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	Tuesday, September 12
	Don't be fooled, Yanks are for real By Sean McAdam Special to ESPN.com
	Around baseball, the feeling is that the New York Yankees have come back to the pack, that the gap has been closed in the American League, that there's no clear favorite as October approaches. In other words, the belief is that the Yankees' mini-dynasty, which has seen them dominate play and win three of the last four World Series, is over. David Justice has been a major sparkplug for the Yankees since arriving on the scene in late June. Not so fast, says Joe Torre. True, the Yankees aren't going to win 100 games. At this rate, they'll be lucky to reach 95, which will represent a 19-game dropoff from their record 114 wins in 1998. But numbers can be deceiving and so can win totals. The measure of the Yanks can't truly be taken on the stat sheet. For one thing, the Yankees have done plenty of addition and subtraction since the start of the season. For another, they've been humbled by injuries. But teams should take the Yanks lightly only at their own peril. When the postseason begins, the Bronx Bombers will be the team to beat in the AL. "I think we've probably had more to deal with this year than past years," said Torre. Torre didn't cite the events, but if he had, he would have noted Darryl Strawberry's medical and legal woes, the cancer that struck pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, David Cone going a half-season between wins, Orlando Hernandez's injury-plagued season, Chuck Knoblauch's well-documented struggles at second base, and the distraction brought about by the trade talks that centered for weeks on Sammy Sosa and Juan Gonzalez. To Torre's credit, he was able to guide the Yanks through the turbulance, which makes him the perfect manager for this franchise. "There are no guarantees about what you have to deal with every year," shrugged Torre. By his own admission, the Yankees have hardly been dominant this year. "We've been ordinary in our season," he conceded. "We didn't sprint out to a great start." And yet the Yankees have been in first place for much of the season and their lead never seemed truly in danger. This, despite the constant changeover of personnel and the the midseason arrivals of David Justice, Denny Neagle, Glenallen Hill, Jose Canseco and Jose Vizcaino. On other clubs, that kind of roster churn would be potentially upsetting to chemistry and stability. Not so with the Yankees. "We're used to that," said Torre. "We have an owner who's going to spend money to fix things and make it better." The Yankees are also used to good pitching. The reliability of their starters and bullpen has keyed their last three titles, but this season, both the rotation and the relievers have been strangely inconsistent. Until recently, that is, as the rotation has stabilized just in time. Roger Clemens hasn't lost since June, Andy Pettitte has won nine of his last 10 and El Duque has shown signs of regaining his form. "It's still pitching for us," Torre said. "I'd like to feel a little more confident with our bullpen, as far as (Mike) Stanton and (Jeff) Nelson go. But our starting pitching has been as good lately as it's been since I've been here." For Torre, it's too soon to make a pronouncement about the 2000 Yankees. Come see him in late October, when the postseason is over and the appraisal can be done in full. "That's when you look back and find the excuses or the reasons why you did well or badly," he said. "You don't get to evaluate the season until it's over." The Yankees know that, matched against recent history, they're likely to suffer in comparison to their own excellence. The 1998 Yanks -- 114 wins and two playoff sweeps en route to the championship -- cast an especially large shadow. "We're holding ourselves to a tough standard," the manager said. "And yet, when it's all said and done, I think we were a better team (last year) than we were in 1998." In seven more weeks, Torre will have the benefit of hindsight necessary to make the proper evaluation on 2000. He makes no predictions, but he has the self-assured sense that comes from having won the wars in October and the confidence that brings. "The advantage of having been succcessful," he said, "is that you don't panic when things go wrong because you've been there before. That's where we definitely have an edge." So let the White Sox and Mariners and whichever team grabs the wild card have their dreams. Let them convince themselves that the Yankees aren't special anymore. Let them think this is an open field. "We're like everybody else at this point," said Torre, "but we're in better shape because we're sitting on top. Hopefully we can stay there." Don't bet against them. Recent history would suggest that would be a mistake. Center Stage While San Francisco's Barry Bonds has been a disappointing playoff performer (.229, one homer, five RBI in 20 postseason games), he has been a superb September player when his teams are involved in races. Before this fall, when his team has been in contention since 1991, Bonds has averaged .367 with five homers, 15 runs scored and 15 RBI after Sept. 15 until the end of the season. He's showing signs that he's in for another strong finish. The Giants lead the Diamondbacks by eight games in the NL West and Bonds has had a strong September already. Bonds is hitting .452 with six homers and 16 RBI in his first 10 games this month. "He's an awesome man," marvels teammate Ramon Martinez. "That guy's in another league. He's been doing great all season." Bonds isn't a sure beat to win a fourth MVP -- the Mets' Mike Piazza and teammate Jeff Kent could finish ahead of him, to name two candidates -- but he's still having a splendid season. His 45 homers are second in the NL, he's on pace for his ninth 100-RBI season and he leads the NL in slugging percentage (.709). How many heads will