Crisis
The Yankees are at the crossroads or maybe they're on the precipice. But with everybody assuming they would reach the playoffs once again, via their 9th consecitve division crown, it has suddenly become all too easy to imagine them suffering the fate to which everyone consigned them earlier this season. But it's not because of those dreaded injuries. It's because they've reverted to the form they displayed before the injuries happened. Today they scored 3 runs, all on solo homers. they didn't leave alot of men on base, becuase they didn't put that many on (8), but they didn't bring a single one of them home. The grinding style that kept them in the race during June and July, to many people's surprise, has been replaced by the less dependable style of homerspotting that brought them a disappointing April and May. All the runs over the last two games have come via the home run. They are no doing anything in the way of building rallies. Meanwhile, back in the friendly confines of Fenway, the Sox are beating the O's brains out (10 runs and counting today, without Ortiz in the line-up). The lead is down to 2 in the loss column with another game against the Angels tomorrow. What to do?
1. Drop Posada to ninth in the lineup. He is just horrible right now; he strikes out more than he makes contact and he never gets on base. Torre is just asking to have potential rallies die by putting Posada in the middle of the line-up. Thirty-Five year old catchers wear out as the season drags on. Simple as that.
2. Bat Abreu lead-off, as BGW suggests. Abreu is all aboput getting on base and he's an adept base-stealer. Jeter is a better hitter when he is allowed to make productive outs.
3. Bat Cano third. He's the best hitter on the team right now.
4. Bat Giambi 4th, not 5th. He's the RBI machine on this club, not AROD.
5. Bat Melky 6th. Look at the reord. He responds better to meaningful pressure at- bats than most people on this team.
6. Recognize that after AROD, the biggest problem on this team is Johnny Damon. He's not hitting for the average they need out of their lead-off hitter. He doesn't get on base enough. He's not fouling off pitches the way he did at Fenway. He's too in love twith the short porch, exacerbating ther Yankees infatuation with the long ball. Bat him seventh and ask George to let him know he's not giving value for money, not by long chalks. He seems to me to be taking the ups and downs of the season far too casually. I think the Yankee fans should start AROD-ing him. He's a tough guy, he'll respond. For now bat him 7th, as an expression of disapproval.
7 DH Bernie Williams against left-handed pitching and bat him 8th.
8. most importantly, as I said recently, status quo Joe has to communicate a sense of urgency and do it through an insistence on grinding it out at the plate. Contact, contact, contact has to be the mantrra. Almost everyone on this team, including Cano, Cabrera and Jeter, as well as the obvious, AROD, Wilson, Posada, STRIKE OUT TOO DAMN MUCH. That is one reason the LOB statistics are so preposterously high.
Final Grim Note:
SI recently did a piece suggesting that Wang had already pitched more innings this year than he ever has in his life, and that would ptrobably spell trouble down the stretch. If you look at his last start in Chi-town and today's against LA, you might surmise that the trouble has already begun. If you go on to consider how central his amazing effort was to the Yankees hanging in during June and July with the multiple depletions, an undependable Wang in Aug.-Sept. could be the end of them.
1. Drop Posada to ninth in the lineup. He is just horrible right now; he strikes out more than he makes contact and he never gets on base. Torre is just asking to have potential rallies die by putting Posada in the middle of the line-up. Thirty-Five year old catchers wear out as the season drags on. Simple as that.
2. Bat Abreu lead-off, as BGW suggests. Abreu is all aboput getting on base and he's an adept base-stealer. Jeter is a better hitter when he is allowed to make productive outs.
3. Bat Cano third. He's the best hitter on the team right now.
4. Bat Giambi 4th, not 5th. He's the RBI machine on this club, not AROD.
5. Bat Melky 6th. Look at the reord. He responds better to meaningful pressure at- bats than most people on this team.
6. Recognize that after AROD, the biggest problem on this team is Johnny Damon. He's not hitting for the average they need out of their lead-off hitter. He doesn't get on base enough. He's not fouling off pitches the way he did at Fenway. He's too in love twith the short porch, exacerbating ther Yankees infatuation with the long ball. Bat him seventh and ask George to let him know he's not giving value for money, not by long chalks. He seems to me to be taking the ups and downs of the season far too casually. I think the Yankee fans should start AROD-ing him. He's a tough guy, he'll respond. For now bat him 7th, as an expression of disapproval.
7 DH Bernie Williams against left-handed pitching and bat him 8th.
8. most importantly, as I said recently, status quo Joe has to communicate a sense of urgency and do it through an insistence on grinding it out at the plate. Contact, contact, contact has to be the mantrra. Almost everyone on this team, including Cano, Cabrera and Jeter, as well as the obvious, AROD, Wilson, Posada, STRIKE OUT TOO DAMN MUCH. That is one reason the LOB statistics are so preposterously high.
Final Grim Note:
SI recently did a piece suggesting that Wang had already pitched more innings this year than he ever has in his life, and that would ptrobably spell trouble down the stretch. If you look at his last start in Chi-town and today's against LA, you might surmise that the trouble has already begun. If you go on to consider how central his amazing effort was to the Yankees hanging in during June and July with the multiple depletions, an undependable Wang in Aug.-Sept. could be the end of them.
posted by joe valente | 3:44 PM
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