It is becoming a painful chore to watch the Yankees right now.
The hated Boston Red Sox drubbed the Yanks Friday, 11-4, on a raw, damp, ugly night in the Bronx. The Yanks are now 0-4 against the Sox this year and have dropped seven straight overall.
I'm not in panic mode, but this situation is becoming very, very, very disturbing. This loss was a total team effort.
The Good:
Derek Jeter. Jeter was back in the lineup after missing the last two games and collected 3 hits plus an RBI. Nice to have you back, Cap.
The Bad:
Andy Pettitte. Pettitte struggled with his control the entire night. He was asked to be the stopper and failed miserably. The Yanks gave him a 4-2 lead heading into the fifth inning and Pettitte gave it all back plus some. Once again, a starter failed to go at least five innings. Pettitte's abysmal stats: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 1 HR.
The Bullpen. The pen is totally drained at this point and it shows. This time the Yanks had to use five (that's 5!) pitchers to finish the game. This will not stand! Combined numbers out of the pen tonight: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 HR.
The Ugly:
Mariano Rivera. Rivera came into the game in the ninth with the Yanks trailing 7-4 and quickly turned a difficult comeback into an impossible one. Rivera was smacked around and was removed after retiring only one batter. Witnessing Joe Torre take the ball from Rivera in the ninth is a rare and disquieting occurrence. This one was no different. Rivera's shocking line: .1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Home Plate Umpire Brian Runge. Runge has to be the most hated ump in the league (at least from a fan's point of view). His calls are soooo delayed! How Major League Baseball doesn't talk to him about it I'll never know. C'mon Runge -- stop trying to be the focal point of the game and just make the calls!
The Yanks will try and break through the win column against knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield on Saturday afternoon. I will probably miss most of the game because of a Communion Party (congrats Jennifer!), but I will try and keep tabs on the score.
I don't know why I should bother with the way this team is playing, though.
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What you forgot to mention is that the yanks have a chance to tie a record today. They have used 5 or more pitchers in 8 straight games. The record is 9. The way they are pitching, I'm sure they will have no problem setting a new record.