I guess there's something about the Yankees that brings out the best in NL Central teams.
Darrell Rasner was roughed up early and often, the relief work of LaTroy Hawkins and Edwar Ramirez may have been worse and Ryan Doumit and Adam LaRoche combined for six hits, three runs scored and four RBIs as the
Pirates tattooed the Yanks 12-5 in Pittsburgh. The Bombers missed some early scoring opportunities, but the final score doesn't even come close to revealing how one-sided this ballgame was as the Bucos churned out 19 hits, nine of which went for extra bases, en route to the rout.
Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a double in the seventh and Bobby Abreu went deep for the first time since June 8 with a meaningless two-run blast in the ninth. Those were about the only "positive" things to come out of this one.
The Yankees have played four games against the Reds and Pirates, two teams that are a combined 72-83 and -93 in run differential, and are 1-3 and have been outscored 21-13. This will not stand.
The Good:Robinson Cano. I guess Robbie was one of the few Yanks who realized Monday's off day was over. Cano ripped an RBI-single in the fourth inning to bring the Bombers to within 3-1. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Yankees would get. I've probably speculated at least a dozen times that Canu was about to go on a hot steak. I'll speculate one more time. Cano finished 3 for 4 with a run scored and a ribbie.
Justin Christian. Who? The Bombers sent down lefty Billy Traber before Tuesday night's game and called up the 28-year-old outfielder to help spell the ailing
Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. He made the most of it. Sister Christian picked up his first Major League hit with a single in the fourth. Then he popped his RBI cherry by driving in his first two Big League runs with a two-run double to left. It'll be a night the rookie will always remember so I'll forget about the error he made in the outfield. Christian finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs batted in.
The Bad:Darrell Rasner. Looks like The Ras is starting to hit the wall. Rasner eked out a win in his last start against the San Diego Padres despite walking a season-high five in five innings. Well, he didn't walk any Pirates on Tuesday night, but he made up for it by allowing a career-high 10 hits through five. Rasner put the Yanks behind the eight ball early by giving up two runs in the first and never settled down after that. Darrell was a sparkling 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in May, but so far in June he's 1-4 with a 7.18 ERA. Not good. But Rasner did work out two walks in his two plate appearances. Could a start at DH be in the cards? I'm kidding of course. Rasner dropped to 4-5 with this: 5 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR.
LaTroy Hawkins. The Hawk has been shuffled to the back of the bullpen deck, but he was called upon in the sixth with the Yanks trailing 7-3. It wouldn't stay that way. Hawkins managed to put up a zero in his first inning of work, but was charged with four runs before getting the hook with two outs in the eighth. On a positive note, LaTroy threw 49 pitches so it's a good bet he won't be used for the rest of the series. Hawkins' night: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
Edwar Ramirez. I'm not sure why Joe Girardi went to Edwar with two outs in the eighth and the Yanks down 9-3. Sure, Hawkins was bad and was definitely out of gas (if he ever had any to begin with), but it seemed like a strange situation to bring in the lanky right-hander. Anyway, Ramirez inherited a first and second situation and didn't get the job done. He looked out-of-sorts from the get go and when the final out was recorded the Pirates increased their lead to 12-3. They were meaningless runs in a lopsided game, but Edwar needs to find his
chi if he expects to be in there when the games count. Ramirez's line: .1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
The Ugly:Are you serious? The Yanks definitely need reinforcements in the starting rotation, but I'm not sure they want to go down this route. Seems like
Carl Pavano (remember him?) may be ready to actually pitch come August. Yes, this August. The oft-injured Pavano is recovering from last season's Tommy John surgery and is snapping off curves from a mound. How bout that? Brian neatly summed up probably every Yankee fans' feelings on Pavano
here. And I successfully baited him with a smart-ass comment in the comment section. I doubt Pavano will factor into anything this season, but you can't predict baseball. But GM Brian Cashman didn't seem too interested in Pavano pitching for the Yanks this season. "I haven't asked, but it's possible," Cashman said. Doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement.
Joba Chamberalin (1-2, 2.36 ERA) will be gunning for his first win as a starter Wednesday night and will go up against Zach Duke (4-4, 3.91 ERA). Joba pitched well in his last start against the Padres, but came away with another no-decision. Chamberlain has a 2.45 ERA in four starts this season and sports a 1.53 ERA on the road. The Duke is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his past four starts and is holding lefties to a paltry .213 average this season. This will be his first look at the Yanks.
Time to snap out of this NL Central funk.
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Carl Who?