The Embarrassment Continues

Over the last couple of weeks, the New York Yankees have really made their fans question whether or not they are capable of repeating as champions. Today, for the first time, I lost confidence in their ability to do so. Not only do they lack a bridge to Mariano Rivera (see Joba Chamberlain's inflated ERA), but they have a plethora of hitters who are having horrendous seasons that can no longer be considered "slumps."

Today, the Yankees had a one run lead after seven innings. AJ Burnett pitched a great game, and as he usually does, Joba Chamberlain coughed it up. Since the Yankees couldn't hit another starting pitcher with an ERA over 5, the game went to extra innings. David Robertson was good for one inning, and bad for another. Chan Ho Park continues to make me scratch my head in terms of what Brian Cashman and the Yankees saw in his ability to get batters out. There have been several losses that I've declared the "worst of the year," but today's game has to be right at the top.

The Yankees scored one run in 11 innings against Toronto today, so it's really difficult to write a whole blog entry about how bad everyone in the bullpen has been, minus Mariano Rivera. The team has several hitters that are having bad seasons. It starts with Mark Teixeira, whose average is right around .230. In the first inning, Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher both get on base, and Teixeira follows with a slow dribbler to first base. Sure, Michael Kay, it's as good as a bunt, but Mark Teixeira is not getting paid to bunt. He's supposed to drive in runs and get the team off to a good start. Instead, he's making everyone regret the enormous contract that he received in December 2008, and it's concerning to think about 8 more seasons with Tex up there flailing at the plate.

Everyone is constantly saying that the Yankees need another bat. I'm not sure how one bat is going to fix this offense. I know in the offseason they will likely sign Carl Crawford and Jayson Worth. That's great, but what about this season? How is one bat going to fix the down years that guys like Jeter, Posada, Granderson, Teixeira, and even Rodriguez are having? If these guys aren't going to hit for average and they continue to leave runners on base, I don't think we need to worry about getting relief pitchers to get the ball to Mariano.

Brian Cashman really made some terrible moves in the off-season. We can't keep talking about them all the time. But the Curtis Granderson trade is looking like a horrendous deal, which may at some point become one of the worst in Yankee history because of Austin Jackson. Jackson continues to hit over .300 for the Tigers and is looking like a future Al Star, while Curtis Granderson is hitting a horrible .232, still cannot hit lefties, and has already spent about a month on the disabled list.

The Yankees will look to try not to embarrass themselves more this weekend by taking the next two against the Toronto Blue Jays. Doing so will allow them to salvage a 3-3 homestand, and it will keep them in first place. Do it for George Steinbrenner's 80th birthday, and be thankful that he's not around as much, or heads would be rolling and change would be in the air.