JOE MUST GO

This is probably going to be my most unpopular blog entry of the year, but Yankees' manager Joe Girardi is ruining the season, and the Yankees' playoff hopes are getting scarier. I know, I know, they still have a large Wild Card lead, but other than CC Sabathia and a miracle Nick Swisher walk off homer last Wednesday, the team has shown no life for over a week. There have been no reports of team meetings, no locker room speeches from their captain, and no momentum heading into the stretch run which includes more games with Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto, and Baltimore. There is no guarantee of a playoff spot if the team rolls over every single day. The games against the Red Sox coming up will be bigger than anyone thought they would be just a few days ago.

CC Sabathia was lights out, and deserving of his 20th victory. Unfortunately, the Yankees, who have the worst September schedule in all of baseball, had to face Cliff Lee and David Price in back-to-back games. The offense accomplished nothing, and Joe Girardi gave up the game after the ninth inning, using Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre to finish out a devastating loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, which dropped the Yankees to second place. Every hitter on the team not named Lance Berkman is mired in a slump, and things do not get easier with two more games against the Rays. Based on the Yankees' starting pitching, when you don't win with Sabathia on the mound, you risk a losing streak. No one, other than Ivan Nova, has been anywhere near reliable.

At the time of writing this article, the Boston Red Sox lead the Seattle Mariners 3-0, with mostly back-up players driving in runs. The Red Sox are showing heart despite a plethora of injuries, while the Yankees appear to be going through the motions and waiting for something better to come along. In my mind, Joe Girardi's thoughts may already be in Chicago. He allows Brett Gardner, with a sore wrist, to pinch run, but not until the ninth inning. Gardner then idiotically tries to steal third base before a pitch is even thrown. Girardi would have been better off using Brett in the eighth, when Jorge Posada reached on an error to begin the frame. Girardi also chose to give up on the game in the tenth inning, bringing in Chad Gaudin and then Sergio Mitre, who blew it immediately. Chad Gaudin lost Friday's game, and would have lost Saturday's game if not for a big hit by Alex Rodriguez. I think I can speak for Yankees Universe when I say we have seen enough of these guys that Brian Cashman insists on signing.

The Yankees are in free fall. They are still in very good shape for the postseason, but it's tough to think about when the Yankees can possibly get on a run. Their magic number stands at 12 to clinch the Wild Card over Chicago and Boston. Their offense is in shambles, and you have to sit and worry about the next three starting pitchers until CC pitches again on Saturday in Baltimore. The last 18 games of the year will be a real test of this team and its leadership. Instead of resting everyone and getting the playoff roster in order, Joe Girardi has to play with all available hands on deck the rest of the way. The Yankees' schedule simply does not allow for anything else. Monday's night in sports allowed all New Yorkers to play a brand new game show: "Which Offense is Worse?" In case you're looking to play, take a look at the Jets and the Yankees and give it a guess!

Bittersweet Victory

As fun as it is to see a guy like Nick Swisher pick up the team and crack a walk off homer to end a fairly successful homestand, Wednesday's victory over the Orioles was more of a relief than a satisfying win. The Yankees avoided embarrassment at the hands of Buck Showalter and the pathetic Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff. They dodged a potential four game losing streak before heading to Texas with three great arms scheduled to pitch: Vazquez, Moseley, and Burnett. If you're not thankful enough for Nick Swisher's homer, just check out the recent statistics on these guys.

Had Swisher not hit that big blast, we'd be talking about how atrocious the Yankees offense has been for four days. Well on The Inside Corner, we still talk about that stuff. Derek Jeter stinks. I hate to say it, and I hate to pick on the greatest shortstop in the history of the franchise, but maybe it's time. I'm not sure how the Yankees can really justify re-signing this guy with Eduardo Nunez waiting in the wings. Another 0 for 4 performance by "The Captain" has dropped his average to .262, and he also contributed a poor throwing error during Wednesday's game. If Jeter steps it up in the playoffs, he's guaranteed to be back next season. If it's more of the same for Derek, who knows where he ends up?

The 2010 Yankees are one of the streakiest offensive teams I can remember. When they're hot the whole team is hot. And then when one guy gets cold, the rest of the team can't hit. The lineup is just full of guys who have not hit for average this season: Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada (once in a while), Lance Berkman, and Curtis Granderson. When Jorge's not playing, which may start happening more frequently, we have Francisco Cervelli, who probably hasn't driven in a run since the beginning of May.

Ivan Nova seems like the real deal. He's had four starts, and he's done fairly well in all of them. The Yankees have won three of his starts, and his other start was lost by David Robertson after a 2-2 tie score. Why Cashman and Girardi don't consider him for the playoff rotation is beyond me. Who cares about experience? You can have a young kid in the game, or you can deal with the ineffectiveness of Javier Vazquez or AJ Burnett. You make the call.

On a side note, congratulations to Trevor Hoffman on his 600th save. That's an impressive accomplishment, but let's just think about how many saves Mariano Rivera would have accumulated by now if he played on a team that did not win a lot of blow out games, like the Padres or the Brewers. By the way, if you're keeping track at home, Trevor has posted a whopping 4 career saves in the playoffs. It could have been more, but he's pretty famous for blowing Game 3 of the '98 series against the Bombers, and coughing up a 2 run lead in a 2007 one game playoff at Coors Field. So congrats Trevor, but you'll never hold a candle to Mariano.