|
COPYRIGHT 2006 Sporting News Publishing Co.
Back in early May, Terrence Long was going nowhere with the Reds' Class AAA affiliate in Louisville and asked for his release.
Nearly two weeks passed before Long's cell phone finally buzzed. It was his agent, Casey Close, telling him the Yankees were interested.
"Jump right on it," Long blurted before Close could finish the sentence.
Long debuted for the Yankees May 22, subbing for injured left fielder Hideki Matsui, who could miss the rest of the season with a broken wrist.
"Opportunity of a lifetime," says Long, reborn at 30.
Now he has to do something with it.
Once viewed as a stopover on the way to Cooperstown, the Yankees' outfield has turned into a perpetual audition zone. It has been that sort of year for the pinstripes, one in which $52 million free agent Johnny Damon has been slowed by a foot ailment and right fielder Gary Sheffield has been sent to the disabled list for two separate stints with an ailing wrist.
So much for the Yankees' 90-homer outfield. All told, the 10 players who have appeared in the outfield for the Yankees this season have a total of 15 home runs while playing the positions.
To put this in perspective, that homers total for Yankees outfielders had been matched or exceeded by 19 individual players, including outfielders Alfonso...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
