Yankees Say Hayes and Crush Angels

That was some duel on the New York Yankee slump-o-meter this past week, the team’s recent five-game losing streak rivaled only by the shoddy play of General Manager Bob Watson.

Watson was lambasted for a trade that initially brought injured reliever Graeme Lloyd (elbow tendinitis) and utility man Pat Listach (broken foot) from Milwaukee. Screamed a headline on the New York Post’s back page Saturday: “SUCKER! Shame on Watson for making deal for damaged goods.”

But the Yankees--and, especially Watson--rebounded like Dennis Rodman on Saturday night. A 14-3 shredding of the Angels before 28,749 in Anaheim Stadium not only kept the Yankees four games ahead of Baltimore in the American League East, but it vindicated Watson to an extent.

While Watson was trying to clean up the Lloyd/Listach mess--the Yankees received pitcher Ricky Bones as compensation for Listach, who was sent back to the Brewers, but are apparently stuck with Lloyd--he made another trade Friday that brought third baseman Charlie Hayes from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Finally, a deal that worked.

With starter Wade Boggs on the shelf because of back spasms, Hayes hopped off a plane late Saturday afternoon and made it to the stadium just in time to rip two hits and knock in three runs to lead the Yankee blowout.

Hayes keyed a seven-run third inning with a two-run double to left-center field off Angel starter and loser Jason Dickson, and he added an RBI single to right-center off reliever Greg Gohr in the Yankees’ four-run fourth.

“He changed planes, changed clothes and changed leagues--that’s not easy to do,” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said. “The pitcher usually has the advantage in that situation, but Charlie looked like he’d been around here for a while.”

The Hayes trade didn’t exactly ease tensions in the volatile New York clubhouse, where the Yankees are trying to avoid a collapse of Angel-like proportions and where the roster seems to change by the minute.

Hayes figures to cut into Boggs’ playing time considerably, and Boggs was not too enthused about that prospect Friday. Asked for his reaction to the deal, Boggs snapped, “I have none.”

But Hayes, who arrived at Anaheim Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday, an hour before the game, certainly ingratiated himself, leading the Yankees’ 16-hit attack.

“I don’t think there’s a controversy,” Hayes said of the third-base job. “Wade’s been playing all year. I’m just here to fit in wherever they put me. I talked to Wade a couple of times, and he’s a great guy.”

Yankee starter Jimmy Key, showing no ill effects of the Alex Rodriguez liner off his left elbow that ended Monday’s start in Seattle after two batters, went eight innings, giving up five hits to improve to 10-10.

The left-hander retired seven batters on grounders back to the mound, walked two and struck out three before giving way to Dale Polley in the ninth.

Dickson, whose 7-1 victory in his major league debut at Yankee Stadium Aug. 21 gave a sagging Angel rotation a boost, was a bust Saturday night. The right-hander walked three and gave up four hits in the third, three of them doubles by Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Hayes.

Gohr didn’t fare much better, giving up four runs on four hits in the fourth, and Jason Grimsley was tagged for three runs in the seventh, two on Tim Raines’ double.