Rays/MLB

Yankees boss still expecting rebound

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 11, 2006

TAMPA - Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is optimistic about his team entering the second half.

The injury-depleted Yankees reached the All-Star break three games behind AL East-leading Boston.

"I still think we've got a good chance," Steinbrenner said after the minor-league Tampa Yankees' game Monday night was rained out. "We've got to battle Boston. It will be between Boston and ourselves."

New York has been hit hard by injuries. Slugging outfielders Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui are out with left wrist injuries, and second baseman Robinson Cano is sidelined by a strained left hamstring. Centerfielder Johnny Damon was out of the starting lineup the past four games with a right side injury.

"It was awful," Steinbrenner said.

Matsui hopes to come back in August, and Sheffield has targeted a return around Sept. 1. Cano could start a rehabilitation assignment next weekend. Damon, who came off the bench Saturday and Sunday, is expected to start the first game after the All-Star break Friday.

Steinbrenner said he thinks Alex Rodriguez will have a strong second half. The All-Star third baseman went 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in the just-completed three-game series against the Devil Rays.

"He'll be fine," Steinbrenner said.

EX-RAY TO MINORS: Red Sox right-hander Jason Johnson, struggling in the majors and needing a place to pitch during the All-Star break, was optioned to Class-A Wilmington.

Boston also hired former Royals general manager Allard Baird as a special assignment scout. Baird spent 18 years with Kansas City and was fired May 31 after five full seasons as GM.

Johnson, the former Devil Ray, is scheduled to start Wednesday for the Blue Rocks in the Carolina League. Triple-A Pawtucket and Double-A Portland are off today and Wednesday because of their leagues' breaks.

Johnson is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in two starts for Boston since being acquired from Cleveland on June 21. He is 3-10 with a 6.35 ERA in 16 starts overall this season.

N.Y. STATE OF MIND: The Yankees and Mets are the most popular teams of fans who follow Major League Baseball, according to a nationwide Harris Poll.

The poll has rated the Yankees as the nation's favorite team every year since 2003. The Mets have climbed 12 spots since 2004.

The Mets bumped the Braves from second to third. The Cubs and Red Sox round out the top five.

TWINS: Veteran outfielder/DH Ruben Sierra was released, ending his injury-plagued stint. Sierra, 40, hit .179 with one double and four RBIs in 28 at-bats this season. He spent six weeks on the disabled list after rupturing the biceps tendon near his left elbow and never got much playing time after that in his role as a pinch-hitter.

- TIMES WIRES

[Last modified July 11, 2006, 06:33:11]