As the Yankees came into the stretch run of the 2000 season, their minds had started to shift toward the ultimate goal. Though they were still right in a heated playoff race, they had stabilized after some midseason struggles and had a solid grip on a playoff spot, and it was just prudent management to start thinking about how the team would construct its roster come October as they pushed for a third-straight World Series title.
Of utmost importance was figuring out a starting rotation that featured
Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and then a whole lot of veterans dealing with injuries and slumps. Twenty-five years ago today, David Cone tried to slip his name into the mix.
August 14: Yankees 10, Rangers 2 (box score)
Record: 64-50 (1st in AL East, 5.0 games ahead)
Cone’s struggles had been one of the stories of the 2000 season, the veteran who had been so instrumental in the team’s prior two pennant runs suddenly collapsing in his age-39 season with a 1-10 record and a 6.88 ERA through the end of July. But the likes of Orlando Hernández and Denny Neagle were working through issues of their own, and Cone, coming off a win in his last start, was attempting to make it two in a row, and to open up the unlikely possibility of earning a spot in that playoff rotation.
It went about as well as it could have. The Yankees launched an all-out assault on Rangers starter Doug Davis, gifting Cone a four-run cushion before he even took the mound. Derek Jeter, Luis Sojo, and Paul O’Neill all singled to start off the first, scoring one. José Canseco added another with a single of his own, and David Justice’s mammoth three-run shot made it 4-0 in a flash:
Given breathing room from the outset, Cone was more comfortable than he’d been all year. He breezed through the first four innings, working around just a couple of singles as the Rangers never threatened. And his offense kept piling it on against Davis, putting up another crooked number in the third. A Canseco walk and Justice double had the Yankees set up with none out. Backup catcher Chris Turner drove in one with a groundout, and then it was Scott Brosius’ turn to let one fly, his 12th homer of the year chasing Davis after just 2.2 innings and making it 7-0.
Indeed, it was a good day on both sides of the ball for Brosius. He made two sparkling plays on the infield dirt in support of Cone, first gunning down Luis Alicea in the third:
And gunning down Mike Lamb on a slow-roller in the fourth:
The Yankees had tacked on one more in the fourth on Posada’s RBI double, then two more in the fifth, Paul O’Neill’s 14th homer of the year making it a clean 10-0. That’s when the Rangers at last got to Cone, with two-out singles from Rusty Greer and Rafael Palmiero scoring two runs. Joe Torre let Cone hang in, one out short of qualifying for the win, and Cone got Gabe Kapler to fly out to finish off his five strong innings.
Dwight Gooden, another vet trying to make his case for playing time down the stretch, relieved his former Mets teammate Cone and fired four shutout innings of relief, earning Doc his second career save. The Yankee offense did little in the late innings against a young Francisco Cordero, but it would be no matter, as they eased to a 10-2 victory, their third straight.
Thus far, the Yankees were making the dog days of August seem pleasant. They hadn’t slowed down after a stellar July, and now lead the AL East by five games. And at least for a moment, the weakest part of their rotation seemed to be coming around. ”I feel like I can hide again,” Cone said after the game. ”I can blend in and contribute, as opposed to stand out. That’s a nice feeling.”
After the most miserable few months of his career, just not costing his team games had to feel good for Cone.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
