The Pathetic Yankees Get Shutout By The Slightly Less Pathetic Nationals

According to Thesaurus.com there are 31 synonyms for the word pathetic. Pathetic is the perfect word to describe this series against the Nationals. The Nationals have the worst pitching staff in all of MLB. Look up the stats. You'll find it to be true. In 3 games against the lowly Nats, the Yankees managed to score only 7 runs on only 19 hits. You read that right. Only 7 runs. Only 19 hits. They managed to win 1 game against a team that had a 16-45 record (.262). It was the 3rd series that the Nationals have won all year. I think they need to add a 32nd word to that thesaurus, and that word is Yankees. Can you imagine what would go down if George Steinbrenner was the George Steinbrenner of old? Losing 2 of 3, at home, to the Nationals would not sit well with the Boss. Getting shutout by the Nationals would not sit well with the boss. Heads would definitely roll. Girardi, Long, and Eiland would all be on notice.

The Yankees offense was absolutely pathetic tonight. They yet again struggled against a pitcher they've never faced before, getting shutout against Craig Stammen. My post yesterday was all about the Yankees struggling against starters they've never faced. It was chock full of stats illustrating how they struggle. Here's an updated set of stats for those that don't want to scroll down:

• By my count they've faced 13 SPs they've never faced (I'm not counting Jon Lannan or Anthony Reyes). Their record in those games are 8-5, with 5 of the wins coming off the bullpen and not the starter.
• As a team, they're hitting .249 (66-265). They've hit under .200 5 times. They've hit .250 or under in 9 of the 13 games.
• Opposing SPs have a WHIP of 1.32 and an ERA of 4.77 against the Yanks. The WHIP was under 1.00 5 times, and under 1.20 8 times.
• If you add in the starts by Lannan and Reyes, the average dips to .239.

For more on that, you can scroll down or click here to read that post. I would really love to know why this happens. Michael Kay and John Flaherty talked about it on tonight's broadcast. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman talked about it Monday. It happens was too often and the Yanks need to figure out what the deal is. My theory, which is based on nothing really, is that the scouting reports are lacking and perhaps Kevin Long is doing a poor job of breaking down these pitchers for the team. I wish I knew the reason because it makes no sense to me how it keeps happening. Teams would be smart to pull minor leaguers up to face the Yanks. This little swoon is coming at the wrong time. Interleague play typically means they face guys they're not familiar with. They're next 2 opponents, Florida and Atlanta, have a lot of youngsters. This could be a rough road trip.

They're are a lot of guys struggling. A-Rod is leading the charge. He ended May with a .260 average and it's now down to .212. There's talk that the hip is bothering him and his swing is all upper body. He hasn't had a day off since coming off the DL. Give him a rest Joe. Please give him a day off.

Watching Joba Chamberlain makes me queasy at times. In his last outing, he and Jorge Posada seemed to have a little disconnect. Tonight he was paired with Francisco Cervelli and he seemed to have similar issues. I'm starting to think Joba isn't in a position to shake off pitches. How do you walk the #8 hitter, the .256 hitting Wil Nieves, with the bases loaded? How do you walk the .217 7th hitter, Willie Harris? That makes 9 walks for Joba in his last 2 starts. Enough with the free passes. Joba would do much better if he could cut down on the walks. What's really bad is a lot of the time he's ahead in the count and he comes back to walk the guy. He'll have a guy down 1-2 and end up walking him. Dave Eiland better get on that.

The Yankees go at it with yet another fresh-faced SP tomorrow. Sean West is making his 6th career start for the Marlins. West has put up some pretty solid numbers this year so it could be another tough one for the Yankees. This could be a long road trip.

Get well soon Brett Gardner. That was a great catch and the replay of it made me cringe. My fingers are crossed that it's not serious.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie