Bombers Snap Skid, But Worries Remain

On the strength of the 620th and 621st home runs of Alex Rodriguez’s career following after a much ballyhooed prolonged slump, the Yankees finally snapped their stomach churning six-game losing streak. Brett Gardner’s 3-4 performance and a solid, albeit unspectacular outing from Ivan Nova played supporting roles in the 6-2 Bomber victory. Even the embattled Jorge Posada contributed a couple of hits for the sputtering Yanks.

Unfortunately, one nice win against a division rival does little to erase the despicable display the team has put on over the past couple weeks (and obviously this past week, in particular) where they’ve gone a dismal 4-10, particularly when that stretch features a home sweep at the hands of their bitter rivals. A lot of problems have been exposed during this stretch, drama has been created, and injuries have arisen. All in all, a promising 17-9 season with a comfortable first place lead has evaporated and in its place stand a tenuous hold on 2nd place (only 1/2 game out of 4th) and a troubling 21-19 record.

The collapse (well, I guess that’s a little over-dramatic. “Slide” might be a more appropriate term for a two-weak rough patch, but it feels an awful lot like a collapse) has been the responsibility of every facet of the team. Pitching (both starters and members of the ‘pen), hitting, defense, base-running, clubhouse/media issues, and injury have all played their part.

High ticket item and major disappointment Rafael Soriano landed on the DL earlier today with elbow troubles that have limited him to just one game since May 8. His absence has opened a hole in the bullpen that has cost the Yankees several times and caused other relievers to become heavily taxed. Despite his spotty performance, Soriano lengthened the bullpen. Without him, both Robertson and Joba have blown games in big spots for the Bombers. On top of that, fewer reliable relievers means guys like Buddy Carlyle and Luis Ayala have been relied on in extra-inning situations where, ordinarily, a better option would have still been available.

A strong point for much of the early part of the season, the starting pitching faltered mightily over the past week with all five starters getting hit hard at least once. They frequently fell victim to the big inning, none uglier than the Bad News Bears-esque second inning against the Royals on May 12 in which Nova surrendered 6 runs. All five starters have seen their ERAs rise in the last two trips through the rotation: Sabathia (from 2.68 to 3.47), Burnett (from 3.71 to 3.99), Garcia (from 2.88 to 3.22), Nova (from 4.08 to 4.33), and Colon (from 3.00 to 3.74). Granted, not all of the performances have been bad, but most of the worst non-Hughes starts have come since this slide began.

The outpouring of runs can’t all be put on the pitching staff, however. Over this run of games, the Yankees defense (which is a bit of a misnomer) compiled a whopping 14 errors, which led to 12 unearned runs. The comedy of errors culminated with A-Rod’s costly muffed grounder at one of the game’s crucial moments on Sunday night. When a pitching staff is struggling, they need their fielders to pick them up and that simply hasn’t been the case these past couple of weeks.

On the nights that the pitching has gotten their act together, they’ve been let down by the offense. Including tonight’s 6 run performance, the offense has only managed 4 runs per game during this skid. As I outlined in my last post, the team has been absolutely dreadful with runners in scoring position. Until tonight, A-Rod was mired in a horrific slump and the rest of the lineup (Nick Swisher in particular) has been just as bad. After a brief ressurgance, Jeter has reverted to his early-season form. Russell Martin has come crashing back to earth following a tremendous first month in pinstripes. Only (really) early MVP candidate Curtis Granderson and the recently awakened Brett Gardner have provided major offense for the Bombers.

Of course, nobody’s struggles have been more publicized than Yankee lifer Jorge Posada who is likely in the last year of his career and definitely in his final year in pinstripes. The five time World Series champ has struggled mightily all season long. Age and the rigors of over a decade an a half behind the plate have finally taken their toll. Posada, a feared hitter for the majority of his time in the Bronx, actually saw the Royals walk the embattled Nick Swisher intentionally in order to face Jorge with the sacks packed. He struck out to end the inning. The whole situation reached its ugly peak when, after being slated to bat ninth, Posada asked for the night off. The local and national media sensationalized the story, turning an already ugly ordeal even nastier. I’m not sure I have much of a problem with Posada asking for a night off to clear his head. After all, he’s been abysmal and looks lost at the plate. Having said that, his timing could not have been worse in terms of creating a media firestorm. I’m sure the controversy will do nothing to help fill the void left by his failing skills and, although things have settled down, I don’t believe this will be the end of Posada’s difficult season. I only hope the same can’t be said of the team as a whole.

Unfortunately, today had some terribly saddening news that put the game and any on-field struggles or successes into perspective as the game lost all-time great Harmon Killebrew after a battle with cancer. While I never got to see the slugger play, anyone who knows the game is well aware of what an impact Killebrew made on the game. He hit 573 home runs in his historic career, leading the league 6 times, to go along with an astounding 1584 RBIs. Only Babe Ruth had more 40 home run seasons than Killebrew’s eight. Killebrew was one of the best hitters to ever grace the sport and, by all accounts, was a great man. Here’s a wonderful article written by Jim Caple about the person he was. Baseball lost one of its best today and he will be missed.