Yanks aren’t desperate, just a little ‘concerned’

Tyler Kepner

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

NEW YORK -- The positive history is there if the Yankees need it. In 1996 and 2001, they lost the opener of a best-of-five-game division series at home and came back to win the series. The Yankees must do that again to get rid of the Minnesota Twins, the hard-charging underdog that never stopped nipping them in a 3-1 defeat in Game 1.

As they prepared for today's second game with an afternoon workout Wednesday, the Yankees did not reflect much on that history. "You really shouldn't need it," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "I don't think anybody comes in here and because we lost Game 1 says, 'Well, in 2001 the team did this, so we still have a chance.' You shouldn't need those things."

To rely on history would be desperate, Jeter suggested, and the Yankees said all the right things Wednesday: They are confident, ready and respectful of the Twins. Most of all, they are eager. They hit poorly in the clutch in Game 1 and did not field well enough to win.

"We're eager to get back on the field," manager Joe Torre said. "That's the biggest thing. We certainly want to get that out of our system. It has to be out of our system."

Torre met with his players before Wednesday's workout, and while he usually offers at least cursory details of what he tells them, this time he did not. "I have meetings in the postseason all the time," Torre said.

Jason Giambi, who went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and was booed by the fans in Game 1, said Torre's message was positive. "It wasn't by any means negative," Giambi said. "It was, hey, let's all stick together. We're going to win together, or lose together. It's not about individual performances. We were just stressing that and making sure guys don't put pressure on themselves."

The Twins will do that for them. Minnesota kept the pressure on the Yankees throughout Game 1 by making big pitches and taking chances on the bases. The Yankees had trouble with that opportunistic style against Anaheim last fall, and Tuesday's game was discouraging in its similarity.

"They're aggressive like them, especially on the bases," Jeter said, comparing the Twins to the Angels. "They try to take the extra base and put pressure on the defense. They don't hurt themselves too much."

The Twins' hitters swing and miss more than the Angels did last year, and they hit fewer homers. The Twins also have a deeper rotation, and Thursday night's starter, Brad Radke, is the kind of pitcher who could flummox the Yankees.

Radke, like the rest of his teammates, will not give the Yankees many mistakes to pounce on. He throws changeups and walks very few hitters, and went 9-1 after the All-Star Game break. But Radke has played nine years and is 3-9 against the Yankees, who beat him in April. Johan Santana, who started Game 1 and threw four scoreless innings before leaving with a right leg cramp, was more mysterious.

"We've all seen Brad Radke," said Giambi, a .250 hitter in 56 career at-bats against him. "He's been around a long, long time. That helps a little bit. You don't take the first two at-bats to find out how a guy's pitching you or what he's throwing."

Another reason for the Yankees to feel comfortable Thursday night is their own starter, the left-hander Andy Pettitte, who went 16-2 after June 8. The Twins were 25-29 against left-handed starters this season, two of the losses coming against Pettitte.

"Left-handers have a pretty good track record against that club; Andy does," the Yankees' pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre, said. "It's a big game and he's always risen to the occasion. But Andy can't do it by himself. We need a big team effort (today) to get this turned around."