A slump that needs to be broken
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 07, 2008 
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The Yankees took a 3-2 lead on the Indians in the fourth inning on Tuesday. They have not scored in the 14 innings since.
They have 10 hits and have been struck out 12 times in those 14 innings and drawn three walks. It’s not real pretty with A-Rod and Posada watching from the dugout.
The lefty-heavy Yankees can’t do much to change the look of the middle of the lineup other than to throw Shelley Duncan out there. And while everybody likes Shelley, he’s 24 of 100 as a big leaguer and has one home run in his last 59 at-bats. Melky Cabrera is having a nice season but he’s not exactly a perfect No. 6 hitter.
Much like they had to patch together the rotation last season, they’re patching together the lineup.
“It’s hard to replace an MVP. As much as guys are battling, it’s hard to replace,†Joe Girardi said. “It changes the dynamics of our lineup when we can’t split out lefties up as much.â€
The Yankees have already been shut out three times this season and tonight was the 15th time in 35 games they’ve been held to three runs or less. Their margin for error is very slim.
Now Mike Mussina has to stay hot for the Yankees to avoid a sweep tomorrow afternoon.
Moose will add another W to the streak
Oh, and the offense will score 12+ to give us hope that they’re out of this slump, only to prove us wrong by scoring 2 in the next game
No worries. If you read the “P2″ column on ESPN.com you will see that the yankees have started slow every year since 1995, which all of us now resulted in playoff births. It is tradition. Starting off strong would be a bad omen.
the Red Sox lost, so that’s something to be happy about
1. DFA giambi
2. do what it takes to get griffey BEFORE he becomes a free agent (trade some of the young “talent”)
Amanda,
Double Happy because of how they won.
Periods of rain are predicted for tomorrow–I wonder how far they’ll go to get this game in, or if there’s another time when it could be rescheduled.
Do you know what a comeback is??? And do you think that jeter will hit another hr in his career???
That’s why I don’t think Lee is that good. Every offense he has faced this season stinks.
With Arod and Posada out for the foreseeable future… I think it’s time someone took a hard look at this lineup and switched philosophies…
Time to stop the mashing lineup and go for the hit and run type… DFA Giambi, bring up Gardner… with his speed, and his knack for getting on base, he’ll make pitchers nervous. Bring it down to a small ball type of game (i.e., 1990′s yankees) and push runs across with speed and timely hitting. Slot Duncan into 1st and with some regular playing time, he might get better. Mashing was fun, when everyone was younger and healthier, but times change, and it’s time to face facts that without Po and A-MVP, it’s a weak lineup. Time to make it work for us instead of against us… IMO.
Mussina only going 5 innings,no offense,rain.
It’s gonna be a sh*tty day.
yeah that’s right, my name is one-upping every one – 28 in 09!!
Ryan Howard is killing my fantasy team more then Cano and Beltran are if that’s possible…. another hat trick for the former MVP
“do what it takes to get griffey BEFORE he becomes a free agent (trade some of the young “talentâ€)”
Trading for Griffey would NOT be a wise solution. He is old and unmotivated.
“Yes, it’s hard to replace A-Rod. However, where was he when we were winning championships with the likes of Scott Brosius and Chuck Knoblauch in the lineup? Oh yeah…in Texas.”
yeh that’s the reason we won
It’s May and you’re calling the season already?
Seriously, did you guys learn nothing last year?
I’m not saying that we’ll automatically make the playoffs. It’ll be one of the hardet years for us. But that’s no reason to write the season off now.
And yeah, I’m pissed.
have the Yankees ever needed an impending free agent as bad as we need Mark Texiera?
Next year it’s Texiera or bust. Here are the other 1st base FA:
Rich Aurilia SF
Ben Broussard TEX
Carlos Delgado * NYM
Nomar Garciaparra LAD
Jason Giambi NYY
Wes Helms PHI
Kevin Millar BAL
Richie Sexson SEA
Frank Thomas OAK
Jim Thome CWS
Daryle Ward CHC
makes you want to puke
Richie Sexon would be a great addition to the team…. he may hit over .180 if he hits the weights hard this offseason
Ryan don’t forget Doug M. I’d take him back if we don’t get Tex over someone like Ensberg.
Rebecca,
Right you are! We’ve been through this before…we’ll make it…just have to have faith…
Go Yanks!
I don’t mind taking Rich Aurilia if the contract is right. although Aurilia is old but he could still hit and field.
oh yeah, I forgot to mention he’s from NY too. also a resident of my neighborhood, Brooklyn.
Excellent points, Peter — except the slight dis of Melky.
Hard to know why he doesn’t get more respect. Among (approx.) 42 American League OFs, Melky this year is:
-tied for #5 in Home Runs
-top-10 in Range Factor
-top-15 in RBIs, OPS and Slugging
-top-20 in total bases and SBs
In fact, compare him to Mark Teixeira. Melky has:
-2 fewer hits
-1 fewer run
-2 fewer RBIs
-2 MORE HRs
-3 more SBs
-22 more BA points
Melky’s looking like a pretty strong #6 to me
Watching this game was torture.
