Offensive

            So let's paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi.  Hey BPS, what do you think of the Yankees offense.  Well, sir, we'd be in favor of it.

            This is sad.  I'm actually annoyed that the Yankees scored two runs in the seventh inning today.  I would have liked to have been able to say that the Yankees have scored 4 runs in 42 innings.  Because that would have been a better indicator of my perception.  It's about as sad as it can get.  The Yankees haven't scored more than two runs in a game since last Saturday.  As you guys are reading this it's Friday.  This is the Yankees.  It doesn't get any sadder.

            It's not this bad, of course.  The pathetic Yankees have also suffered some bad luck.  Today they out hit the Rays and still lost.  They've spent an eternity this season on the road.  The utter failure in scoring situations is a reflection of their ineptitude this year, but it's also a bit of an anomaly.  Sooner or later those hits will come.  But make no mistake; there really isn't an end in sight.  You've got four starters hitting .217 and below.  That's just not what major leaguers do.  You can't hit .240 and survive in the major leagues, let alone .217.  And four guys.   I get that this isn't anything new.  I'm not saying anything groundbreaking here.  But what can I say?  We're seeing the same cr*p day in, day out.  Johnny Damon, after coming on strong the last few weeks, has fizzled back down to .255.  I think a lot of this stuff compounds itself.  If there isn't any consistent pressure on the pitchers, none of these guys are going to be facing frazzled, tired pitching.  They're all going to be facing fresh, super-psyched pitchers.  It just gets harder and harder.

            I keep thinking that sitting around waiting for Allie and Posada is false hope.  Although Allie is one of the few guys that can truly make a difference, he's one guy.  What we would need is to replace two of the .217 and below averages - Ensberg and Molina - with .300 plus guys - Allie and Posada - and hope that Cano rides the wave back up into respectability.  I would be satisfied - ecstatic actually - with .240 from Giambi.  But unfortunately, it seems there is nothing to do but wait, at this point.

            Ian Kennedy.  Not like this was a big shocker.  What did we expect?  He's facing Kazmir, pitching to a white-hot team, and he's on the road.  The odds were completely stacked against him, and the results were completely predictable.  It's actually a little annoying that the Yankees are so predictable.  The only guy who isn't predictable is Moose.  Not many of us thought that he would be the only guy other than Wang who could bring some consistency to the mound.  Certainly not me.

            So now what....  Well, I am headed to the Stadium tomorrow night with Big Joe (father-in-law) and his buddy Charlie.  Two life-long Met fans.  And to make matters worse, Big Willie is sitting right behind me.  Also a life-long Met fan.  I told all of those guys that I expect them to be on their best behavior.  I really don't want to incur the wrath of section 24, and more importantly, I just don't want to deal with a bunch of Met fans making my night even worse.  There is very little about this game that excites me.  Darrell Rasner, who I fear is about two innings from the clock striking midnight, against Johan Santana.  This has unmitigated disaster written all over it.  Can't you just see this being Johan's big coming-out party?  I can see the headlines already.  I can't wait.  You wish just once the predictable Yankees would surprise you and win a game they weren't supposed to win.

            Triple J made a good point.  As bad as the Yankees have played, they could be a lot further out.  But the problem is that you don't get the feeling they're going to explode and win ten in a row.  You get the feeling they're hanging on for dear life, and that one of these days they'll just slide off seven losses in a row.  Maybe that's just me being pessimistic. 

            So tomorrow I'll have to select my gear carefully.  Nothing but the luckiest stuff I have.  I hope it works....