CABRERA AND PHILLIPS CANNOT DO IT

all by themselves. Phillips had 2 hits and a walk, Melky a triple and an RBI and nobody else did anything. A perfectly solid performance by Pettite wasted. When a Yankee starter goes 7 full and gives up 3 runs, they need to win. Sometimes you let down, like the finale in K.C., especially when your starter puts you in a demoralizing hole. But when you've just put an easy win in your pocket (the suspended game) you have to keep the momentum going.

Can the Yankees hit good pitching (like Guthrie)? That appears to be the season-determining question. With Rivera, a resurgent Vizcaino, a usually solid Bruney, an adequate Proctor, one could make the case that the Yankees are a decent relief arm away from an acceptable bullpen, and Jorba Chamberlain could be that man. With a solid Pettite, Clemens and Wang going deep into games, and the second coming of Phillip Hughes, even the deplorable Mussina cannot stop the rotation from being good enough to secure a wild card. But while we know the offense can pile up the stats and score in bunches, it has yet to be demonstrated that they can hit good pitching, and with their legendary inability to manufacture runs, if they can't hit good pitching withn some degree of consistency, the latest spate of wins, however refreshing, is only a mirage.

But I generalize. The question as to whether the Yankees can hit good pitching does not apply equally to all its members. Jeter has obviously shown he does and so has AROD, whose troubles have always arise from the situation rather than the pitcher. Likewise Abreu--when he is hitting, he hits everyone, and when he isn't, everyone makes him look bad. It's too early to tell for Phillips and the indications are that Melky can hit good pitching, which is why he often has multiple hit games in Yankee losses. Posada has hit everyone this year. So that leaves, chiefly, Cano, Damon, and Matsui. Good pitchers give Cano trouble by working on his lack of plate discipline, but other than coaching him, what are you going to do? I mean you have to play him. The same is not true of Damon,however, who has only hit the cripples this year. I would submit that dropped to the bottom of the order a healthy Giambi, if he is indeed healthy, would be more productive than a Damon hitting 245 and under 200 against the top of the rotation. If Damon is playing left field, he's worth having in the line-up--he's so much better with the glove than Matsui. But I'm not at all sure he is enough of an offensive threat to be your DH.

Now I have not been enthusiastic about the prospect of Giambi's return, suggesting he should be left in the minors. BGW has likewise been scornful, wondering if the Yankees really need more offensive thump purchased at the price of speed, defense or fundamentals. Amid their recent winning streak, the answer seemed to be an obvious no, but then they didn't beat a decent starter through that entire stretch. And last year, with Sheffield and Matsui gone, Damon hurt one week, Jeter another and Posada another, Giambi's bat really did carry the team. Indeed, Giambi has produced every season prior to this one in the manner in which he is capable. I think he needs to be given the chance to display that offense again (if he is right), understanding that it is the job of the manager to limit the correlative costs of that productivity. Do not put him in the middle of the order where his talent for drawing walks merely clogs up the bases. Put him at the bottom of the order, where he can pick up Cano, Melky and Phillips, and where his walks will turn the order over to your new lead off man, Derek Jeter.

Here's a line-up I'd try. I would bat AROD third becasue you know he is going to hit until the games become truly meaningful, and right now you're just trying to make sure they do.

Jeter
Abreu
AROD
Matasui
Posada
Phillps
Cano
Cabrera
Giambi