Welcome to 4th place

I don't really know where to start with this team. You see the match up for today's game. It started off being Mike Mussina (17-7) vs. Carlos Silva (4-14). Hmm, well you would think advantage Yankees right? Then a twist to the game. Silva is out with an injury, and the Yankees will be facing some no name that has a record of 0-2 with an ERA of almost 7. Even better you would think right? It is very hard to explain why the Yankees have such a hard time hitting nobodys. This is not the first time this year their offense has been stumped by a young guy who has struggled so far while in the major leagues.

In most instances, allowing 4 earned runs would be plenty for the Yankees to give their starter a win. But not with this current Yankee offense. Without looking at the stats, just look at these name. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, etc, etc, etc... These are big name guys. Big name guys that are getting paid millions and millions of dollars. This is not an instance of a "poor Yankees team that has been plagued by injuries." This is a team of players that is just not performing AT ALL. Every team has their share of injuries.

So where do we look. Can you really say there is one person to blame? Well, obviously no. This is a team sport. One player doesn't carry a team. You can certainly place this in the hands of many of the players. Do you start with Arod? Giambi? or even Cano? Or do you look at a guy like the manager?

I really am not sure who you can "blame". This team lacks heart, and they lack drive. They also lack a bench. With two guys on and the Yankees down by 3 runs, it would be nice to see someone besides Wilson Betemit as my hero of the day that is coming in to pinch hit. The Yankees have always had that guy who pops of the bench and provides some sort of spark. They are lacking that- among many other things.

Tampa Bay Rays (20)85-56
Boston Red Sox 83-58
Toronto Blue Jays 76-66
New York Yankees 76-66
Baltimore Orioles 63-78