Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Blown Leads Prove Costly

Andy Pettite and the Yankees offense had an up and down night. The hitters would put a lead up and Andy would take it down. Pettitte worked through 7 complete innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned). He had a lead several times but would end up getting hit and blowing it.

Kyle Farnsworth didn't fare much better. He came into the game in a tie game and proceded to give up 3 quick hits and 1 run. It's painful to watch Kyle pitch at times. He puts the ball right over the plate and it get hits deep. Repeatedly. Day in and day out. I really don't know what Girardi sees in this guy. Sure, he throws hard and can get that fastball cooking, but Farnsworth has the most hittable 97 mph fastball in all of baseball. The faster he throws it, the further into the stands it goes.

The good news is that Joba is going to get the start tonight in New York, and that should give fans something to watch.

The Yankees had some decent offense last night, although they left 10 runners on base. Giambi continues to hit solidly and is definitely out of the slump. Robbie Cano shows us that he can't hit and he can't field any more. Chad Moeller continues to hit just above .250 and will most likely stick with the team for a while even after Posada gets back, as he has proved to be a valuable backup.

In the press conference after the game, Girardi sounded ticked off and upset. Maybe it's about time for another behind closed doors meetings with the players. As a whole, this team is not playing up to it's potential. The biggest personnel decision has to be for the setup man. Farnsworth was never 8th inning material. He didn't all of a sudden change when Girardi took over the team. Joe and Cash need to realize what they've got, and find a better solution. Maybe they need to bring in someone from outside or maybe they need to re-evaluate their own talent (Edwar Ramirez anyone?) and make a change.

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