All the TV crews and reporters were at the Stadium yesterday thanks to struggling second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, and his fielding woes. For once, slumping starter David Cone and his pitching problems had been pushed off the back pages. But that didn’t make last night’s start against red-hot Chicago any less important for Cone.
Roger Clemens is on the disabled list, and Cone, 1-6, is mired in the worst slump of his career. He had a 6.49 ERA going into last night’sstart against Chicago’s James Baldwin (9-1). Small wonder manager Joe Torre pronounced last night, “Important for him, confidence-wise. If he feels better, he’ll make us better.”
“He’s important to the team. When a guy like that only has one win, that’s why we’re struggling,” said fellow starting pitcher Andy Pettitte. “It’s a long season, and we need him to get it together. Everybody has faith to keep running him out there and confidence he’ll give us a quality start.”
Cone hadn’t given the Yankees many lately. He had gone 0-4 since beating Toronto on April 28, and just 3-11 since his perfect game against Montreal on July 18.
“You could tell he was taking it hard,” Pettitte said. “You can tell he was disappointed; you feel like you’re letting the team down. But he’s done so much for this team, he should just throw those bad feelings out in the trash.”
But Cone hasn’t been able to. According to the Yanks, he’s physically fine. It’s his confidence that’s hurting.
“A lot of people have talked to him,” catcher Jorge Posada said. “I reminded him how dominant he was, how respected his name was. He’s one of the best pitchers of this era. He knows that, but he’s got to remember it.
“He knows what he has to do, and lately he hasn’t done that, but he can turn this thing around. It’s mental. It’s not like his mechanics or strength are gone. Everything’s there. He just needs something positive.”
The Yankees hope he got that Sunday against the Mets, when he threw three hitless innings before the game was washed out.
“I’ve never seen him struggle when he’s healthy. This is new for him,” Pettitte said. “The big thing is he has to keep his confidence up. When you don’t, you get hit hard and you’re in trouble.
“This is a humbling game. Usually you have to have the results, especially when you go into a sustained drought. Hopefully that three innings he threw the other night is a good sign. Hopefully he can carry that over.”