The issue was brought up in middle of the game yesterday by John Sterling, while NY Daily News writer Anthony McCarron was in the booth. McCarron quoted Mark Teixeira saying that the team doesn’t know how to prepare for new pitchers.
Then McCarron pointed out that the Yankees lineup is filled with patient hitters, and that hurts them against these kind of pitchers. He used Jason Giambi's stint as a Yankee as an example, and said that he would have had more hits if he hadn't taken so many called strikes. He might be right.
Yesterday’s starter Craig Stammen is known for throwing too many strikes and getting too much of the plate. With a patient approach, any offense is bound for failure. And that’s what the Yankees showed last night, as they neither walked nor scored against Stammen.
I know this is just one example, but this is really becoming a nagging issue for the Yankees. Maybe they need to change their approach, or maybe they need to watch more film. Whatever it is, they need to make a change, because losing two out of three to the Nationals really puts things into perspective.
