Too Little Too Late For Yankees Offense In 5-3 Loss To Angels

I didn't get to see the game today. Correction. I got to see the 9th inning. I was hoping to see some pie, but instead I saw the Yankees go down 1-2-3. Next to games on My9, afternoon games are my least favorite type of Yankee games. I listen along at work but it's really tough to focus on and follow. Not to mention I can't really tweet about it. I had to leave a little early today to meet up with our realtor, so I did hear the 8th inning rally, which was as the title of this log suggests, too little too late.

The Yanks had their shot there in the 8th. Tying runs on base and the two hottest hitters coming up in Cano and Posada. Based on their hot starts I thought for sure one would come through. I was really hoping it'd be Cano because I thought it would signal the end of his troubles of hitting with RISP. Grounding into a fielder's choice? Not the way to get things done. Robbie still appears to be having trouble hitting in key situations this year. After today's game I think his average with RISP dropped to .222 and his average with runners on dropped to .231. It's hard to believe a guy hitting .382 would be that bad with runners on. I may have to start calling him Robbie The Rally Killer if he keeps it up. It's such a small sample size. I hope he turns it around.

It sounded like Joel Pineiro really dominated the Yankee hitters today. He allowed 5 hits and no walks while striking out 7. I'd call that a pretty good day. I don't really have any critique of his counterparts performance. Without seeing much of the game it's hard to really tell how Javy Vazquez did. It's really easy to go by a guy's pitching line when he dominates. Not so easy when it's a sub-par start. If anyone who saw the game wants to breakdown his performance for me I'd appreciate it. I'll hit up some of my favorite blogs to see what the general consensus but the more opinions the better, so feel free to lay it on me. All I can say is it's not good to have two of your team's three losses and have a 9.82 ERA to boot. I hope he turns it around.

Do I come off as disliking Nick Swisher? I know I call him the "Rally Killer" and all, but I really am rooting for him. I think my buddy Don disagrees. We had a little back and forth today via text messaging about Nick and I think he thinks I can't stand the guy, and that couldn't be further from the truth. The last thing I am going to do is root for a Yankee to fail. I've broken down Swish's numbers a few times on this site, justifying the moniker I've bestowed upon him. I haven't run into anyone yet that disagrees with the name, except for my buddy. I'm curious if there's anybody else out there. Now before anybody jumps all over me (I'm talking to you Don), let me say that I do like what Nick brings to the table. He's a great clubhouse guy. He's a great teammate. He helps the lineup by seeing a lot of pitches. I see great value in all of those things. But I also see value though in being able to bring runners home and Swish, as I've detailed many a time, doesn't do well in that aspect. Believe you me, I wish that wasn't the case. I really am pulling for him. I really do hope he does better in that area. I'm probably a little hypocritical for not jumping all over Cano like I do with Swish. I wonder why that is. I need to see a shrink I guess. Any theories from the armchair shrinks out there?

Tomorrow is a big day for me as I'm a really big Phil Hughes guy and he makes his first start of the season tomorrow night. I'm glad the Yankees named him the 5th starter. I see great things in his future. A good outing tomorrow would be a step in that direction. It would be nice to win another series and be 6-3 after facing arguably the 3 best teams in the American League. That's a start I can get behind.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie