They're Back,
the boys of June. The yankees are back to losing games on poor fielding, untimely hitting, and a general waste of their considerable talent. But at least they seem to be playing hard and refusing to roll over.
Of all Err-Rod's 19 miscues this season, tonight's was perhaps the most costly (it lost them the game) and the most unaccountable. It would be charitable to call the play routine; it was actually easier than that. And it would be charitable to call his throw errant--he missed Cano by a zip code and a half. And it is impossible to chalk the error up to AROD's propensity for wilting under pressure. He made the throw in the 2nd inning of a 0-0 game. It was the most Knoblachian air mail (to go Sterlingesque) I have yet seen form Rodriguez, i.e. it left you thinking he must have some sort of Tourette's of the throwing arm.
No less mind-boggling however was the Yanks inability to bring runners home. They left 9 men on base in the first four innings. I mean how can you leave over 2 men on base for that span of time. And they have returned to the bad old days when they could only score by the home run. Part of this could be ameliorated with some line-up shifts. They played their best offensively when Giambi hit 4th and AROD fifth. I don't know why torre changed it around, but you want Giambi to have the 2 out at bats with a man on, not AROD, who has become a 280 hitter with decent but not overwhelming power. Tonight he struck out with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out, the worst situation to fan in). More importantly, Cano should not stay buried in the 7 hole. He had 2 doubles tonight, a double and 2 singles the game I went to see, and on both occasion had noone to bring him in. Additionally, Posada should be dropped from 6th to 8th. While his defense has never been better than it is right now, his offense is showing the effects of a long season behind the plate. I think he went about 1 for 16 in the series and left alot of men on. Finally Melky should not be buried in the 9 hole. He is simply too good and too clutch a hitter for that. Frankly I think he is tougher at the plate than Damon, who seems to have left some of his patience and tenacity at Fenway. I used to fear him in the nintrh with men on base, but now when he comes up in that situatio, as he did tonight, he doesn't give you much cause for hope.
I guess you can't complain about the season series against chicago, 4-2, or the fact that the Yankees actually gained ground against Boston while the latter played the Royals. But you can be apprehensive that recent success has lulled the Yankees into believing they are that team that started the season with the expectation that AROD, Giambi, Sheffield and Matsui would be recreating the Bombers of old. They are not, and in some sense never were, that team, not only because of the missing parts but because AROD bears no resemblance to Dimaggio, Gehrig, Muesel or even Earl Coombs, let alone the great one. This team needs to be centered on the speed and contact players: Jeter, Cano, Abreu, Melky and Damon, with Giambi providing the one source of consistent power (he's on pace for 125 RBIs). AROD played so well the game I went to, I really thought he was turning it around, but after tonight,I must defer to what his therapist is doubtless telling him: "you'll be a head case for a good long while yet."
Of all Err-Rod's 19 miscues this season, tonight's was perhaps the most costly (it lost them the game) and the most unaccountable. It would be charitable to call the play routine; it was actually easier than that. And it would be charitable to call his throw errant--he missed Cano by a zip code and a half. And it is impossible to chalk the error up to AROD's propensity for wilting under pressure. He made the throw in the 2nd inning of a 0-0 game. It was the most Knoblachian air mail (to go Sterlingesque) I have yet seen form Rodriguez, i.e. it left you thinking he must have some sort of Tourette's of the throwing arm.
No less mind-boggling however was the Yanks inability to bring runners home. They left 9 men on base in the first four innings. I mean how can you leave over 2 men on base for that span of time. And they have returned to the bad old days when they could only score by the home run. Part of this could be ameliorated with some line-up shifts. They played their best offensively when Giambi hit 4th and AROD fifth. I don't know why torre changed it around, but you want Giambi to have the 2 out at bats with a man on, not AROD, who has become a 280 hitter with decent but not overwhelming power. Tonight he struck out with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out, the worst situation to fan in). More importantly, Cano should not stay buried in the 7 hole. He had 2 doubles tonight, a double and 2 singles the game I went to see, and on both occasion had noone to bring him in. Additionally, Posada should be dropped from 6th to 8th. While his defense has never been better than it is right now, his offense is showing the effects of a long season behind the plate. I think he went about 1 for 16 in the series and left alot of men on. Finally Melky should not be buried in the 9 hole. He is simply too good and too clutch a hitter for that. Frankly I think he is tougher at the plate than Damon, who seems to have left some of his patience and tenacity at Fenway. I used to fear him in the nintrh with men on base, but now when he comes up in that situatio, as he did tonight, he doesn't give you much cause for hope.
I guess you can't complain about the season series against chicago, 4-2, or the fact that the Yankees actually gained ground against Boston while the latter played the Royals. But you can be apprehensive that recent success has lulled the Yankees into believing they are that team that started the season with the expectation that AROD, Giambi, Sheffield and Matsui would be recreating the Bombers of old. They are not, and in some sense never were, that team, not only because of the missing parts but because AROD bears no resemblance to Dimaggio, Gehrig, Muesel or even Earl Coombs, let alone the great one. This team needs to be centered on the speed and contact players: Jeter, Cano, Abreu, Melky and Damon, with Giambi providing the one source of consistent power (he's on pace for 125 RBIs). AROD played so well the game I went to, I really thought he was turning it around, but after tonight,I must defer to what his therapist is doubtless telling him: "you'll be a head case for a good long while yet."
posted by joe valente | 2:08 AM
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