YANKS HEAT UP
NATIONAL LEAGUE SWING STARTS WELL
BY LEE GANNON
SPORTSWRITER
NEW YORK EXAMINER
ST. LOUIS - A THREE-GAME YANKEE BLITZ LEFT CARDINALS MANAGER TONY LaRUSSA A TAD BEFUDDLED SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
NEW YORK PUSHED ITS OVERALL MARK TO 42-31 (15-5 IN JUNE) AND ITS HEROS WERE NAMED GOFF, CONGER AND RAINEY?
LaRUSSA, OWNER OF A LAW DEGREE, MUTTERED THOSE NAMES ALOUD, LIKENING THEM TO A LAW FIRM THAT PERHAPS ADVERTISED ON LATE-NIGHT TELEVISION.
MAYBE IT WAS JEFF GOFF, HANK CONGER AND DAVE RAINEY WHO HAD KEPT THE ST. LOUIS MANAGER UP TIL THE WEE HOURS WATCHING TV.
AFTER ALL, NONE ARE HOUSEHOLD NAMES - YET. GOFF BELTED A PAIR OF TWO-RUN HOMERS, INCLUDING A DECISIVE NINTH-INNING BLAST IN FRIDAY'S 6-4 WIN, RAINEY PITCHED TWO INNINGS OF SCORELESS BALL IN SATURDAY'S 3-2 WIN AND CONGER CONTINUED TO SWING A HOT BAT WITH FOUR HITS IN SUNDAY'S 8-4 BROOM-WAVER.
"NOW, I'M NOT THAT OUT OF TOUCH," LaRUSSA ADMITTED. "I KNOW GOFF AND CONGER HAVE A CHANCE TO BE REAL GOOD AND RAINEY LOOKS DECENT. BUT I NEVER IMAGINED A SWEEP. WE'D LIKE TO SEE THEM IN OCTOBER."
YANKEES MANAGER JOE GIRARDI DIDN'T DISCOUNT A NEW YORK-CARDS WORLD SERIES, AS HIS TEAM IS MERE PERCENTAGE POINTS FROM HAVING THE BEST RECORD IN THE AL, WHILE ST. LOUIS STILL TOPS THE NL AT 45-28.
AS HAS BEEN THE CASE THE PAST 18 MONTHS, THE YANKEES ARE LOOKING TO DEAL A GLUT OF CORNER INFIELDERS, UNDEPENDABLE STARTERS AND A PLETHORA OF CLOSERS FOR YOUNGER ARMS. GIRARDI SAID A NUMBER OF DEALS ARE IN THE WORKS.
NEW YORK LEADS THE MAJORS IN HITTING, RUNS, HOMERS, RBIs, SLUGGING AND ON-BASE PERCENTAGE, BUT RANK AT THE BOTTOM IN ERA AND HOME RUNS GIVEN UP.
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