OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Johnny Damon would like to see the New York Yankees be more disciplined at the plate. The left fielder and leadoff hitter knows the time is now for his team to make a big push and go on a good run.
``We're not scoring as many runs as we should,'' Damon said Tuesday before New York opened a three-game series in Oakland. ``We wasted away two good pitching performances against Kansas City and we felt like we should have won those games and we didn't. ... We've had some great comebacks the last couple days and you'd think that would actually help us out going into the next day. We haven't been able to build off the momentum we had. There's a lot we need to figure out.''
Finally healthy and eager to play consistent baseball, New York began a six-game road trip after losing 3-2 to Kansas City on Monday, when closer Mariano Rivera gave up a ninth-inning home run to the Royals' Jose Guillen.
A year ago on June 10, the Yankees were 30-31, 9 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox and in the midst of a season-high nine-game winning streak. After the three games in Oakland, the Yankees will play 15 straight against teams sitting at .500 or below.
``I don't think it makes a difference what a team's record is - everyone wants to beat us,'' shortstop Derek Jeter said. ``It doesn't matter if a team is below .500. We've been the measuring stick, so to speak, for a few years.''
The Yankees headed into Tuesday's game with a 32-32 record, their 22nd time at .500 already this year. That matched the 1959 Chicago Cubs for the most times at the even mark in major league history at this point, through 64 games, according to The Elias Sports Bureau.
``We have to start getting to where we want to be,'' first-year manager Joe Girardi said. ``It's not like we're having bad road trips or bad homestands, but we have to get better. I didn't plan on being in this position but that's where we're at. We just need to play better consistently.''
Damon's offense has been a bright spot. He was batting .326 - third-highest in the AL - with six home runs and 31 RBIs and had hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games with 11 multihit performances.
``My biggest thing the last couple years is just being healthy. Last year I wasn't healthy for at least probably 100 games and you can definitely tell,'' Damon said. ``Things are OK so far this year except for the fact we're not winning as much as we'd like and I'm not crossing home plate as much as I'd like to help us win those games. ...
``I think we just need to keep trying to have quality at-bats,'' Damon said. ``It seems like we have some and then we don't. It should go from top to bottom but unfortunately we are swinging at a lot of first pitches and making weak outs.''
Four of New York's previous five games were decided by one run and the other was a 6-3 win over the Royals on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
None of the players is willing to start making bold predictions about a comeback like last year's that landed New York in second place in the AL East two games back of the eventual World Series champion Red Sox and back in the playoffs for the 13th straight year as the wild card.
Still, the Yankees had won nine straight division titles before the second-place showing in 2007. They overcame a 21-29 start last season but lost to Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. New York has lost 13 of its last 17 postseason games and has gone seven years in a row without a championship.
``We've found our backs against the wall before,'' designated hitter Jason Giambi said. ``We still have a lot of the season left. We're just getting Posada back. We're just getting A-Rod back. Our biggest thing is, when you look at our offense that's the thing that needs to really start producing. ... Luckily we've played good baseball. We're right at .500. We're not way out of it. Thank God nobody's run away from the pack like the Red Sox did last year. We just need to put a good winning streak together.''
The Yankees are certainly used to the constant questions about their struggles or successes in each new city they visit.
``Every year, it's the same,'' Jeter said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
