Bad News All Around

The Yankees lost Tuesday's ballgame to the Red Sox.

They are 0-5 versus Boston this season.

They are 13-13, back to the .500 mark.

Jorge Posada was placed on the 15-day DL and is expected to miss at least three weeks.

As of right now, the Yankees disabled list reads like an All Star roster (+ Cody Ransom).

Alex Rodriguez. Xavier Nady. Damaso Marte.











Jorge Posada. Brian Bruney. Chien-Ming Wang.








Mark Teixeira is batting .198.

Injured set-up man Brian Bruney has as many wins (2) as starters CC Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain COMBINED.

Of the six Yankee relievers used in Tuesday night's ballgame, only one had an ERA under 4.00 (Phil Coke).

The good news for the Yanks?

Umm...

No swine flu outbreak?

Home Sweet Home?

Opening Day at the New Yankee Stadium

Indians 10 (WP- Cliff Lee, 1-2)
Yankees 2 (LP- Jose Veras, 0-1)

The New York Yankees did everything right during the pregame festivities at their new ballpark. Trying to evoke the ghosts of the past, Yankee legends, from Berra to Winfield, lined the infield. Bernie Williams played his haunting and melancholic interpretation of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in his old stomping grounds, center field. Babe Ruth's bat was laid across home plate as Derek Jeter stepped into the box. Johnny Damon collected the first hit in the history of the Stadium and Sabathia struck out the first batter. But it was all downhill from there.Starter CC Sabathia struggled with his control but managed a respectable 5 2/3 innings of one run ball. It took CC 122 pitches, though, so Joe Girardi was forced to go to the Jekyll and Hyde bullpen early. Thanks to a Jorge Posada homerun (the first in the history of the new ballpark) the game was tied 1-1 when Sabathia exited. By the time Jose Veras and Damaso Marte were finished, though, the game was out of reach, capped off by a Grady Sizemore grand slam. Veras and Marte were so bad that the listless crowd chanted, "We Want Swisher!" As easy as it was to blame the bullpen, the Yankee offense went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, an alarming trend dating back to last season. The first game at the New Yankee Stadium was memorable for all the wrong reasons, as Cleveland beat New York 10-2.

Game 11: Do Over


Indians 5 (LP- Jensen Lewis, 1-1)
Yankees 6 (WP- Brian Bruney, 2-0;
Save- Mariano Rivera, 3)

Derek Jeter hit the game-winning homerun in the 8th inning of a tie game and Mariano Rivera saved it with a scoreless 9th to secure the very first victory in the new Yankee Stadium.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The "Bronx Bombers" lived up to their moniker Friday afternoon, belting 5 solo homeruns (Damon, Teixeira, Cabrera, Cano, Jeter). The only other Yankee run scored via a throwing error by the Indians' Vinnie Chulk. It was just the right margin for victory. Joba Chamberlain, making his second start of the season, was not impressive, allowing 5 earned runs in less than 5 innings. Girardi was forced to go to the bullpen early once again, but, unlike the previous afternoon, Phil Coke, Jonathan Albaladejo, Brian Bruney, and Rivera got the job done by throwing 4+ scoreless innings. Earning the first victory at the new home of the New York Yankees was great, but the Yankees went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Timely hitting is sorely lacking thus far.

Game 12: Brutal


Indians 22 (WP- Fausto Carmona, 1-2)
Yankees 4 (LP- Chien-Ming Wang, 0-3)

Please don't make me recap this game for you. Look it up here if you must, but I advise against it.


Saturday afternoon's debacle featured 6 Cleveland homeruns and 16 surrendered earned runs between Chien-Ming Wang and rookie Anthony Claggett in only 3 innings. Every Yankee pitcher gave up a run (or eight) and every Cleveland starter had a basehit (or 4).

Embarrassing is an understatement.

A Look Ahead

The Yankees will try to salvage a split of the four-game series on Sunday afternoon when the newly appointed stopper A.J. Burnett takes on the Indians. Who will be opposing him, you ask? Why, none other than our old friend, Carl Pavano! Well, Carl is scheduled to pitch; he very well may break a rib or stub his toe or suffer a bee sting between now and 1:00 p.m. so it's best if you just tune in and see if he makes it.

Another Yankee Game, Another Yankee Loss

In the past, I've tuned in to every Yankee broadcast, expecting my team to win. It didn't matter who they were playing or who the opposing pitcher was- The New York Yankees, night after night, went into a ballgame anticipating a "W", regardless of the circumstances.

The 2007 Yankees? I tune in now just waiting to see what will go wrong and how they will disappoint me on a given evening.

Tonight's disappointing loss to the White Sox, well, didn't fail to disappoint in this regard.

It is becoming increasingly disconcerting to win a big ballgame in dramatic fashion and seemingly take the next game off, yet that is exactly what has been happening all season. And tonight was no different.

Every time I see a glimmer of hope, this Yankees squad sends my expectations crashing back down to earth almost immediately.

I am at a loss as far as the Yankees are concerned. I still believe that they can (and likely will) go on a run and play the way everyone expected at the start of the season, and I still believe a playoff berth is not at all out of the question. But if it's going to happen, it had better happen sooner rather than later.

Someone not named Jorge, Derek, or Alex needs to step up and carry this ballclub on their shoulders. And a little luck wouldn't hurt either! Despite losing to the Red Sox on Saturday, it was encouraging that Mike Mussina wasn't sent to Mass. General with a broken bone. Unfortunately, this time it was Doug Mientkiewicz suffering such a fate. Seriously, the Yankees need to petition FOX to stop making them play the "Game of the Week"- First, it was a broken leg for Karstens, then a broken hand for Rasner, and finally a concussion, cervical sprain and broken wrist for Mientkiewicz courtesy of Boston third baseman/linebacker, Mike Lowell. That's quite enough.

And that's quite enough from me on the matter. Any day now, the New York Yankees will wake up and start playing like the Yankees. Any day now. At least that's what I keep telling myself.