Yankees’ Offense at Heart of Team’s Problems

By TYLER KEPNER
Published: September 11, 2008

When the Yankees splurged last winter to preserve the majors’ best lineup, they showered millions on several hitters. Another deal went largely unnoticed: a three-year, $1 million contract for the hitting coach, Kevin Long, who helped guide the 2007 offense to 968 runs, the most for the Yankees in 70 years.

A career minor leaguer, Long was a success story for the Yankees, validation of the organization’s plan to build from within — with a coach as well as with players. A year later, however, the Yankees’ offense has turned from an asset into a major problem.

After averaging 5.98 runs a game last season, the Yankees are down to 4.82 a game. Their final homestand at Yankee Stadium, which starts Friday against Tampa Bay, may be less a celebration than a countdown to elimination.

“It’s going to be a bit strange, because we definitely thought we would be pushing for a playoff spot,” Johnny Damon said. “But we owe it to the fans and the Stadium to go out there and play hard. There’s definitely some pride aspects to go out and play for.”

For Long, the end of the season is just another phase of a year-round job. He will consult with General Manager Brian Cashman and Manager Joe Girardi on how to retool the lineup, and he plans to make off-season visits to two of the Yankees’ more confounding players.

Long said Wednesday that he would travel to the Dominican Republic to work with Robinson Canó and Melky Cabrera. The Yankees have little invested in Cabrera, who lost his everyday job after struggling for most of the season. But Canó is a mystery.

In February, the Yankees signed him to a four-year, $30 million contract, making Canó the first Yankee in recent years to be awarded a long-term deal before free agency. They were convinced he was ready to become an elite player, but instead he has regressed.

Canó is hitting .261 with a meager .295 on-base percentage. He has not walked since Aug. 20, but more troubling to Long is his startling lack of power. Canó has 13 homers and a .397 slugging percentage — numbers lower than Coco Crisp, Fred Lewis and Skip Schumaker, among many others.

“He’s got big power that never plays, because there’s so much movement,” Long said. “He can’t get the barrel of the bat to the baseball with that much movement. So, basically, you’re taking a big tool and not using it.”

Canó uses an open stance, and Long said he plans to square Canó’s legs from the start. He said intensive, one-on-one sessions could help Canó the way they helped Alex Rodriguez after his disappointing season in 2006.

“Could we have done that before this year started? No,” Long said of changing Canó’s approach. “Anybody in their right mind would have said, ‘You don’t change this kid.’ He was able to dominate major league baseball to this point.”

Canó said he knew Long planned to visit, but they have not discussed specifics. Canó defended his season by saying he was “not going to be perfect every year,” but acknowledged that this has been a learning experience and said everything must improve.

“I don’t want to be back in this situation again,” Canó said. “This is a year that you can say, ‘O.K., this is not happening again.’ ”

As bad as Canó has been, he is only one reason the Yankees have fallen. The pitching is markedly better in the division this season, and the Yankees never used their intended lineup after opening day, when catcher Jorge Posada hurt his shoulder.

The Yankees did not expect Posada to duplicate his 2007 season, when he hit .338, but they relied on him for extra-base power and at-bats that wore down opposing pitchers.

They have also missed his presence as a clubhouse enforcer. Girardi is relentlessly upbeat, and the captain, Derek Jeter, is even-tempered and optimistic. Posada, who played only 51 games before season-ending surgery, has a different leadership style.

“We’ve missed him tremendously,” Long said. “First of all, Jorge’s one of those no-nonsense guys who will jump in a player’s face, jump in a coach’s face. He’s got that mentality of, ‘You know what, I don’t really care about this or that, this is how we’re going to do it. If I don’t like what I see, I’m going to tell you.’ We miss that.”

Long is positive by nature, but he also tries to be honest with hitters, telling them what he sees in unvarnished terms. His pupils have not responded as well this season, but they remain loyal.

“I really don’t think anything can be pinned on him,” Damon said. “He’s in the cage every second we’re in here, working with the guys. The only thing he can’t do is swing the bat for us. There’s no one who works harder at his job than him. He’s the best hitting coach in the league, without a doubt.”

The Yankees were designed to be the league’s best offense, too, built to withstand injuries to the pitching staff. Cashman’s faith in the lineup was one reason he did not trade for a starter when injuries depleted the rotation.

But the offense was not strong enough to dull the impact of the injuries, scoring two runs or fewer in 46 games, compared with 33 last season.

“We could never get on that really big roll to really get us over the top to negate those injuries,” Jason Giambi said. “If you get the team rolling, sometimes you can battle through because you’ve got momentum going. We just never could get on a big roll.”

They are all but out of time, and soon the players will scatter while the better teams play in October. For Long, though, there is no off-season, no rest from correcting the flaws of an offense that failed.

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/sports/baseball/12yankees.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin