26 Going On 27

"The Yanks, feeling the vibe of Coors, decided follow in its footsteps and end up down the toilet at the end of the night."

OUCH! Three games, three losses, a total of five runs scored and three decent pitching performances wasted. To make matters worse, the Yankees are back at .500 and Boston’s lead is once again in double digits.

There are a couple of different ways to look at this Colorado swoon, the truth is, if you weren’t giving up on the Yankees after the Mets series, there’s no need to abandon ship now. A couple of years ago I was at a Yankees – White Sox game. It was during the first few weeks of the season, and was one of Javier Vazquez’s first starts for the Yankees. I don’t recall the exact score (and am too lazy to go to Retrosheet.org right now), but in the 9^th the Yanks were losing 7-4, or something like that. Most of the fans had hung around because it was a beautiful night and it was only 3 runs that needed to be made up. Tony Clark was leading off the ninth and promptly flied out, immediately the flood gates opened with fans flocking for the subway. Suddenly the guy in front of me stands and yells “OH, so Tony Clark makes an out and now everyone’s leaving!” The point is this, the Yankees were probably going to lose before Tony Clark made that first out, so if you had hope that they could come back in the 9^th, there odds of doing so had only marginally decreased from what was already a tough task. The same could be said of this sweep, if you really think the Yankees are going to make the playoffs, this is only a temporary setback.

On the other hand…

The Yankees simply cannot afford to get swept by anyone. The Bombers are 10.5 behind Boston and 6.5 out of the Wild Card. The Red Sox, Tigers, and Indians are all better than the Yankees this year. Even teams that are not better than the Yankees, Angels, Atheltics and Mariners I’m looking at you, have better records. What the Yankees need is a sustained winning streak combined with a sustained losing streak by some of those teams – something that is simply not very bloody likely.

Here’s what has to happen for the Yankees to really have a chance at the Wild Card.

Finish the 1^st half on an positive note. This is going to require playing very well for the next 6 games, 3 against San Francisco and 3 against Baltimore, because they then play 3 against Oakland, 4 against the Twins, and 3 against the Angels.
Immediately after the All-Star Break, the Yanks need to go on a tear. They open the second half with 4 against Tampa Bay, 4 against Toronto, 3 more against Tampa Bay, 4 against the Kansas City, 3 against Baltimore, 3 against Chicago, another 3 against Kansas City. This is a great stretch to make up ground, the Yankees simply must do so during this time. The end of August is nasty – 3 against Cleveland, 7 games against Detroit, another 3 against Anaheim, and 3 against Boston.
Plug the hole at 1B. Look there’s a giant fucking problem when a team’s payroll is close to $200,000,000 and the manager is plugging in the following names at 1b – Doug Mientkiewdaklfjdakl;fjd; Josh Phelps, Miguel Cairo (even his supercharged form), Johnny Damon, and Andy Phillips. Sure, our anonymous poster will be excited that Doug M is coming back in the second half, but those of us who can read the back of a baseball card understand that Doug’s comeback is not a good thing. It is disgraceful how much trouble the Bombers have had filling this position. Combined with the double whammy of having Jason Giambi out, thus robbing the team of a DH as well, there are two major holes in the lineup. While I would cut off my right toe to get Mark Teixeira (though not if we have to give up Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, or Joba Chamberlian), I just don’t see it happening. Adam Dunn on the other hand would be a substantial improvement over our anemic first sackers. (Before you post, Anonymous, I know Adam Dunn strikes out a lot, but we’ll take all those homers over Cairo’s infield singles.)
Figure out what to do with Johnny Damon – he’s killing us. The guy can’t play the field and can’t swing the bat, which means he either needs to be put on the DL or released. I’m not advocating releasing him, but a nice long stay on the DL so that he can get healthy sounds appropriate. (For the record, I think it is beyond pathetic when players put themselves above the team by trying to maintain their consecutive game streak or their never having been on the DL streak. Seriously, do these guys think they’re helping the team by limping out on the field, grounding out to the pitcher and sitting down. I mean sure Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken had some days where the manager helped them keep their streaks going, but that was Lou FREAKIN’ Gehrig and Cal Ripken! Not Johnny and Miguel Tejada. While I’m ranting, even Ripken was no Gehrig – look at the stats. If you hit like Gehrig you can play every single game and never go on the Disabled List – otherwise not a chance.)
Paging Kevin Long, as hitting instructor it is your duty to explain to Melky Cabrera that pitches three feet over his head are very difficult to hit. While you’re at it Mr. Long, it might be time to teach Robinson Cano that there’s no rule in baseball that you have to swing at the first pitch.
Pray Phil Hughes comes back soon.
Someone other than Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and A-God needs to step up on a consistent basis. Both Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui are showing signs of life, but if those top three don’t hit, the Yankees lose. It would be nice if Robinson Cano, or Damon (after he returns from the DL) or Melky or the void at first base could actually contribute.
Hope that Kei Igawa doesn’t implode tonight.