New York Yankees: Stock Plummeting

Where to begin with the Bombers? Do you start with Girardi? Posada? The hitting? The pitching? The management? Added to all this, A-Rod has quietly (that's how bad it is, A-Rod is doing something quietly) been slumping during this whole drama. Let's start with Girardi. 


It seems with every game Joe has been mismanaging the pitching even worse than before, last night was the crowning example. The Yankees had a 4 run lead in the 6th against the Rays' ace, Price, and Burnett was set to start the inning. First he gives up a double to John Jaso (Yea, I've never heard of him either), then gives up a homer to Sam Fuld (Again, I haven't heard of him either). Now you would think these would be signs of warning, but I guess when you have such a consistent pitcher like AJ Burnett on the mound, it must be two fluky hits from two no-name players. But oh yea, we're talking about AJ Burnett, not a consistent pitcher in the slightest and as of last year, when things get bad, things get BAD. Going into this inning with such a big lead on a team that's in first, against an ace of a pitcher, you would think at the first sign of trouble, Girardi would already have someone warmed and ready to go, but alas no. You could tell from Burnett's body language that he didn't have it that inning from the first batter. So we move on to Zobrist, who lined out to right, yea he lined out, he absolutely crushed the pitch, another alarming sign. Burnett did manage to strike out 70-year old Johnny Damon, but then a perfectly placed ground ball by Longoria put him on first with Matt Joyce up next, the same Matt Joyce who is hitting .367 (so kinda good). Of course Burnett throws a wild pitch, and Longoria moves to second, putting him in scoring position. Now I know hindsight is 20/20, but this should have been the time to replace Burnett, however, he is left in. Yes there were 2 outs, but Burnett obviously did not have his stuff working, and this is a game the Yankees HAD, a game that meant a lot to a struggling ball club. So what does he do next? Yup you guessed it, allows a single from Joyce, which scored Longoria making it a 5-4 game. Again you would think, "You know Joe, this might be a good time to replace Burnett.," but he is left in. Of course AJ throws ANOTHER wild pitch, which moves Joyce into scoring position. Oh and then BJ Upton hits a home run and the Rays don't look back. After the HR, AJ is relieved, after giving up 5 runs on 5 hits. The cherry on top? Kyle Farnsworth (remember him?) gets the save. Nice


Now onto Posada. Um quick question, what is Posada batting this year? .165 you say? Ok, another question, what city is this? Oh, New York City? And he's playing for the most storied franchise in the history of the world? Hmm, now if I am the manager of this team (the team in which, if I don't win the World Series, I am viewed as a failure. The team in which I won a World Series with 2 YEARS AGO, however still get ripped to shreds on numerous occasions) what should I do? Normally, a batter who is batting with this anemic average would be benched, however, Jorge has been very good for the franchise, and he is a fan favorite, so let's just move him to 9th in the order; seems fair. THEN HE DECIDES TO TAKE HIMSELF OUT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Look I know I just bashed Girardi for his mistakes, but this was a good call. Posada has not been producing, he hasn't gotten 1 hit against a lefty pitcher all season, and he isn't playing the field anymore; if it was anyone else, the player would have been replaced all together!  On second thought, I should probably thank Posada for taking himself out of the lineup, by doing that, he was helping the team because then the Yankees didn't have to play him. Jorge, I know you have been great in the past, you have helped this franchise win 5 championships in your time here, but the fact that you are batting .165 and not even playing the field is terrible; even you should know that. The team is paying you 13 million dollars to hit, that's right 13 million dollars to hit a baseball...and you are batting .165?! They kept you IN the lineup, but because it wasn't high enough for you, you want to sit? This is New York my man, this is a team of champions. No, you don't have to prove anything to anyone, but come on Jorge, man up and start hitting. 


A-rod, please start hitting, please. You are a first ballot HOFer and you stuck out 3x yesterday. Just start hitting please, you and Tex. I wish everyone would play like Granderson is playing right now. That dude is CRUSHING it; he is single handedly keeping the Yankees in games, not only with his bat, but with his glove too. Melky who? 


Hopefully the Yankees win tonight, then mop the floor with the O's to get a nice feeling going into the Subway Series.