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Torre stays with Vizcaino at 2B

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 24, 2000

NEW YORK -- Yankees manager Joe Torre had a restless Sunday night. The Roger Clemens-Mike Piazza incident bothered him, but there wasn't much more he could do or say about it. Whether to keep Chuck Knoblauch in the lineup for the DH-less games at Shea Stadium was equally concerning.

That one Torre resolved.

Reversing his original leaning, Torre decided not to use Knoblauch at second base and will instead stick with Jose Vizcaino, who started the first two series games and is 4-for-10.

Knoblauch, whose throwing has become inexplicably erratic, has not played second since Sept.29. He has been a key part of the Yankees lineup hitting leadoff as the DH, but is 0-for-8 in the Series.

"There were a number of things that kept me awake last night and that was one of them," Torre said. "Basically it's just because he hasn't played a lot there.

"With all the questions that have been asked, you start asking yourself enough questions, you start thinking about the answer. ... I just didn't want to take the chance of having a guy out at second base and not being as familiar with it as he had been in the past or will be again."

EL DUQUE IS KING: Not only do the Yankees have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, but they have right-hander Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who is 8-0 with a 1.91 ERA in nine post-season starts, on the mound tonight.

"He's been remarkable," Torre said. "You can't teach this. Certain people are born with that desire and that need to be in the middle of everything when it's important. ... There's something inside there that drives him, and I'm glad he's on my side."

The Mets say they respect what Hernandez has done, but refuse to be intimidated. "I feel confident because he's bound to lose," reliever Turk Wendell said. "That's how I look at it."

... BUT NOT OF SWING: Hernandez will have the added responsibility of batting in tonight's game, and he's not particularly good at it. Hernandez said he did not bat at all while playing in Cuba, and is 1-for-12 as a Yankee. "I practiced one day," he said through an interpreter. "I don't think my hitting would have greatly improved with practicing."

MET-AMORPHOSIS: With the Mets hitting .218 through the first two Series games and .234 for the entire post-season, manager Bobby Valentine hinted Monday it may be time to tinker with the lineup. The most likely change would be to bench leadoff hitter/rightfielder Timo Perez, who is 1-for-10 with no walks in the Series. Veteran Darryl Hamilton or ex-Devil Ray Bubba Trammell could replace him, with Benny Agbayani moving into the leadoff slot.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Of the 46 previous teams to take 2-0 leads in the Series, 35 won the championship, including seven of the past eight. The exception was the 1996 Braves, who won the first two then lost four in a row to the Yankees. Of those 46 teams, 20 won Game 3. ... Of the 30 teams that won the first two at home, 23 won the title. Of those 30, 11 won Game 3 and nine swept to the championship.

NOW STARTING: While Hernandez's post-season record is getting considerable attention, Mets starter Rick Reed is preparing for his first Series start in relative anonymity. And that's fine with him. "I can't worry about what his record is in the post-season and what he's done," Reed said. "I've just got to keep them off the board."

MISCELLANY: Torre decided to go with Denny Neagle, instead of David Cone for the Game 4 start. ... Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius has a career Series batting average of .410 (16-for-39). With one more at-bat he would qualify for the Series leaderboard and rank fourth. ... Mets second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo and Agbayani have hits in all 11 post-season games. ... Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has an 11-game Series hitting streak.

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Gary Shelton