Alex Rodriguez is gone. Jorge Posada is gone. The Yankees' lineup seems to be in disarray. Although the Yankees have virtually the same record without Arod as they did with him (5-6 without him, 12-12 with him) and are actually scoring more runs-per-game without him (4.8 vs. 4.1), their hitting against left-handed pitching has been short of excellent. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees are hitting .220 as a team against lefties since April 29th, the first time Posada and Rodriguez were both out of the Yankee lineup. They have a .282 on-base percentage and a .292 slugging percentage since that date. Yankees, who are supposed to be picking up the slack with their two best hitters from 2007 out are not doing their jobs.
Jason Giambi, who is hitting poorly to begin with, is 0-20 against lefties this season and is looking so fooled at the plate that Joe Girardi may have to consider benching or pinch-hitting for him every time there is a lefty on the mound. Hideki Matsui does not have an extra-base hit against a lefty this year. While Melky Cabrera is hitting .308 from the left side of the plate, he is only hitting .212 when lefties turn him around to the right side. The Yankees two replacements for Rodriguez, Morgan Ensberg and Wilson Betemit, are both struggling against south-paws. Ensberg is hitting .182 with no extra-base hits and Betemit is a switch-hitter who always struggles from the right side of the plate.
Rodriguez and Posada, along with Phil Hughes, both reported to Tampa yesterday for intensified workouts. The Yankees hope for Rodriguez to be back by the Subway Series next weekend. Until that point, they face Kenny Rogers, Nate Robertson, Scott Kazmir and Oliver Perez - all lefties.
- D. Spell
1 comment:
Welcome to the blogosphere, guys. Best of luck. As long as you have passion and determination, you won't need a third pitch in your repertoire.
Best,
Rich Cimini
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