Way Off the Mark

Tonight's blog entry will not get into specific details of the entire game this evening. As I am spending the weekend in Pennsylvania, thanks to our good friends at FOX, the Phillies-Red Sox game was the only one I had a chance to watch today. Believe me, it was fantastic to see Daisuke Matsuzaka come within four outs of a no-hitter. I can't really complain about Phil Hughes, because from reading up on the game, it seems like he had an OK start, and the Yankees didn't really hit the ball for about six innings, just like Friday's game. It was also completely shocking to see that Chan Ho Park allowed yet another run to jack his ERA over the 7.00 mark.

Tonight's blog is simply going to discuss something that needs to happen: benching Mark Teixeira. Maybe he needs an eye exam, or maybe he has something going on at home that is affecting his game. If that's the case, I'm sorry to hear that, but he needs some time to work through whatever is going wrong with him. It's either that, or the post-season was the worst thing that could have happened to him. You wonder if pitchers in the 2010 season are using scouting reports based on how horrible he was in October of 2009. Either way, Joe Girardi needs to man up and sit down Teixeira, who aside from a few single games has been absolutely terrible this season. For now, Juan Miranda must be the first baseman for the New York Yankees.

Sadly, the 2009 Yankees are not the 2010 Yankees. You can't do anything about injuries, especially to a young guy like Curtis Granderson. Not signing Johnny Damon was a mistake, and the Yankees are really depending on rookies and a back-up catcher with no power at all. They do lead the Wild Card by two games, but their hot start was really fueled by a super-human Robinson Cano, and lights out pitching. The pitching has hit a rough patch, Cano has really cooled off, and the other guys are not stepping up.

They don't have Phil Hughes in the eighth inning, because he's too good of a starter. His job was replaced by the inconsistent Joba Chamberlain. Hideki Matsui's great season at DH was replaced by a plethora of hitters who have not lived up to Matsui's success in pinstripes. Mark Teixeira was replaced by someone who can't hit. Johnny Damon has been replaced, for now, by Randy Winn, Marcus Thames, and Kevin Russo. Fans should not expect the late inning comebacks that we were used to last season. Instead, it seems that when rallies ensue, Randy Winn, Francisco Cervelli, or even Mark Teixeira are counted on, and they rarely come through.

I completely understand some humorous feedback I have received, calling my blog "bi-polar." You're probably right, but that really reflects the way that the Yankee season has gone thus far. At times, they've looked like the best team in baseball, with lights out pitching and enough hitting to go on a few winning streaks. But things have evened out, and the Yankees unfortunately look more like the '08 Bombers than last year's championship winning squad. It's a long season, things are still in good shape, but at this point, it's difficult to see much of a light at the end of this tunnel.