Struggling Yankees hold meeting

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 29, 2007 | by Associated Press

TORONTO -- His team stuck in a rut, manager Joe Torre wanted to talk to the New York Yankees.

For an hour.

Sensing an attitude problem on his struggling team, Torre held a lengthy meeting before Monday night's loss in Toronto. The session ran so long the Yankees were nearly a half-hour late taking the field for stretching and batting practice.

"I've seen some tentativeness," Torre said. "If there's a word to characterize this whole thing, it's 'frustration."'

New York fell six games below .500 for the first time this season after being swept by the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend. The Yankees (21-28) have dropped 12 of their past 17, leaving them 13 1/ 2 games behind Boston in the AL East -- their largest deficit since late in the 1995 season.

"It's not fun, no question," Torre said. "We certainly haven't lived up to our expectations."

The Yankees started a 10-game road trip, their longest of the season. After Toronto, they'll play at Boston and Chicago.

Torre did not divulge specifics about the meeting but said he'll continue to try different things to create a winning spark.

"We're going to keep rearranging the furniture until we find something that works," he said. "Right now, we don't seem to be blending this thing very well."

"We've got to start winning," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "That's really all that matters."