Left-Handed and Losing

The Subway Series got off to a predictably rocky start for the Bronx participants, who threw their lefty-laden lineup before King Johan for sacrifice yesterday afternoon. When I reluctantly turned on John Sterling's butchered rendition of the game in the 4th inning, I was shocked to hear that the Yankees actually had a lead. That it was 2-0 was an expected, unimpressive lead; that Andy Pettitte squandered it swiftly with one poor inning of work was also expected on my part; and that the offense failed to muster another scoring threat before the game slipped out of the tenuous grasp of Kyle Farnsworth was even less surprising.

A typical effort for this incarnation of the antithesis of the Bronx Bombers nickname, Saturday's affair featured the classic elements of the still-young but seemingly forever downhill 2008 season: early success both offensively and on the hill, followed by pitching futility without any response from the offense, save for a few last-gasp moments that look like a rally, but are quashed before reaching full comeback status.

The team looks as flat as it ever did during The Joe Torre Era, specifically the 2nd, championship-starved half. The idea that Joe Girardi would bring more fire and a day-in, day-out attitude to the team that Torre lacked seems now like a complete fallacy. The roster is still overrun with complacent veteran personalities, so any potential fire seems extinguished by the weight of their paychecks and the size of their egos. No one has stepped up to fill the voids created by A-Rod and Posada in the lineup. Take your pick out of Shelley Duncan, Morgan Ensberg, Jose Molina, Alberto Gonzalez, Wilson Betemit...none of them have hit even close to a level covering for the missing run producers.

The rotation's problems now stem from Andy Pettitte not winning in 4 starts, an extremely problematic development considering The 5th Starter (once Kei Igawa, now Ian Kennedy again) has still yet to notch a victory on the season.

Hope might be found in Jason Giambi starting to heat up at the plate little by little, and Robinson Cano pulling his average off the interstate. Johnny Damon, however, has crawled back into his early-season shell, sending a ripple of missing productivity through the rest of the lineup.

The team still can't beat left handed starting pitching. A-Rod's return on Tuesday may or may not fix that. Another lefty starts tonight, albeit an erratic one in the Mets' Oliver Perez. Still, he dominated the Yankees last season and it's hard to expect the offense to send Perez to an early shower.

I don't know what it is going to take to turn this season around. It's clear to me that a shakeup is needed for the offense more than for the rotation: Pettitte is too much of a veteran to go winless much longer, and Wang and Mussina have been steadily successful all season. Rasner has shown signs, and Kennedy, even though his first start back saw him take the loss, seems closer to turning the corner than he did before his demotion.

Joe Girardi looks less capable of righting the ship by the game. He seems without answers, content to try a different lineup every game and chalk the team's failures up to veteran players performing under their capabilities. Never does he give a hint that the veterans need to start performing or their will be consequences; that would be too bold for someone that graduated from the Joe Torre "trust your guys" school of thought. Apparently, he's more willing to be a watered-down facsimile of Torre than a tougher manager that puts winning above loyalty.

It remains to be seen if this will change at some point, or if Joe will just wait patiently as the failure builds and the pressure from the front office mounts. I look forward to some panic trades at the deadline, sending Ian Kennedy packing for some mediocre offensive performers that won't solve anything. This season seems destined for the panic button being smashed by Brian Cashman, in a last-ditch effort to keep his job and prove that he's still a front-office genius.

It will undoubtedly end badly in every way, is the vibe that I'm now getting from the 2008 season.