YANKEE NOTES
BALTIMORE – When Lee Mazzilli looks into the Yankees’ dugout tonight, he will see the man responsible for Mazzilli being the Orioles’ manager.
From 1989 when his playing career ended until 1996, Mazzilli was out of baseball, dabbling in acting and television work. After Joe Torre’s first year as the Yankees’ manager, he recommended his former Mets outfielder to Yankees minor league head Mark Newman for the Tampa (Single-A) job. Three years managing in the minors led to a first base coaching gig on Torre’s staff the past three seasons. And this past fall, the 49-year-old Brooklyn native landed the Orioles’ job.
“It will be a battle, I guess,” Mazzilli said of his 20-20 Birds, who have lost four straight and seven of 10, facing Torre’s Yankees. “It will be David and Goliath, no?”
Torre was Mazzilli’s manager for the first five years of his career, is responsible for him getting a chance at managing and hired him as a coach. So, how will Mazzilli react managing against his mentor?
“I am sure it will be awkward, but you have to keep the emotions out of it and let the players play,” Mazzilli said.
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Kenny Lofton was confident that the tight left hamstring that forced him out of Sunday’s game against the Rangers wasn’t going to keep him out of the lineup tonight. Torre wasn’t as sure, saying, “We will see.”
“He got treatment today. I think he will be a player but I didn’t want to push it,” GM Brian Cashman said.
Lofton, who missed two weeks with a right quadrceps problem, has started a season-high three straight games and has been productive, going 4-for-12 (.333) and scoring three runs.
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Yankees minor leaguer Elvys Quezada pitched a no-hitter last night for Class-A Battle Creek, blanking the South Bend Silverhawks 7-0 in the Midwest League.
Quezada (1-3) struck out 11, walked four and allowed only one runner to reach third base. Battle Creek got a three-run double from 2003 first-round draft pick Eric Duncan.