Well, today is the day, Yankee fans. The big fat excuse that we've all been using for the miserable play of our beloved team will be gone when Alex Rodriguez returns to the lineup tonight.
It's a pretty big hole they've dug for themselves. 20-24, dead last in the East, 6.5 games out of first and 5.5 games out of the Wild Card. The good news: The real competition for the Wild Card, Cleveland and Detroit, have also struggled mightily. The Rays, O's and ChiSox will fade, the smoke will wear off for the A's and the mirrors will break for the Twins. I'll be absolutely shocked if the Yankees, Sox, Indians and Tigers aren't fighting for three playoff spots come September.
Then again, the problems we've seen from this team certainly seem larger than one missing bat, even a $300M+ bat. Alex, it's time for you to earn your money.
Brian -
No need to panic...I think the record is better than last year after 44 games.
That being said, why did Girardi start 5 lefties against Perez the other night...? Lefties are hitting .108 against him (before Matsui jacked one out).
Why have Giambi play first...? He's awful at the plate and in the field. Next time hide his glove.
Joey G doesn't look too smart so far...or is he sending Cashman and the Steinbrenner kids a message...?
You can't fight with one arm behind your back.
Release Giambi. Find veteran pitching. Do it now or send the fans a refund.
It's actually funny how people kept (and still keep) expecting Arod to save the day. Sure, he'll probably be better than his replacements. But who's to say that'll make the team start winning all of a sudden? It's just not a given as it appears to so many folks out there. I think the team as a whole will start turning the corner now anyway, on its own - they're due. But because it just so happens Arod is back in line-up, it will just underscore the Arod-Messiah sentiment ignoring the coincidence of events. Arod was hitting sub-300 with 4 HRs before DL - will he come back like a Lance Berkman impersonation? Who knows, probably not, but the whole team needs to play better to start winning games. Having Arod in the lineup won't magically flip the switch.