More Of The Same

Where or where has the offense gone? Oh where, oh where could it be? I know one place it's not and that's wherever the Yankees are playing. There has been no such thing as timely hitting thus far. Their batting average with runners in scoring position is abysmal. Sadly, tonight was no different. Granted the weather was horrible but the Royals had to hit in it also. My friend Dave left a comment on my last post that read, "The Yanks are outgunned and out manned by the KC Royals. Boy have times changed." Sad but true.

I was extremely encouraged at the outset of this game by the forward thinking of Joe Girardi. The forecast called for nasty weather so he made the decision to sit Ian Kennedy for the start of the game and use him in relief. Makes perfect sense. If you know you're going to get the game in why run the risk of getting a short outing from your starter if there's a rain delay. Joe Torre actually did this last week with Chad Billingsley. It was a smart move then. It's a smart move now. Too bad it didn't pay off in the end. I thought Kennedy pitched alright in his 3 innings of relief. He wasn't extremely sharp but he was much better than he was in his first outing. I'm encouraged by his outing. I think Matsui misplayed that fly ball that led to a run. Had Matsui hauled that in Kennedy's outing would have seemed much better.

Brian Bruney and Billy Traber were probably one of the lone bright spots tonight. Bruney was again dominant. 4 Ks in 2 innings. He's definitely showing he can be trusted when it counts. Traber had a pretty decent inning of work as well. He and Bruney are going to be key parts of the Yankees bullpen.

Farnsworth blows. It doesn't surprise me in the least that he gave up 4 hits and 2 walks in his 2 inning appearance. Again to quote my friend Dave from a comment he left, "Why can't Farnsworth go the way of Pavano? please blow your arm out worthless piece of garbage." A little extreme but I think every Yankees fan shares his sentiments. I'm not a fan. The guy can throw gas but it doesn't matter much how fast you throw if you have no movement on the ball. Memo to Joe Girardi: stop letting Kyle pitch in close games.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. I love Jose Molina. I was so sick and tired of watching guys like Wil Nieves, Kelly Stinnett, and John Flaherty step up to the plate and end up basically being an easy out. Molina might not have the greatest bat in the world but he's far and away the best backup catcher the Yankees have had in a long time. His arm isn't too shabby either. He's now thrown out 6 of the 12 would-be base stealers. A 50% caught stealing rate is pretty darn good.

Why did Jason Giambi swing at the 1st pitch with 2 on and 1 out in the 9th? You're facing a new pitcher. Let the first one go by. Popping up to third helps no one but the other team. Absolutely ridiculous.

With this again pathetic loss the Yankees drop to 4-5 on the young season. What causes these guys to start out so horrible year after year? just once I'd like to see them start hot right out of the gate. Maybe they really are affected by the weather? The schedule in recent years hasn't exactly been kind to the Yankees in the month of April. Last year they opened up at home against Tampa Bay. Why couldn't that series be in Tampa Bay? Same goes for this year. Why do two teams in domed stadiums open the season in New York? Couldn't the Yankees just have easily opened the season on the road in Tampa Bay and Toronto? Northeast teams should start the 1st week on the road. It's that simple. And what's up with the 18 road games this month? Ken Singleton mentioned during the broadcast that it's the most ever for a team in April. It doesn't make much sense. But it is what it is and what it is is baseball. If you're truly a good team you can battle through it. Right now they're not a good team.

Andy Pettitte gets the call tomorrow. Since it doesn't look like the offense is showing up, he better. We don't need to head to Boston on a 3-game losing streak.

Come on boys. Break out the lumber.

J-Boogie