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[Times photo: Michael Rondou] Jared Sandberg leaps past Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez after Martinez was pulled off the bag by a wide throw in the fourth inning.

Same division, leagues apart

Veteran Yankees badly outplay young Rays in every phase of a 16-1 pounding.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 9, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- There was little competition -- and no comparison -- Wednesday night.

The Yankees looked every bit like the team with the best record this side of Seattle, while the Rays looked like, well, to put it kindly, a bunch of 20-somethings learning how to play in the big leagues.

The differences were painful and plentiful, on the mound, at the plate and in the field.

And the result was downright brutal, a 16-1 New York victory before 18,830 at Tropicana Field.

"We didn't compete tonight," Rays manager Hal McRae said. "We were just here."

The problems started on the mound, as four Rays pitchers combined to allow 17 hits, eight walks and three home runs. They threw 234 pitches and missed the strike zone 92 times.

"It's impossible to compete if you don't throw strikes," McRae said. "That's the only way to compete."

Starter Nick Bierbrodt, the 23-year-old left-hander acquired from Arizona, gave up a team-record 13 hits in 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight consecutive hits over a two-inning span, including a pair of two-run home runs.

"Obviously they hit me pretty well, but I didn't think they were anything special," Bierbrodt said. "They just hit pitches that were out over the plate. Big-league hitters are going to do that."

Bierbrodt wasn't the only problem. Reliever Jesus Colome allowed a two-run home run. Victor Zambrano, who hadn't given up an earned run since July 6, allowed all six batters he faced to reach base, walking in two runs. Doug Creek put three of his first four men on.

An error by third baseman Jared Sandberg and a couple of misplays figured in. So did an ineffective offense, which managed just a run on eight hits off Andy Pettitte, who gave the Yankees seven strong innings.

The Rays, who started a team-record five rookies, usually talk about the future, how the experience their young players get now will make them better later. But after this loss, McRae wouldn't even go there.

"It was a bad game," McRae said. "There was nothing to learn from tonight. We didn't achieve anything tonight. What it boils down to was a bad game after a well-played game. We played one of our best games (in Tuesday's 3-2 win) and we came back and played one of our worst games. So hopefully (today) we come out and play a competitive game."

Yankees manager Joe Torre knows what McRae is going through, enough so that he said it was the kind of night in which "you want the game to end as much as they do."

There was a time when Torre was in a similar situation, playing for and managing a Mets team that lost 99, 96 and 99 games in 1977-79.

"You always look toward progress of individuals as opposed to what the team record is," Torre said. "You always have to look at it that way, especially in this case here. They've tried a lot of things here, power and this and that, and you have to basically make a decision on what you're going to do."

The key, Torre said, is to maintain perspective, even with a 38-76 record that puts the Rays on pace for 108 losses.

"That's a milestone thing," Torre said. "I don't think it's anything or a lasting signal on your club. It's part of progress, learning and all that stuff. At the time, it's a problem considering the fact that they've come in with Arizona and where Arizona is compared to them. I think that's what they measure themselves against. In that regard, it may be a little tougher to handle because of where Arizona has gone and where they're trying to get to."

At some point, the Rays would like to get to where the Yankees are, leading the AL East with a good chance to play deep into October and a shot at what would be a fourth straight World Series championship.

Wednesday's solid overall performance provided a good how-to clinic.

The Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak by being relentless, tying their season high for runs. They batted around in the fourth and eighth innings. They got 10 RBI from the bottom third of their order. The three homers gave them 35 in their past 17 games.

Was there anything for the Rays to take out of such a show?

"They're the world champions," Greg Vaughn said. "That's what it tells you."

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