Yankees try to get down to brass tacks

NEW YORK -- Joe Torre sat back in his swivel chair with his hands folded on his midsection, speaking as calmly as could be about whether he would be fired, or whether the Yankees ever would come out of their awful malaise. He could have been talking about fishing off the coast of Bermuda.

He was calm, relaxed. There was no stress running through his body, his voice never changed, even when the questioning became sharper.

"If that's what happens, that's what happens," said Torre when asked if he thought he might be fired after the Yankees lost two of three to Boston and five of the first six of 18 scheduled games. "The time will come. There's nothing I can do except wait for them to come out of it.

"The standings are not an issue at this point. We're gonna have to come out of it. We're a better ball club than we've indicated. To get bent out of shape about the standings right now . . . there are a lot of games left. I expect us to play better."

General manager Brian Cashman said he would make a deal to fix the Yankees right now if it made sense, but he pointed out this isn't trading season.

The Yanks can hope free agent Roger Clemens shows up on their doorstep soon, but Cashman thinks the problems have to be solved from within, hopefully via the return of Mike Mussina or Carl Pavano in the near future. Pavano (forearm stiffness) got back on a mound yesterday for the first time since April 9, throwing a bullpen session.

Asked whether owner George Steinbrenner is frustrated, Cashman said, "I don't want to speak for George, but we're obviously frustrated."

Who gets the most blame?

"I take full responsibility," Cashman said. "That's my job. It's the team I put together. Looking to blame somebody? Blame me."

Torre said he spoke to Steinbrenner after the Yankees were swept in Boston. He said he speaks to him about every 10 days on the state of the team. There have been reports in the Times and the Post that The Boss is miserable. Steinbrenner wanted Torre gone after the embarrassing playoff loss at the hands of the Detroit Tigers last season, yet while rumors of Lou Piniella taking the job were flying at the time, Steinbrenner was talked out of it.

The Yankees have started a woeful 9-14, which is better than their 11-19 start two years ago, when they recovered to win the division. In the six games so far against the Red Sox, Boston clearly has been the better team.

The Yankees have legitimate excuses. Their pitching staff has been decimated by injuries, including starter Jeff Karstens fracturing a fibula in the first inning Saturday when hit by a ball off the bat of Julio Lugo.

But how could they not have built on the obvious momentum of Kei Igawa's sensational save-the-day performance Saturday? How could they not get pumped up by setup man Kyle Farnsworth throwing close to 100 miles per hour and Mariano Rivera finally earning a save? With ace Chien-Ming Wang facing Boston's No. 5 starter, Julian Tavarez, yesterday was a mismatch made in heaven.

Wang, though, suffered a split fingernail around the fourth inning and he didn't have his best stuff afterward, allowing a two-run homer to Alex Cora in the fifth after hitting Coco Crisp in the shin with a pitch.

Torre referenced the split nail in explaining how Wang allowed four runs over six innings, though he said Wang likely will make his next start.

What's worse for New York is that its much-hyped lineup has hit only .243 against the Sox in the six games, with a paltry .328 on-base percentage and .374 slugging percentage. They've been outscored, 40-28. What, A-Rod doesn't hit a home run for a couple of days and you stop competing?

Yesterday was the 12th loss in which the Yankees have blown a lead. They've had leads in 21 of their 23 games and have come away empty more often than not. They used five pitchers yesterday, the 10th straight game they've used at least five.

How could things not get better?

Cashman, who said he's canceling a trip to the Dominican to stay with the struggling ship, was asked about the six games vs. the Red Sox. "We had a better chance to match up against them this weekend than we did last weekend, but they still beat us two out of three," he said. "They're a good team. There's no doubt about that."

Torre said, "You always have your work cut out when you face Boston. Every single time you play them, every single inning, it's do or die, and you have the tendency to say, 'Oh, my God!' They're playing better than we are right now. We don't look at them as better than we thought they were, because we thought they were good. At some point we're going to play them and we're going to be playing better."

It's obvious the Yankees are in a funk when Bobby Abreu attempts bunts in two at-bats in a series. That tells you how poorly Abreu feels about his game right now. He's not alone.

Johnny Damon (3 for 22 with two walks vs. Boston) has multiple injuries and isn't getting on base. Hideki Matsui (1 for 10 vs. Boston) isn't swinging the bat well. Jorge Posada is up and down. Robinson Cano just can't get started. On a day when Doug Mientkiewicz, who has been the team's worst hitter, strokes a three-run homer, a team has to win that game, doesn't it?

Reliever Scott Proctor has been the anti-Okajima, appearing in five of the six games against Boston and allowing six hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings.

"I'm not going to jump off the ship and say there's somebody that should be in there instead," Torre said. "These are our guys. I'm going to support them any way I can."

There's really nothing else he can do. Torre, whose older brother, Frank, is scheduled to have a kidney transplant tomorrow, another thing that is weighing on him, has been through so many ups and downs that he realizes turning over the food table or airing out the team isn't going to make the turnaround come any faster. What he has to hope is that Steinbrenner doesn't make a move before the team gets back on track.

"It's not Joe's fault," said Damon. "We're not doing the job as players. We've got to turn this around. It's up to us. Joe doesn't play the game. We're all professionals in here and we know what we need to do. We've had a tough stretch against a very good Red Sox team. They have very good pitching. We're starting to get our guys back, so maybe soon it'll be a different story."

It had better be.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.