Yanks Fail... Rays Prevail

I think Matsui said it best:

"We shouldn't be depending on guys like Alex and Jorge to score. We should be able to score runs without their presence, as well,"

If you listen to some of the sports talk shows and read some of the press releases discussing last night's extra-innings, 2-to-1 Yankee loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, many will cite that New York is hurting without the strong slugging of Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. Ok. Fine. But wouldn't you think that the 12 players currently on the active roster could do better than 2 runs in the last 24 innings?

You can't blame Wang because there was nothing wrong with the way he pitched. Going seven innings and only giving up one run is something that any MLB club would take. You can't blame Rivera (and shame on you to anyone out there who is) because even the sandman is human. Go and try to find another 0.56 ERA closer. Joba did his part. Even Fartsworth gave the lineup a chance.

So, let's look at the lineup from last night:

Damon, DH .271
Jeter, SS .305
Abreu, RF .287
Matsui, LF .319
Giambi, 1B .194
Cabrera, CF .269
Cano, 2B .183
Gonzalez, 3B .290
a-Duncan, S, PH .188
Ensberg, 3B .219
Molina, C .203

I will let you make your own determinations here. One thing I don't understand is why Girardi would have Duncan (who has been ice cold lately) pinch hit for Gonzalez (who has been promising at .290) in the seventh.

So now we have the Rays in first place on a six-game winning streak while New York is making sure that our Canadian friends aren't too lonely at the bottom of the AL-East.

"It is only May," I keep telling myself. "It is only May."