YANKEE NOTES
Tino Martinez, bothered by irritation in his left eye, left in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 5-1 victory over the Rangers last night.
One day after hitting a single, double and triple in the Yanks’ opening day win, the first baseman had dirt particles land in his eye during batting practice. He tried, in vain, to clear his eye in the early innings, but couldn’t.
“A bat hit the cage and some dust or dirt got in his eye,” Joe Torre explained. “It irritated his eye and he could never shake it. He never got a clear picture. Hopefully he’ll be all right.”
Martinez left immediately after the game and was not available for comment but trainer Gene Monahan said he expected Martinez to be fine today.
Shane Spencer can’t decide if it’s better to rack up the RBI’s with home runs or get “a bunch of singles for a better batting average.”
The beefy right-handed designated hitter seems to prefer his stats to those that look a little better on paper. Spencer entered yesterday’s game with four hits (three of them homers) in 22 at-bats for a .182 average.
“Of course, you’d like to have both,” Spencer admitted, “but I’m happy when they go out of the park.”
Spencer insists he feels good at the plate – “I have my timing and I’m not having bad at-bats,” he explains – and says a more balanced personal offense “will come with time.” That time was last night. Spencer had two singles and an RBI in three plate appearances.
Even though Roger Clemens is perceived to have had a shaky start this season, his ERA is only 0.75. But while Clemens, who starts tonight against Kansas City’s Jay Witasick (0-2, 9.31), has allowed 10 runs, but only one was earned.
When Joe Torre watched his former pitcher Kenny Rogers give up the season-ending walk to the Braves during the infamous NLCS Atlanta-Met dogfight, his first thought was, “I hope they don’t blame Kenny for this [loss].
“He pitches like he pitches,” Torre explained of last night’s Texas starter. “He stays away [from the plate]. He banks on hitters being anxious.”