I the offense is in dire need of a wake up call, I agree but I’ll scream if I hear another person saying we need to dfa Giambi.
Sure he’s not hitting the ball to well but look at his obs / RBI / and hrs he’s still producing plenty more then Cano.
Simply put I have a feeling in Atlanta is far back com e July well see Giambi back to Dh with Matsui being swapped for Texiera
what is with the obsession over Doug M on this blog this year? He can not hit. He is injury prone. And he is so far from an everyday player its not even funny. Bring up Duncan from AAA if you want a lefty first basemen that bad
“Sure he’s not hitting the ball to well but look at his obs / RBI / and hrs he’s still producing plenty more then Cano.”
Cano is younger and we’ve seen his rebound ability
“Simply put I have a feeling in Atlanta is far back com e July well see Giambi back to Dh with Matsui being swapped for Texiera”
why would Atlanta do that in a pennant race and why would NY keep Giambi at DH when he is actually been regressing by the AB samples provided, subtract the 2 HR from Timlin who is done…has Giambi really carried enough wieght to stay on this roster, I mean really even at the risk of a Nick in SF one liner….
oh and I also agree Shelley Duncan, Wilson Betemit it’s time to earn your ABs
rich,
With all due respect, if we want to improve the offense, why would we trade Matsui who’s currently leading the team in hitting?
Yeah I don’t understand the “trade matsui” people at all.
The Yankees need instant offense. The ‘generation trey’ pitching isn’t working. Joba is shot anyway. So.
Trade Joba, Kennedy, and Hughes for Barry Bonds. And don’t tell me he’s a free agent and we don’t need to trade anyone to get him. The Yanks still need to get younger and the combined ages of those three is much more than that of Bonds. So trade them for Barry.
We need the runs. Goodnight.
Can someone explain to me what the heck Michael Kay is talking about when he uses that phrase “generation trey”. I know he uses it to refer to the young pitchers, but I have no idea what it means or why it is applicable. Thanks.
The excuses are now a line at McDonald’s… the original ones are on their way out while new ones keep rolling in.
First it was because “it was early,” then it was “the weather,” then it was “good pitching,” then it was “injuries” now the offense is slumping because of TWO players in A-Rod and Posada.
Enough with the freaking excuses. They don’t change the fact that the team is like 1-100 with RISP. They don’t change the fact that once the Yankees lose the lead, they’re all but guaranteed that they’re not going to come back and win the game.
I’m sick of these excuses. A-Rod and Posada don’t make the entire line up. We had an actual offense for 3 games against Seattle, and that’s IT.
As Donna said, where was A-Rod when we WERE winning? 1996? 1998? 1999? 2000? Even 2001? Where was our MVP? That’s right, we didn’t have one. The team won with little bats and small ball. The team has become so reliant on home runs that if we don’t get them, we don’t get any runs. And that’s pathetic. Let’s stop making excuses for the offense and talk about what the real problems are.
Nemo & Donna
Well, first off, A-Rod was in Seattle when we were winning, not Texas.
Secondly, yeah we didn’t have the MVP player A-Rod is, but in 1998, we also had what was called the “staff of aces”. That pitching staff in 1998 is so far beyond what we have now, it’s sad. (And I’m not knocking our staff now, they’re doing their best)
But back then, our pitching kept us in games so we could have a shot. In `98 we scored 965 runs, but a lot of that was manufactured. We had 6 guys stealing 11 or more bases. Comparing that team and our current team… It just doesn’t match up.
We have a potent lineup now to make up for our pitching. Back then, we were the most rounded team in baseball. You really can’t compare.
Potch,
The pitching staff defense is completely understandable, but it’s just another excuse. All you are saying is that the current team can’t score runs because….. why? The pitching staff isn’t as good as in 98? Please.
This team should be able to manufacture runs regardless of who’s on the mound. Wang kept us in the game last night, and what did we do? Nothing. Petitte kept us in the game on Tuesday, Joba gave up the home run, but we were still in the game. 2 runs is nothing to overcome. How many times have we seen it this season where the pitching has been GOOD ENOUGh for us to win, but we couldn’t because we couldn’t score runs?
Our “potent lineup” is not potent. So far, since the beginning of the season, it’s been a pretty piss poor pathetic lineup. There have been series this season where the team has been like 3/40 with RISP. That’s not the pitching staff’s fault.
I hate to say this, but almost every single time I watch Sportscenter or YES does a league update and the Red Sox are tied/losing by a run or two in the late innings, they always grind out the extra run or two that they need to win. Whether it’s a walk off home run, or a bunt/walk-hit-hit combo… they don’t give up once they fall behind. That’s why they won the WS last year, have been challenging us really hard for the past couple of seasons, and are 22-14 right now while we are 17-18.
I said this last night and I’ll say it again. With the way the Yankees have been playing… for the first time in my life, I really am starting to have no desire to watch the Yankees.