“If Irabu can do the job, I think we are a better ball club with Mendoza in the bullpen even though he has pitched outstanding.”DON ZIMMER The message from Don Zimmer to Hideki Irabu couldn’t have been any clearer … even if Zimmer had it stamped on his forehead in Japanese.
“Keep [Ramiro] Mendoza in the bullpen,'” Zimmer said he told Irabu, who was informed yester-day that he will start tomorrow night against the Angels while the Yankees make sure Roger Clemens’ left hamstring is 100 percent healed before activating him from the DL. “That means [Irabu] is doing the job and we have Mendoza where we want him.”
Zimmer spent yesterday meeting with Irabu and Mendoza to spell out to them the Yankees’ pitching plans. Even if Clemens hadn’t returned home to Texas for a funeral yesterday, Zimmer said the five-time Cy Young winner wouldn’t have pitched Thursday, the day he is eligible to come off the shelf.
With Zimmer listing Saturday’s starter against the White Sox as “To be announced later” Clemens is a strong possibility for that slot. In order for Clemens to then pitch the following Thursday in Boston, somebody would have to be skipped since Monday is an off day.
“I am not going to pitch him a day earlier,” Zimmer said. “[Thursday] could be it, I am not sure.”
Keeping Irabu in the rotation reverts to the Yankees’ plan in spring training. Prior to Irabu melting down on the final day in Florida, the plan called for him to be the No. 5 starter with the rubber-armed Mendoza in the bullpen. Mendoza was moved into the rotation when Irabu came close to quitting.
“How many times have I said that originally, that this was programmed with five starting pitchers and Mendoza in the bullpen,” Zimmer said. “We all felt that was still our best club. So we are going to try it and see if it’s our best club.
“If Irabu can do the job, I think we are a better ball club with Mendoza in the bullpen even though he has pitched outstanding. He hasn’t pitched just good, he has pitched outstanding.”
Mendoza, who missed a start Sunday due to a viral infection in his throat, showed very little emotion when asked about being put back in the bullpen. He is a candidate to start Saturday if Clemens can’t make it. In six games (five starts), Mendoza is 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA.
As for Clemens, he came through a Monday workout in good shape, according to Zimmer. Still, the Yankees are taking every precaution with their ace.
“Saturday would be the earliest, but if he feels anything, we don’t want him pitching,” Zimmer said of Clemens, who in addition to throwing Monday, fielded bunts and covered first base.
The drama of Clemens pitching in Boston wearing a Yankee uniform does nothing for Zimmer’s plans.
“If it does, it does,” Zimmer said of Clemens working Fenway Park. “Mel [Stottlemyre] will decide who is pitching when.”
In addition to telling Irabu to keep Mendoza in the pen, Zimmer told the up-and-down hurler that his Yankee future isn’t on the line tomorrow night.
“It’s not life and death Thursday,” Zimmer told Irabu, who earned his way back into the rotation by throwing seven strong innings and beating the Mariners 10-1 Friday night. He is 1-0 with a 5.23 ERA in six games (two starts).
“Go out, throw the ball and show a little drive and have a little fun and get the job done,” Zimmer said he told Irabu. “That doesn’t mean if he goes out there and throws the ball well and they get some runs off him, that’s his last start. That’s not right and that’s not fair.”
Zimmer also understands it isn’t fair to send Mendoza to the bullpen where he will be in long relief.
“As far as being the manager, that was a tough thing to do today,” Zimmer said. “I tried to present it to him the best I could. This is a guy who hasn’t pitched a bad game. But I explained it to him, if Hideki can pitch well enough to stay in the rotation, we are a better team because this guy can do either one and do them real good.”
Zimmer said he just wanted to make sure Mendoza was in the right frame of mind to help the team.
“I kept asking, ‘Do you understand what I am saying,'” Zimmer said. “He said, ‘I understand, I understand.’ I said it can’t sit too good at the present time, but you can’t take that to the bullpen. You have to be in the right frame of mind and go down there and do the job we want you to do.”