All Things Bubba

August 5, 2006: Baltimore 5, N.Y. Yankees 0

The Yanks have been flatter than stale beer the last two games, causing some fans to wonder if they are all in mourning for the plucky Bubba. They were lucky to come away with a win Friday, and completely out of it the entire game Saturday. As "Flash" Flaherty put it, it's not unusual for the Yankees to struggle against a rookie pitcher. It is unusual for them to be one-hit by a kid throwing only fastballs.

To make things worse, Miguel Cairo pulled his hamstring running out a grounder yesterday. He is headed for the DL when Cano rejoins the team Tuesday.

I know what some of you are thinking. If it had happened a couple of days earlier, Bubba might still be on the roster. Perhaps, but it would have been a very brief reprieve, until Cano returned. It's Nick Green who has been saved by this injury. Indeed, many see the injury to Cairo as proof Joe's decision was correct.

Still, some fans are not convinced, like this poster at Bronx Banter. "Stormer Sports" says:

Today illustrated why Joe/Cash cut Bubba. He feared Cairo going down and being left without a viable backup. I just wish he could have waited a few days, as we now have Cano coming back and have no backup CF'er, and no, Melky is not going to cut it in center. That is without mentioning that Bubba risked life and limb out there for us, he was a fan favorite, and the team is not be appreciably better with Green/Phillips (with Green being downright horrible) over Bubba. We now have 3 1st basemen (4 if Sheff comes back--awfully redundant at the easiest position on the field to play) and no backup CF'er. We don't need Phillips to PH as Giambi should be playing more games at 1st anyway against righties, leaving Wilson to PH. With Cairo down, we now have no Pinch Runner either. If it made baseball sense, I would have been for it, but it didn't.

Looks like today will be the test. Torre has decided to rest Damon's legs by DHing him. Which means Bernie in CF, with no LIDR available. Oy. This could be dangerous, with Wright on the mound. Man, do I miss Bubba.