Pass The Rolaids

had another one of those headaches last night. Runny nose. Pain in the eye. Headache right in the temple. According to WebMD, it could be a tension headache. Watching the Yankees may be the source of all my problems because right now it's getting difficult to watch. Am I the only one getting frustrated with watching the pitching staff implode on itself? It's going to be a long season in the Bronx if the Yankees can't get everyone on the same page. When the pitching is on, the offense is off. When the offense is on, the pitching is off. When the pitching is on, the defense is off. We've seen signs that each sector can adequately perform it's function, but until they all do it together, they're not going to win. We've seen great things from the bullpen and from the rotation. The defense has improved. And the offense has shown that they can get to the "best" pitchers the game has to offer. We've seen a lot from the offense lately, and the defense hasn't been slouching either. The main deficiency as of late has been with the pitching staff, from both the front and back ends. Last night's loss to the D-Rays goes squarely on the shoulders of the pitching staff.
Let's start with the good. The offense. The Yanks now have 6 regulars hitting at a clip of .300 or better. Jeter .316. Abreu .306. A-Rodacus .400. Giambi .310. Posada .333. Cano .324. Even Phelps is hitting .300. Whenever you hit a team for 8 runs and 13 hits, you should win the game. A-Rod has now tied the record for most April HRs, and he still has a week to go. He's having a season for the ages, but I'm sure he'd trade a few of the dingers for a few more Yankee wins. Giambi looks like he's getting back to form as he's starting to go the other way. I think he had 2 hits last night to left-center and he had another one in the Boston finale. If Giambi can continue to hit to all fields, we're going to see that overshift disappear or shift slightly back to the norm, and that will open up a lot of holes for him. If Giambi can keep it up, pitchers won't have any choice but to pitch to A-Rod. It'll be win-win.
I'm puzzled by the inconsistency of the pitching staff. Igawa struggles, has 2 solid outings, and then struggles again. He was definitely off with his location. Posada's calling for it low and the pitch is left up. Not good. I was pretty displeased with his performance as I thought he had turned a corner. Brian Bruney was the latest victim of a subpar outing. The pen is wearing down and we're not even 20 games into the season. The starters need to do a better job of getting deeper into the game. I don't worry about Pettitte, Wang and Mussina being able to get into the 7th each game, but these rooks worry me. And is it me, or are the Yankees issuing way too many walks? My impression is that the bullpen isn't comfortable going after opposing hitters. They look like they're trying to dance around the plate as opposed to taking it to the batter. Throw strikes, get ahead in counts and the outs will come. It's frustrating.
The big news from yesterday is that the long awaited arrival of Phil Hughes is days away. I'm on the fence with this. I don't think he's ready and I was hoping to see him in AAA all year, but the current state of affairs within the Yankee organization has pretty much made this a no-brainer. While I think Hughes will be able to hold his own on the hill, if the Yankees continue to impose a pitch limit on the kid I don't see him pitching deep into the game. 5 innings tops, 6 if we're lucky. I think he needs more development and another season to get his arm ready for the bigs, but the Yankees really don't have any option here. It's much needed, but I don't think the Yankees will reap great rewards from it, and I don't see him staying on the roster permanently. I'm really anxious to see him make his debut.
The pitching staff is on the mend. Wang makes his debut tonight. It'll be good to see Chien-Ming back on the hill. I think things will get much better for the pitching staff once we get the regulars back into the rotation. Wang, Mussina and Pettitte aren't going to give up 7 runs in an outing. I know those 3 won't win every game, but if they can keep the opposing team's run total down, the offense is going to take care of the rest. The Yankees have been in every game this year. They obviously can put up the runs. It's a matter of time before the staff gets rolling.
When that happens, watch out because the Yanks will start rolling.
J