And now Bubba...

With Crosby going to the DL, the Yankees really have no outfield left to speak of. Damon apparently has a fracture in his foot, which would ordinarily sideline him, Williams can't chase down balls in left and Cabrera evidently can't pick them up out there. Unless sheffield comes back immediately upon the expiration of the DL (the 21st), I think the Yankees will start sliding down the standings, behind the Blue Jays, and, at least for now, out of contention. Without Crosby, and with Damon hobbled, there really is no viable plan for putting a solid defense out there, leaving both the good contact pitchers, like Wang, and the shakier ones, like Chacon and Small, really vulnerable. At the same time, the loss of Crosby and the hobbling of Damon effectively abrogates any speed game they might want to play on offense. Barring a sudden explosion by Giambi and AROD, the continued hitting of Cano, Jeter, and Posada, and some ignition of Damon's offensive firepower, it really is hard to see where they are going to get the runs to counter those they give away. Torre is going to luck like he was just victimized by bad luck and will live to fuck things up another day, er season.

Well, this much will be interesting. Now that even they must know the team they are fielding is not very good, do they start to play with a more consistent urgency?