Joba Chamberlain is really flexing his muscle on the mound, striking out nine batters last nigh. The young chamberlain got a good less from Doc Halladay, however, as the unstoppable veteran shut down the Yankees for nine innings. The Yankee offense was less than anemic last night, as most of the hitters were powerless to touch anything Halladay was throwing at them.
Betemit, Cano and Cabrera are all hitting under .250 and Gardner is still hitting .129. This isn't the kind of lineup the Yankees need if they are going to chase the Sox and Rays. While Cano has been hitting a little better, he's nowhere near the hitter he was last year. Melky has lost his stroke as well and Betemit was, is and will always be a replacement level player at best. Gardner is inexperienced, but hasn't shown much of anything at the plate to warrant his sticking around when Damon gets back, Sure, he's got speed and runs the bases well, but if he never gets on base, what's the point.
Jorge Posada was back behind the plate today and the Yankee faithful were spared his whining for a day at least.
Despite great wins against Boston and Tampa, the Yankees struggle against Pittsburgh and Toronto. The offense only seems to come to life every few days. Injuries are really crippling the team offensively, and relief pitching has a lot of holes in it. This just isn't a championship caliber team. If the Yankees want to try to catch the teams ahead of them, they'll need help. Most of the focus has been on picking up another starter or reliever, but the real attention should be about putting some people in the lineup who can hit. It can't be that hard to find someone hitting .275 can it?
Hat's off to Halladay. He really pitched one heck of a game. Joba - keep your chin up, better days will come.
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