fall? Incredibly, there has yet to be a manager fired since the start of the season. Not since 1942 has an entire year come and gone without a manager losing his job. That will change in October, when general managers and owners could make up for lost time with a slew of changes. In talks with baseball personnel, the consensus is that as many as seven managers in the National League will be fired as the season winds down or soon after. The endangered ones: Montreal's Felipe Alou, Philadelphia's Terry Francona, Cincinnati's Jack McKeon, Pittsburgh's Gene Lamont, Houston's Larry Dierker, Los Angeles' Davey Johnson and Arizona's Buck Showalter. That list doesn't include Bobby Valentine, who could get axed if the Mets don't pull out of their late-season slide. All the firings will begin a series of musical chairs, with Alou rumored to be heading to Los Angeles to take a job he had accepted temporarily two years ago, only to back out at the last minute and stay with the Expos. In the American League, Lou Piniella's contract is up and he may want to leave Seattle after eight seasons. Reportedly Piniella would like to return East. There may be the perfect situation for him in Tampa -- where he lives in the offseason. The Devil Rays are expected to fire Larry Rothschild, opening a spot for Pineilla in his own backyard. News and notes Howe Sports reports that the Seattle Mariners' minor-league affiliates had the best cumulative winning percentage of any organization in 2000. The six Mariners clubs combined to post a .577 winning percentage. Philadelphia finished second at .568 and Oakland was third at .551. Bringing up the rear were the Angels' affiliates, who were a collective .426. San Francisco was next-to-last at .444. ... Despite a gruesome ankle injury a year ago, Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall is about to become the first catcher to have three 20-steal seasons in his career. He stole 26 in 1998 and 22 in 1997. John Wathan, Ray Schalk and Johnny Kling are the only others to have two 20-steal seasons. ... The Dodgers thought pitching would be a strong point, and it has -- but only to an extent. The first three starters in their rotation -- Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort -- are a combined 38-23. But there's a big dropoff after that, with all their other starters going 8-25. ... Only two players -- Pokey Reese and Al Martin have successfully stolen a base against the Braves' Terry Mulholland in the last four years. ... Ken Griffey Jr. is about to become only the third player to have seven seasons with 40 or more homers. Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are the others. On the rise: Chicago White Sox It was the end of August. The Cleveland Indians, invigorated by some trading deadline deals, were sending signals that they were ready to assume their usual spot atop the AL Central. After five months of inconsistent play and injuries, the Indians were going to make the move and knock the White Sox from their first-place perch. But somebody forgot to tell the White Sox. Just when it seemed like they were vulnerable, the White Sox began playing the kind of baseball they played in the first three months of the season. Chicago has won 9-of-12 and four-of-five, giving itself a healthy eight-game lead with 19 games to play. The Indians' last chance came over the weekend in a three-game showdown. But the two teams split the first two and had the third rained out, leaving the Indians to focus on the wild card. The White Sox may yet struggle in the postseason, as some forecast, because of their defensive lapses (shortstop Jose Valentin has committed 34 errors) or their inexperienced starting rotation. But barring a major slide in the final 2½ weeks, they'll finish with the best record in the American League and have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Having taken the Tribe's best shot and survived, you can say they earned their position. On the fall: Chicago Cubs ... And then there's the team on the North Side. The Cubs actually looked respectable for a time in August. For a time, they were within six games of .500 and some wild-card standings actually included the Cubs. But that was then and this is now. Now is horrible; the Cubs have dropped four straight and 10 of their last 11 to sink to the bottom of the NL Central, below season-long bottom-feeders like Houston and Pittsburgh. You name it and the Cubs are struggling with it: 14th in hitting, 11th in runs scored, last in ERA, 13th in turning double plays, etc, etc, etc. Since Aug. 2, the Cubs are a woeful 10-28. The only thing interesting about the Cubs, of course, is Sammy's home run total. He's about to have his third straight 50-homer season. That and the cold beer is about the only reason fans keep showing up at Wrigley. And show up they do -- the Cubs are, almost inexplicably, on pace to attract about 2.8 million paying customers this season. Babe Ruth Award: Richard Hidalgo There's not been much good news out of Houston this season. After three straight NL Central titles, the Astros are 20 games out of first. Jose Lima has had a nightmarish season, Craig Biggio missed most of the second half with a blown-out knee and Ken Caminiti checked himself into a clinic to battle substance abuse. But Hidalgo has enjoyed a breakout season. Last week alone, he hit .552 (16-for-29) with five homers and 14 RBI. He's had a hot September so far (.444) to help erase a disappointing August (.235 for the month). He's about to join teammate Jeff Bagwell as the only Astros to reach 40 homers in a season (he's currently at 38). "I never imagined that I would hit these many homers," gushed Hidalgo recently. "I'm just feeling real comfortable right now at the plate." Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal writes a major-league notebook every Tuesday for ESPN.com.		ALSO SEE Klapisch: Pedigree is in the pinstripes Gammons: Yanks as good as ever