PHILADELPHIA -- Joe Torre isn't worried about the results.
He wants better effort.
"If I felt the effort was as good as it could be and the
concentration was as good as it could be, we wouldn't have
meetings," Torre said before the New York Yankees played the
Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night. "We just need to play
better baseball. We need to make people beat us. We need to get
outs."
After Sunday's sloppy 9-3 loss to the Phillies, Torre lashed out
at his team in a closed-door meeting that lasted more than 20
minutes. Torre didn't say much about the meeting after the game,
but was more specific Monday.
"I'm not saying anything to these guys that they are not in
agreement with," Torre said. "These are things they understand
are necessary for our success. They were all listening. I guess
it's time to walk if they're yawning and reading the newspaper."
The three-time defending champions won 10 of 11 heading into the
All-Star break, but are 1-3 since, getting outscored 29-7 in the
losses.
Still, New York had a half-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in
the AL East entering Monday's games.
Torre said he simply needed to get a few things off his mind and
expects the team to respond well.
"It wasn't a punishment. I was just telling them what I saw,"
Torre said. "They weren't happy about yesterday. They weren't
satisfied. They have experienced the winning. They know what it
feels like."
The players weren't surprised Torre held the meeting.
"With the way we're playing, you certainly have to expect
hearing it from him," center fielder Bernie Williams said.
Said shortstop Derek Jeter: "We figured he'd say something."
Torre's biggest concern is the team's defense.
The left side of the Yankees infield -- Jeter and third baseman
Scott Brosius -- have committed 31 errors. Jeter's 13th error Sunday
led to a costly run. Catcher Jorge Posada had three passed balls
raising his season total to 13 -- two more than his total last year.
"I told him don't carry it over," Torre said. "I know he felt
bad. You're out there every day, some days it will be ugly."