To me, failing to get a run in with bases loaded and 1 out is at least equally as glaring a failure than not being able to do it with 2 outs. If Bobby Abreu was accountably standing near his locker after the game, what did he have to say about that?

first, there is not even the most basic statistical analysis. it just lists the # of Yankee runs scored in the 1996-2000 period, then lists the # of runs scored this year. this article doesn’t even do simple stuff such as extrapolate this year’s #s out to a full season, or compare them to league scoring rate – for example, the 2000 AL averaged about 5.3 runs a game, the 2008 AL about 4.6.

of course it’s true that this team scores less than those teams. but i had to get my calculator out to figure out things such as the 2000 team scored about 5.4 runs per game, while 2008 is scoring 4.7. and then i’m still left with figuring out why and whether it means anything.

which it doesn’t – the 2000 Yankees won 87 games, but they won because the AL East was weak.

anyway, once the article finishes the statistical presentation, such as it is, the rest of it is the usual media idiocy. There’s some whining about how A-Rod “refused to be accountable for the second straight day, blowing out of the clubhouse without talking to reporters.” And then the rest of this alleged analysis results can be summed up like this: ‘A-Rod a choker if he doesn’t get a clutch hit every single time.’

this article is so bad that it reads like a satire of NY sports-writing that you’d see in “The Onion”. so while i learned absolutely nothing about the 2008 Yankees, at least the article provided comic relief.

Also, why, other than his $3.75M contract, is Hawkins still on the roster? How much worst can J.B.Cox, Scott Patterson and Scott Strickland be?

Time to accept the 2008 team for what it is, a mediocre, underachieving, overpaid team that looks like it is playing underwater. Time to cut the fat, bring up the “kids” and look to the future.

Happy 4th Everyone!

SoCalYankeeFan

I agree here.Kevin Long is getting a free pass, consistancy is the problem and the batting coach is there to keep you in rythmn , we are not seeing enough of that from any player.

but where are they in situational hitting?

they seem to have a lot of highs and lows.

having the ability to create a run when you need it is different than creating a run when you don’t or at random.

long’s most publicized achievement is arod, and arod is a really bad situational hitter. he makes no attempt at situational hitting.

so i’m not sure what it is exactly that long brings to the table.

he’s so introverted that you almost never hear him talk about much. so what really is his philosophy? the walking tradition and high obp that began with boggs and travelled on down through bernie,posada, etc seems to have gone by the wayside.

the yankees rarely wear out other teams with pitch count now. is that because of long?

i really don’t know ,but it would be nice to know.

Jeter SS
Abreu LF
Giambi DH
ARod 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Cabrera RF
Betemit 1B (or any other random 1st Baseman)
Gardner CF

And then Girardi should keep it that way for at least five games.

Athletically and range wise Alex can still play SS, he gets to more balls in the SS hole than Jetes has already and that’s from 3B. Your believing that junk that Alex can’t play SS really ? Are you serious ? Have you watched how his range has even got to balls Jetes can’t.

There is no place to move Jeter to. He can’t hit at SS, so he’s going to play 1B? To much wear and tear at SS, so he’s going to CF? He’s not Ernie Banks, his Robin Yount days are past.

The point is to conserve him, it’s already affecting his game, he’s lost not 1 but 2 steps in his defense and hitting. Why is CF the option, there is LF and 1B and no one said you have to have 20 HR to play 1B, can he have a better chance of hitting .300 from a position that will conserve his lateral movement probably.

The Yanks have so many problems – why worry about Jeter?

Because he’s not hitting !

ARod hasn’t played SS in 4 years. His SS days are over. The major leagues aren’t Strat-O-Matic.

“if and when the Yankees move him off SS it will be to conserve his career, you can’t already tell the wear and tear is getting to him”

There is no place to move Jeter to. He can’t hit at SS, so he’s going to play 1B? To much wear and tear at SS, so he’s going to CF? He’s not Ernie Banks, his Robin Yount days are past.

The stats say he still is one of the best SS in the AL. That’s a fact.

The Yanks have so many problems – why worry about Jeter?