Same as it ever was...

Well, Yankee fans, here we are again, 20-24, 6 games out. But hey, look at the bright side - last year we had the very same record but were 10-1/2 games out.

And last year things got worse -- we'd finish the month 22-29 -- before they got better. But we went 72-39 the rest of the way.

So yeah, it's possible we'll do that again and win the wild card, maybe even the division. But wouldn't it be nice if this team could play all six months of the season, instead of only the last four?

It's just not easy to beat a guy like Oliver Perez with five lefties in the lineup (and when one of the righties is Alberto Gonzalez).


Perez vs RHB: .285 BA, .390 OBP, .398 SLG
Perez vs LHB: .094 BA, .269 OBP, .208 SLG


I don't know why Girardi left Morgan Ensberg and Shelley Duncan on the bench; you would think their only purpose in life is to mash guys like Ollie. If you aren't going to use them last night, why have them on the team? I do realize that Ensberg is hitting .214 (.179 vs LHP) and Duncan is hitting .194 (.240 vs LHP), but it's not like Giambi and Cano are hitting either. If they put Gonzalez at second, Ensberg at third and Duncan at first, do they win the game? Who knows. Maybe Duncan doesn't waste an out in the 4th inning the way Giambi did (trying to force Carlos Beltran instead of getting the easier out at first), and the Mets don't score 4 runs that inning. Maybe the offense produces more than 2 runs. Or maybe they get shut out, who knows.

All I know is this is a very frustrating team to watch right now, and when things were bleak last year, it was guys like Duncan who fired up the team and finally got them playing with some heart again.

Get them in the game, Joe. At this point, what do we have to lose?