everyone starts to hit their stride, you try to put long winning streaks together."
The Yankees just completed a 12-game stretch against the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's -- the two teams they have faced in the last two years of the AL playoffs -- with a 6-6 record. After winning the first three series against their AL West opponents, the Yankees were swept by the Mariners at Yankee Stadium this weekend, dropping their record to 18-14.
Over the last nine games, the Yankees went 4-5 while the Red Sox went 8-1 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Baltimore Orioles. That's four games in the loss column right there. Boston has yet to play the A's or Mariners, but they will see each team six times in the next two weeks. The schedule works in funny ways.
But while Yankees fans may be checking the scores online each night, looking to see if the Red Sox won or lost and where New York stands in the division, the players themselves don't seem to be concerned with anything other than the performance of their own team.
"We can't worry about Boston," said Derek Jeter. "Who cares what Boston does if we don't win?"
"I always pay attention to standings, but we just need to win games," said manager Joe Torre. "Sure, you pull for Boston to lose, but you can't control that. It really doesn't affect us at this point in time. We just have to play a little more consistent than we've been playing."
Through the first 32 games, consistency has not been the trademark of this edition of the Yankees. They'll score seven runs one day and get shut out the next. Jump out to a five-run lead in the first two innings, only to see their opponents respond with nine unanswered runs. Even their ultimate sign of consistency, closer Mariano Rivera, has blown two save opportunities and lost another game after entering a tie ballgame.
"We need to get better," Torre said. "We can't give away as much as we give away. We need to pitch better, we need to hit in situations better, and we need to play better defense. Aside from that, we're fine."
While there may be a hint of sarcasm in Torre's voice, he speaks nothing but the truth. Entering the season, it seemed like the 162-game schedule would be a mere formality leading up to October, when the mighty Yankees would claw their way back to the pinnacle of the baseball world. Now, after encountering a few bumps in the road over the first five weeks, Torre admits that this is going to be a fight to the finish just to win the AL East.
"We need to play well enough to worry about playing in the postseason," Torre said. "We need to win enough games so that we're one of the elite teams. That's more of our concern, winning a division. Boston is playing very well right now."
At 20-7, Boston has built up a 4 1/2-game lead in the division -- a lead the size of which the Yankees have not seen since 1997, when the Orioles won the division. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees have not been as many as six games out in the loss column since Sept. 15, 1997. On that date, they trailed the Orioles by six games in the division, and they haven't seen a margin that large since. They have generally been in first place, but Torre said that being atop the division at this point in the season doesn't make things any easier. "We've been 10 up in the loss side in July and it hasn't been that comfortable," Torre said. "It doesn't bother me. If we play as well as we're capable of playing, I have a lot of confidence in what we can do." Last season, the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by four games for three days over the course of the season: April 26 and 27, and June 21. New York won the division by 13 1/2 games, helped largely by their mastery of the Red Sox -- the Yankees won 13 of 18 matchups, including 10 of the last 11 played. New York won all six matchups in September against their rivals, wrapping up the division by the first week of September. "We've only played Boston four times, and we have 15 left," Karsay said. "If you can play well, go 11-4, there's your seven games." "The best is yet to come. We're playing good baseball, but I don't think we've played our best. That's encouraging," said Jason Giambi. "The advantage of the unbalanced schedule is that we play head-to-head more against teams in our own division, so we can make a move that way."
Torre has criticized the unbalanced schedule many times, noting that you play certain teams in clusters, and never see them again over the season. But he admits that when it comes to determining a division champion, playing each division rivals 19 times gives each team its chance to create its own destiny. "It's going to make the team that wins the best in the division," Torre said. "You have the opportunity to do it yourself instead of looking to get help all of the time. It's a better situation when you have to make up ground. We just have to tighten it up." So are the players even watching the scoreboard each day during their games? Are they even slightly curious as to whether their rivals from Boston are putting more pressure on them? "I don't think about them right now, I just worry about how we're playing," said Robin Ventura. "You worry about your own games. That stuff comes later, like in September. Unless you're 30 games out, anybody can make a run at anybody. That's just the way it is."
"It's still early in the season, we're not even at the halfway point," said David Wells. "There are a lot of games left, we play the Red Sox a lot, so we can make up a lot of games. To scoreboard-watch this early -- no one is even thinking about it."
Despite the three-game sweep, Torre is confident that his team will respond the way they always do when their backs are against the wall.
"We have high expectations of ourselves," Torre said. "Good teams can't afford the luxury of winning a series or two and thinking that's good enough. You have to constantly drive and grind, and I'm not saying that we're not doing that, we just need better results."
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Pettitte encouraged by doctor visit
One day after being examined by orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., Yankees starter Andy Pettitte said his elbow was feeling better and he was encouraged by the doctor's visit.
Encouraged enough that Pettitte thinks he can return to the Yankees' starting rotation in three weeks, though his manager isn't quite as optimistic. "When you go down there, the first thing you're thinking is that it could be something serious," Pettitte said. "The main thing was that everything was fine structurally, and it all checked out to be solid. I just need to rest it for about 10 days or so." During that time, the southpaw will continue to play catch to keep his shoulder in shape. Sometime around May 10, he will try throwing a session in the bullpen and proceed from there.
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American League East Standings
EAST(A.L.) W L PCT
Red Sox ... 22 7 .759
Yankees .. 19 14 .576
Orioles .... 17 16 .515
Blue Jays .. 1 20 .333
Devil Rays.. 9 22 .290 |
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Bernie one of the beautiful people
Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Britney Spears....Bernie Williams?
The Yankees' center fielder was named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People" for 2002 in the latest edition of the magazine, which hits newsstands this week. Williams is one of three athletes to make this year's list, joining Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and U.S. Olympic speedskater Apolo Ohno. "I don't know what to think about it. It's kind of odd," Williams said. "I usually get accolades for what I do, which is play baseball. Beautiful? I don't know what to say." Williams, who has gotten off to a slow start this season, did not believe it when he was told he had made the list. He did the photo shoot for the issue a couple of weeks ago at Yankee Stadium. Williams is not the first Yankee to make People's list, as Derek Jeter has been tabbed twice by the magazine in its annual special issue, most recently in 1999. Williams expects to take some ribbing from his teammates -- particularly Jeter. When the shortstop made the list, Williams gave Jeter a hard time about it when the issue was released. "I won't hear the end of this for a good two or three months," Williams said. "I used to call Jeter 'beautiful' when he made the list a couple of years ago. I'd say, 'How you doing, beautiful?' every time he walked by. Now, he'll probably get t-shirts made or something." Before the Yankees stepped out for batting practice on Thursday, Jeter vowed not to seek revenge against Williams, choosing instead to be the bigger man. "The first time I made the list, the guys all gave me a hard time," Jeter said. "I'll leave Bernie alone and let him enjoy it. I just want to see the picture." But when the two were standing by the batting cage during BP, Jeter simply couldn't resist taking a shot at Williams. "You're not number 51 anymore," said Jeter to the delight of his teammates. "You're number 50 now!"
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BACK IN TIME: Jan 3, 1920
The Yankees purchase the contract of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for ,000 and a ,000 loan against the mortgage on Fenway Park. Pictured here is Babe Ruth at the opening of the American League season at the Polo Grounds, Apr 14, 1921. |
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Yankee Stadium
Only a year after they changed Baseball forever with the purchase of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees made another buy that would forever change the way the game was watched.
On February 6, 1921, the Yankees issued a press release to announce the purchase of 10 acres of property in the west Bronx. The land, purchased from the estate of William Waldorf Astor for ,000, sat directly across the Harlem River from the Yankees' current Manhattan home, the Polo Grounds, which they shared unhappily with the landlord Giants of the National League since 1913. The relationship between the Giants and their tenant crumbled after the 1920 season when Yankee attendance boosted by their new slugging sensation doubled to 1,289,422. That was over 100,000 more than the Giants, who, in 1921, notified the Yankees to vacate the Polo Grounds as soon as possible. With their departure from the Polo Grounds now inevitable, Yankee co-owners Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast l'Hommedieu Huston set out to build a spectacular ballpark of their own, Baseball's first triple-decked structure. With an advertised capacity of 70,000, it would also be the first to be labeled a "stadium."...A 5 PART SERIES..STAY TUNED! |
YANKEES FRONT OFFICE
Ownership
George M. Steinbrenner III Principal Owner
Harold Z. Steinbrenner General Partner
Henry G. Steinbrenner General Partner
Stephen W. Swindal General Partner
Baseball Operations
Brian Cashman Sr. Vice President, General Manager
Mark Newman Sr. Vice President,Baseball Operations
Gene Michael Vice President, Major League Scouting
Gordon Blakey VicePresident,Intl. & Professional
Lin Garrett Vice President, Scouting
Jean Afterman Assistant General Manager
Administration
Randy Levine President
Lonn A. Trost Chief Operating Officer
Martin Greenspun Vice President, C.F.O.
Frank Swaine Vice President, Ticket Operations
Richard Smith Vice President
Deborah A. Tymon Vice President, Marketing
Sonny Hight Vice President, Administration
Yogi Berra Special Advisor
Reggie Jackson Special Advisor
Clyde King Special Advisor
Don Mattingly Special Advisor
Al Rosen Special Advisor
Dick Williams Special Advisor
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Coaches
Manager & Coaches
6 Joe Torre Manager
53 Don Zimmer Bench Coach
54 Lee Mazzilli First Base/Outfield Coach
30 Willie Randolph Third Base Coach
34 Mel Stottlemyre Pitching Coach
-- Rick Down Batting Coach
-- Rich Monteleone Bullpen Coach
Staff
Dr. Stuart Hershon Team Physician, New York
Dr. Andrew Boyer Team Physician, Tampa
Gene Monahan Head Trainer
Steve Donohue Assistant Trainer
David Szen Traveling Secretary
Rob Cucuzza Equipment Manager
Lou Cucuzza, Jr. Visiting Clubhouse Manager
Jeff Mangold Strength & Conditioning Coach
Christie Denovellis Director of Aerobics
Brian McNamee Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach
Rohan Balchu Massage Therapist
Robert Sugrim Massage Therapist
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Join the Yankees in 2002
Catch all the fun with the Yankees new YES channel. The YES channel not only shows all the season's games, but also past games, Yankeeographies, stories, interviews, and much,much more. Also, if you're on the road or just can't get to the T.V., then listen to the Yankees on 880WCBS on the a.m. dial. |
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Join the Yankees Fan Club for Kids
Kids who sign up can grab this cool stuff:
Champions Package: Only
Welcome Letter From the Yankees
Official Membership Card and Certificate
Official Fan Club folder
Birthday Card from the Yankees
4 issues of Yankees Magazine
2002 Team Photo
Yankees' stickers
Nestle Sweet Tarts candy
adidas hat and lanyard
Modell's Sporting Goods
Hebrew National premium item
Special ticket discounts for Fan Club members*:
· 4 half-price tickets to 1 Yankees home game
· .00 discount off all game ticket prices
Sign up now >>
If you wish to order by credit card, please call 1-800-GO-YANKS
Any questions? Call Fan Club Hotline at (201) 784-9600 (M-F, 9-4)
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TRIBUTE TO DON MATTINGLY-MY FAVORITE PLAYER
DONALD ARTHUR MATTINGLY
BORN4/20/61 in Evansville, Indiana.
HEIGHT: 6'0"
WEIGHT: 200 pounds.
BATS: Left - Throws: Left
RESIDESin Evansville with wife Kim
and three sons:
Taylor Patrick (3/17/85)
Preston Michael (8/28/87)
Jordan William (7/23/91).
DRAFTED in June 1979 by Yankees
MAJOR LEAGUE SERVICE:
11 years, 122 days.
AWARDS:
Gold Glove - '85-'89, '91-'94
American League MVP - 1985
Batting Champion - 1984
Hits Leader - 1984, 1986
RBI Leader - 1985
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