More of the Same

Last night’s game was one of the most frustrating regular season games I’ve ever watched. 9 innings of letting a pitcher off the hook has become the norm for this sad group of supposedly talented offensive players. The team has found more unique and mind-boggling ways to lose games this year than they ever have in the past. Any breaks that the Yankees used to be given from the hypothetical baseball gods have vanished and been replaced by a Murphy’s Law level of ineptitude. The loss doesn’t fall on the shoulders of pinch-runner Justin Christian getting picked off, but it was certainly a backbreaking error on the basepaths. Still, the team had so many other chances with all of their “best” run producers at the plate that one flop by Christian should not have killed their chances. In fact, it didn’t. When you get 2 rolling infield singles, a clean single, and a walk in the 9th inning of a one-run game and STILL can’t find a way to score, you have to know that this offense is completely done, completely in the tank and completely hopeless at this point in the season.

As I now check in on today’s game later into the action, I notice that nothing has changed miraculously overnight: the offense still squanders every opportunity to score runs that they’re presented with. Last night they were 3 for 13 with RISP and left 11 men on base. Now this afternoon, the 4th inning sees the Yankees load the bases with nobody out, and Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi coming up with ample opportunities to do damage. Predictably, A-Rod strikes out and Giambi hits into an inning-ending double play. Giambi last night made the final out with the bases loaded, and also struck out in a situation earlier in the game where a hit would have delivered a much-needed offensive lift.

To me, Giambi it the biggest culprit in terms of the year-long, team-wide epidemic of poor hitting with RISP. His season average is a putrid .212 with RISP, and a much-improved .224 with RISP and 2 outs. Sure, he has a good number of RBIs, but he could have produced so much more considering how many opportunities he gets while hitting out of the #5 spot in the lineup. And yet in spite of his futility, Joe Girardi NEVER takes him out of the slot in the lineup behind A-Rod.

It’s a stubbornness in both guys that is extremely frustrating: Giambi has done nothing to make adjustments with men on base, his swing remains long and home run-minded. Girardi has put blind faith in Jason’s ability to somehow turn it around in those situations, and has not backed off it all season long.

At this point, when the offense looks as awful as it does, why as a manager are you not just trying anything to try and shake things up? Demoting Melky Cabrera and playing Brett Gardner is doing nothing to get the offense turned around. The lineup hasn’t worked in months, so why keep running the same one out there day after day?

Honestly, it seems as though Girardi and his players have checked out. Today we’re about to be through 7 full innings, and the offense has yet to crack the scoreboard. Zack Greinke is a great young pitcher, but the Yankees have had enough opportunities once again—runners on 2nd to lead off the last two innings—and have yet to do anything productive. It is going to be a depressing stretch run, since the Yankees are already playing as though they’re ready for the offseason. Not the best way to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium.