NEW YORK -- Chuck Knoblauch walked into Yankee Stadium on
Friday with a new outlook.
The New York Yankees' second baseman joked with reporters,
laughed with teammates during pregame stretching drills and
playfully tackled Clay Bellinger as he rounded the bases during
batting practice.
|  | | Chuck Knoblauch threw wildly on this double-play attempt on Thursday, his third throwing error of the game. |
What a difference from a night earlier, when Knoblauch stood
alone near second base following his career-high third error while
his teammates gathered at the mound for a pitching change.
A few minutes later, he summoned manager Joe Torre into the
dugout tunnel, said "I'm tired of hurting this team," and was
sent home three innings early -- with a driver instead of in his own car.
"I wasn't going to go home and do something stupid," said
Knoblauch, who led off and started at second base Friday against
the Chicago White Sox. "I'm the same guy every day. I woke up
today, felt all right, looked outside and the sun was shining."
But Knoblauch's latest bout with throwing woes clearly had the
Yankees worried. Torre sent him home early Thursday and kept the
clubhouse closed for 20 extra minutes to meet with his second
baseman.
"We all felt for him," Torre said. "He was hurting last
night. We're here to support him. He's one of our players and we
want him to play."
Knoblauch said most of his teammates called him Thursday night
or Friday to show their support. Many were worried because of his
reaction to one bad throw last month in Chicago, when he said he
was close to his "breaking point."
"It wasn't like Chicago," he said. "It was a little
different. There were different type of errors. I threw these balls
hard, but they were just wild. It was a different frame of mind."
Knoblauch didn't know what frame of mind he was in during the
sixth inning Thursday. After his third error, Knoblauch stood
motionless at his position, hands on his hips.
"It bothered me," Torre said. "I wasn't angry. I felt bad for
him. I knew he had this guilt about what was happening and he felt
he was contributing to us losing."
After the inning, Knoblauch returned to the dugout. He motioned
to Torre, and the two headed toward the clubhouse."My first instinct was to hug him and make everything feel good," Torre said.
Torre, wanting to spare his second baseman the ordeal of
postgame questioning by reporters, told Knoblauch to go home.
Knoblauch's throwing woes were the talk of the town Friday.
Tabloid headlines read, "CHUCK-E-E-E," "Yip-EEE" and
"YANKED." There was only one major topic on sports radio
stations, with callers suggesting all sorts of solutions to
Knoblauch's problems.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he said. "Whether I'm under the microscope or not under the microscope it still is a problem. It won't go away if I'm not here."
Knoblauch, who was booed after his errors on Thursday night, got
a 20-second standing ovation before his first at-bat Friday. "They treated him well and deservedly so," teammate Derek
Jeter said.
Knoblauch went 2-for-4 and only got one popup in the field
before being replaced by Clay Bellinger to start the ninth in New
York's 3-1 loss. "It probably would have been better if I did get some
grounders," he said. "But I felt pretty comfortable out there for
whatever reason."
Defense wasn't always a problem for Knoblauch. He made only
eight errors in 1996, then won the Gold Glove with Minnesota in
1997, a season that included a 47-game errorless streak.
Trouble began to show as soon as he joined the Yankees in 1998.
He made 13 errors his first season, doubled the total to 26 last
year -- most in the majors by a second baseman and most by a Yankee
since Graig Nettles in 1973. He has 12 in his first 43 games this
year.
"When you make mistakes or errors, you can accept it," he
said. "But I can't accept the errors I made last night. These are
errors that shouldn't be made. I have a problem obviously. It
confuses the hell out of me."
Leonard Zaichowsky, a sports psychologist at Boston University,
thinks Knoblauch should seek professional help. "Most players don't think consciously about a throw. But make a couple of bad ones and you start dwelling on it," Zaichowsky said.
"When you start thinking, it messes up the automatic motor
response. Once you make an error and you dwell on it, you're more
likely to repeat it."
Knoblauch, who talked about seeing a hypnotist or psychologist
during the offseason, wouldn't say whether he had sought help in
the past but hinted he would do it now. "Obviously, with the Yankees something will take place," he
said. "Whatever road that is remains to be seen. I can't pinpoint
when it started or one event that stands out. That's something a
psychologist or professional would have to figure out."
The player remembered for his heady, fundamental play in
Minnesota is now being defined by his mistakes: his inability to
make the simplest of throws, and for arguing with the umpire while
the winning run scored in Game 2 of the 1998 ALCS against
Cleveland.
But the four-time All-Star has also been a key component of New
York's consecutive World Series titles.
"We're not winning without Chuck. That's the bottom line,"
said shortstop Derek Jeter, one of Knoblauch's closest friends on
the team. "Everyone focuses on the balls he throws away, but the
positives outweigh the negatives."
The inability to throw the ball has claimed a number of
promising careers. Steve Sax, also a second baseman, struggled with
the same problem while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and
Knoblauch sought him out for advice during last year's Series.
Catcher Mackey Sasser had trouble throwing balls back to the mound.
A similar problem caused Dale Murphy to be switched from catcher to
the outfield, where he became an two-time NL MVP and All-Star. | |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Chuck Knoblauch's struggle has Joe Torre concerned.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Derek Jeter asks the fans to support, not criticize Chuck Knoblauch.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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