from CBS Sportsline

June 23, 2001

By Pete Prisco
SportsLine.com Senior Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- You enter the New York Yankees clubhouse expecting the worst. Winners of four World Series in the past five years, the Yankees now find themselves in second place looking up at the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Moreover, George Steinbrenner, the once-tempestuous owner who has mostly kept his mouth shut the past couple of years, recently challenged the heart of his order. That means Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez, three keys in the run to the rings.

Even manager Joe Torre, who rarely singles out players, fired a few daggers at O'Neil and Jeter recently.

There's trouble, big trouble with these Yankees.

So how come they were acting like a bunch of loose kids in the clubhouse before Friday night's 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field?

"What is there, 90 games left?" asked Jeter. "Why should we panic now?"

There certainly were no signs of panic before Friday's game. Jeter clowned with his teammates much of the time, once jumping on Bernie Williams' back and going for a ride.

Then there was the question of the day: Was catcher Jorge Posada on the postseason roster in 1996?

Reliever Mariano Rivera swore that he was. Jeter wasn't so sure. Luis Sojo insisted he was.

"Ask Bernie," Jeter yelled. "He won't know. He can't remember anything. He won't know what state we're in."

Jeter yelled to Williams.

"Bernie, where are we?" Jeter asked.

"Somewhere in Florida," Williams replied from across the room.

Laughter followed. Tension? You sure aren't seeing it from this veteran team, even if things aren't what they have been in years past.

That's especially true of Jeter. He has become the most loved athlete in New York, the Namath or Mantle of his day. Every man wants to be him, every women wants him.

He has matinee-idol looks, a polite demeanor and a bat that talks loudly -- as in superstar.

Jeter also has a new 10-year, $189 million contact, but that bat has quieted down some this season, which puts him in the eye of the Yankees storm.

Everyone wants to know what's wrong with Jeter?

"Maybe that contract, the extra responsibility that comes with it, maybe he's expecting more than he's capable of putting out, numbers-wise," Torre said.

Jeter shrugs off his manager.

"It has nothing to do with the contract," he said. "That's just people looking for something to blame. I don't even think about the contract."

Something is up. A career .322 hitter, Jeter is hitting .287 with five home runs and 35 RBI.

That's why Steinbrenner came out of hiding to question his high-priced star. He pays, so big George expects plays. It has always been that way for Steinbrenner.

"What he said didn't bother me," Jeter said. "He's the boss. He can say what he wants. I'm not hitting and he said it. What he said was true. My mom and dad tell me I'm not hitting. It's nothing new."

Jeter said he feels better than at any point of the season, saying it's only a matter of time before he starts to hit again. He then went out and got two hits against the Devil Rays on Friday.

"If I get eight hits in this series, I'm hitting .300 again and nobody is questioning me," Jeter said. "There's a lot of time left."

O'Neill and Martinez might not be as lucky. There is growing speculation that this will be the last season with the Yankees for both players, and the way they are hitting, who can argue?

O'Neill is hitting .257 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI, while Martinez is at .248 with nine home runs and 44 RBI.

To try and resurrect his team's bats, Torre recently brought in former Yankees great Don Mattingly to work with the hitters. Mattingly, one of the great pure hitters of his day, spent three days with the team with the hope he can help revive this lineup. Clearly, though, these are not the same Yankees.

But they are only three games behind the Red Sox in the AL East and they have something else going for them: 18 games left against the Devil Rays, the team with the worst record in baseball.

The Yankees have been shopping for a middle reliever to help take the place of Jeff Nelson, who left in free agency to go to Seattle. A proposed trade for Montreal's Ugueth Urbina fell apart, so now the Yankees are looking to acquire a different relief pitcher.

The Yankees are interested in Pittsburgh's Mike Williams and have also been linked to a possible deal for Oakland's Jim Mecir or Jason Isringhausen, Detroit's Todd Jones or San Diego's Jay Witasick. The team would also like to add another bat and Pittsburgh's John Vander Wal has been mentioned.

Then there's talk that Steinbrenner wants another starter behind Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina. David Wells has been discussed, as has Colorado's Pedro Astacio. But it may take too much to pry one of those players free.

The Yankees should get Andy Pettitte back off the disabled list next week. He threw off the mound at Tropicana Field on Friday and may pitch a simulated game Monday or Tuesday. The news isn't as optimistic for David Justice, who is struggling to bounce back from his groin injury. The Yankees are even discussing bringing up prospect Nick Johnson if Justice can't return soon.

Add it all up, and it's not the smooth sail it's been the last five years. These Yankees are having a tough time living up to the past.

A TV reporter asked Jeter if it had to do with boredom.

Jeter winced.

"You never get bored," he said later. "We're always trying to get better. What we've done in the past has nothing to do with what we're doing now."

Oh, but it does.

The Yankees legacy forces each team, every season, to live up to the hype.

"I think we're compared to ourselves all the time," Torre said.

Which is why being a Yankees player not living up to lofty heights of stardom, such as Jeter, can be so tough.

Jeter isn't letting it get to him. He is too good a player to stay down for long, too easy-going to let anyone, including The Boss, get under his skin.

That's why you get a sense that the Yankees are right where they want to be.

"It's not like we're out of it," Jeter said.

Out of it? No. Out of sorts? Perhaps.

Just don't expect Jeter or this team to stay that way for long.