Yankees Rough Up White Sox Bullpen

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: April 23, 2008

CHICAGO — The Yankees will not say when Joba Chamberlain will move to the starting rotation. Whenever it happens, though, the task of replacing him in the bullpen may be enormous.

Spending lavishly on setup relievers guarantees nothing, as the Chicago White Sox learned on Tuesday night. Called in to protect a one-run lead in the seventh inning, Octavio Dotel allowed a game-turning grand slam to Bobby Abreu in the Yankees’ 9-5 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.

Dotel signed in January for two years and $11 million. The Yankees might have been interested, but not at that price. Their setup man is Chamberlain, the electrifying rookie making the minimum salary. He got two crucial outs in the seventh, before a three-run homer by Johnny Damon in the eighth put the game out of reach.

“Joba as a starter, he has a chance to help us out once every five days,” Damon said. “Him coming in and bridging the gap to Mariano, he's got a chance to do that three or four times during those five games.”

Damon added: “Our objective is to win games. Down the road, if we can find someone else like him to throw that eighth inning, then so be it, he'll be able to start. But he's helping us win too many games so far this year.”

The Yankees’ scoring spree off the White Sox’ bullpen gave them their first victory when trailing after six innings. It improved Chien-Ming Wang’s record to 4-0 this season and 20-3 over his last 28 starts.

Wang was not at his sharpest — he allowed 3 runs and 10 hits in six innings — but he earned his 50th victory in just his 85th career start. No pitcher has done so faster since Dwight Gooden won 50 in 82 starts, more than 20 years ago.

“That’s good company,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “He's been very good since he got here. When you look at his numbers, they don't jump out at you because he doesn't have the strikeouts. But he's a winner. The great pitchers find a way to win games when they don't have their good stuff.”

Jason Giambi was removed after batting in the eighth inning because a ground ball in the seventh bruised his right thumb. Giambi entered the game with a sickly .109 average, three of his five hits coming off one pitcher, Boston’s Mike Timlin. But he handled José Contreras in the second.

Giambi got ahead in the count, 2-1, and drove his third home run over the fence in left-center field. He worked all spring on hitting to the opposite field, and at last, he saw results.

It gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead, but quickly, it was gone. The White Sox had stranded two runners in scoring position in the first inning, but they took advantage in the second. Juan Uribe — batting .153 — bashed a hanging slider to left for a double to score two runners and tie the game.

Wang’s pitch count was soaring, reaching 65 through three innings, but at least he was breaking bats — though not in the usual way. When he struck out Nick Swisher in the second inning, Swisher’s bat snapped at the thin handle as he swung, even though he missed the pitch. A. J. Pierzynski struck out to end the next inning and smashed his bat head on the dirt, shattering the barrel.

So while Wang’s stuff was still good enough to baffle some hitters, the White Sox punished him for his mistakes. He walked Jim Thome in the fifth to put Orlando Cabrera in scoring position, and Paul Konerko doubled home to go-ahead run.

Wang’s pitch count climbed past 100 with one out and two on in the sixth, but he struck out Swisher again and got Cabrera on a comebacker.

Trailing, 3-2, the Yankees could do little with Contreras, the pitcher they signed for $32 million before the 2003 season and traded here the next July. Contreras became the ace of Chicago’s 2005 championship team but tumbled to 17 losses last season.

He had lost his last four starts against the Yankees, but he seemed on his way to a victory this time, his pitches moving sharply, down and in on right-handers. He left with one out in the seventh after walking Morgan Ensberg on four pitches and giving up a single to Melky Cabrera.

The left-hander Boone Logan entered, and Damon chopped an infield single to load the bases. Dotel replaced Logan and struck out Derek Jeter with a fastball down the middle. A similar pitch did not work against Abreu.

Dotel fell behind Abreu, 2-0, then Abreu drove a fastball to left-center. It carried through the muggy air and just cleared the fence for a grand slam. Abreu pointed toward the Yankees’ dugout and gleefully circled the bases.

“You don't want to go down 3-0,” said Pierzynski, the catcher. “He threw one down and he whacked it.”

The Yankees led, 6-3, and by the end of the game, Abreu's career average at U.S. Cellular Field was .415. It was his first grand slam since 2005, and a powerful counterpoint to the Yankees' recent struggles with runners in scoring position.

“We're an offensive team,” Abreu said. “We're supposed to produce. That's what we're here for.”

INSIDE PITCH

Jorge Posada made his first start at catcher in two weeks after testing his injured shoulder Tuesday. The White Sox have the fewest stolen-base attempts in the majors, and they did not challenge his arm. The Yankees would seem likely to drop one of their backups, Chad Moeller, but Moeller is out of minor league options. ... Alex Rodriguez’s wife, Cynthia, gave birth to the couple’s second daughter Monday in Miami. Rodriguez, who has a strained right quadriceps, will rejoin the Yankees on Thursday. ... Asked for his reaction to the co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner’s suggestion that he pitch more like Jamie Moyer, the Yankees’ Mike Mussina joked that he did not have a left-handed glove. Turning serious, though, Mussina said he was mostly satisfied with his season and had never dominated with his fastball like Joba Chamberlain. “I’ve never had that ability, but 18 years later, I’m still standing here,” Mussina said. “I figured something out. I hope 18 years from now, Joba’s still standing here, too.” As for Chamberlain, he said he would work in whatever role the Yankees give him. Asked if he preferred to be a starter or reliever, Chamberlain said: “A pitcher. I honestly don’t care.” ... A. J. Pierzynski homered off Kyle Farnsworth in the ninth for Chicago’s final run.

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/sports/baseball/23yankees.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin