Can't anyone here play this game? Or at least play it with some energy? When Chien-Ming Wang's pitching is perhaps the only highlight of yesterday's loss, that's a bad game. And when the Yankees struggle - again - against another rookie pitcher, it's depressing. And that wasn't even the worst part of the game.
No, the moment that infuriated me the most was what happened after Jorge Posada struck out for the fourth time. The ball got away from Atlanta catcher Brian McCann, but Posada didn't even walk, let alone run, towards first. Unacceptable. If a rookie did what Posada did, there would be a whole to-do over his lack of hustle. But Posada does it, and it's okay? Unreal.
Joe Girardi said after the game he was pleased with the Yankees' effort. Are you kidding me? This team has been batting like they all want to get the game over with for a hot date with Kate Hudson, and Joe's praising the effort? Good grief. My cat C.C. is more motivated, and she sleeps 20 hours a day!
At least Tommy Hanson is a highly touted player (he's even on Squawker Jon's fantasy team) and not a no-name. But still. The Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position last night. Between A-Rod striking out or feebly popping up, and either Derek Jeter or Robinson Cano seeming to hit into a double play at least once a game, their hitting is terrible.
As Squawker Jon noted, A-Rod's slugging stats are similar to Gary Sheffield's this year, with Sheff's batting average 60 points higher. The numbers, going into Tuesday's game:
Sheffield : 156 AB, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 33 R, .276 BA, .389 OBP, .487 SLG
Rodriguez: 136 AB, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 18 R, .213 BA, .371 OBP, .456 SLG
So the Mets, paying the major league minimum, are getting A-Rod-like production that costs the Yankees $26 million more. Oh great.
Fellow blogger J-Boogie of Baseball and the Boogie Down suggested that it's time for the Yankees to fire hitting coach Kevin Long. It's an interesting thought. And it's amazing to me that we're talking about whether Joe Girardi will lose his job, yet Long's job doesn't appear to be in jeopardy. Perhaps it should be.
I don't know if it's the advance scouting or Long or a combination of both, but the Yankees' approach against pitchers they don't know is terrible. How is it that other teams - like the Red Sox - are able to figure out these pitchers, and the Yankees aren't?
Check out this stat from the New York Times' Tyler Kepner:
In their last nine games, the Yankees faced eight starters they had never faced before. Those pitchers have a combined earned run average of 2.54, and only one allowed more than three earned runs against the Yankees.The Bergen Record's Pete Caldera has even more depressing numbers. On June 9, the Yanks were in first place, and had won 19 of 25:
Since then, they've been swept (again) by the Sox. They've been shut out three times. They've lost 9 of 13, lost six games in the standings, and they've lost six games since June 13 to starters they'd never previously seen.Time for the Yankees to start hitting - or for somebody's head to roll.
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
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