Wow what a terrible week for the Yankees. After losing two out of three to Eric Hosmer the Royals, the Yankees just never showed up to play versus the Red Sox. The Yankees find themselves two games back in the division and have allowed the Red Sox the opportunity to pass them in the standings in the next few days. A combination of not hitting, poor pitching and terrible defense has left fans wondering what this group of former all-stars has left.
Almost everyone in the lineup besides Curtis Granderson is having a down year and Jorge Posada has the worst batting average in baseball. What was supposed to be a lockdown bullpen has looked average at best and Yankee fans can’t help but wonder if changes are coming soon. Here is my take on the week.
I went to Yankee Stadium Friday and was horrified. Not because the Yankees lost, but because it didn’t even feel like a Yankee-Red Sox game. The atmosphere was terrible. Looking around, I saw tons of empty seats (a product of Yankee Stadium being so open to walk around). All the true fans were so far away from the game that the opposing team wasn’t even bothered. I was sitting in the upper deck and had to literally scream at fans to get on their feet when Teixeira was up in the ninth. The Yankees accomplished their goal, though, as I spent $50 on food and beer at the game.
We all know the Posada situation. It’s a terrible situation, but the Yankees need a spark in their lineup — much like Robinson Cano provided in 2005. I think it’s time to promote Jesus Montero and make him the full time DH.
Joba Chamberlain is nothing more than an average reliever. He’s nothing special and has lost all the talent that once made him a can’t miss prospect.
Hitting with runners on base is mostly a product of luck. I find it hard to believe that certain hitters are better or worse at it. It varies so much year to year and a player that used to be clutch can become unclutch depending on the season. With that said, this Yankees team is one of the most unclutch teams I have watched in a while. Hitting around .220 with men on base is not going to win many ballgames.
When are the Yankees going to demote Ivan Nova? He has struck out 20 batters in 38 innings. He has an ERA of 4.70 and opponents are hitting .270 against him in his career. He’s not fooling anyone and only has a few decent major league starts.
As you can tell, there weren’t many positives this week. Look for the Yankees to make some changes to spark a little life into this team. My predictions for the week are that the Yankees split the series between the Rays and the Orioles and take two out of three from the Mets. I look for Posada to have a big week with his career on the line. Hopefully at this time next week we will have forgotten about this terrible weekend.
