...and hitting a brick wall.
I really thought the Yanks' struggles might be behind them, after the nice win against the Sox yesterday. Alas, the baseball gods were only setting me up.
I guess I should have known when the report on Clemens came in. He's got some kind of groin injury, and has been scratched from his 2007 Yankees debut. Kei Igawa may start in his place.
Today's game looked good at first. The Yanks were hitting, even players like Melky who haven't been hitting. But Moose was not pitching well, and he kept letting the Red Sox back in it. The Yanks had a lead and blew it...three times. It was the 7th inning that put a stake through the pinstriped heart. It was just horrendous. A microcosm of the Yanks' season. Torre mismanaging the bullpen with disastrous results. (I was wishing Everyday Scott Proctor had been suspended for throwing at Lowell's head yesterday, so Joe couldn't use him.) The bullpen blowing a lead...again. Bobby Abreu letting a deep fly drop in, because he's afraid of the wall. (Bubba would have gotten that one.) Jeter making two errors in the half-inning. Lowell kicking Minky in the head in a collision at 1B (he's in the hospital undergoing tests). The Sox scored five runs, and that pretty much put the game out of reach.
I hope Minky is okay. I know a lot of fans are probably hoping he'll be out awhile, to give Phelps a chance, but I hate to see any player hurt. And I like Minky. He doesn't hit much, but he's much better on defense than Phelps (or Giambi, though Giambi won't be playing any time soon). And I really think the Yanks need defense more than hitting right now. Their bats are coming alive; it's pitching and defense that's killing them.
Labels: Yankees
