Stop the Slide - I Want To Get Off

"As Unclutch As Unclutch Gets" - Drew Sarver (Me), Twitter 5/22/10


Last night's Mets 5-3 win over the Yankees was a microcosm of the Yankees month of May. Poor pitching, no clutch hitting, and shoddy defense. After a tremendous month of April, the Yankees have hit the skids in May.

Things specifically started to go downhill after pounding the Red Sox up in Boston on May 8. The Yankees were 21-8 after the win. They're 5-9 since and just 11-10 overall in the second month of the season.

One of the things that everyone marveled at early on was the Yankees depth. But with a number of injuries, the Yankees depth has been exposed. Good players, but not good enough to be playing on a regular basis. With Nick Johnson, Curtis Granderson, and Jorge Posada hurting, players like Randy Winn and Marcus Thames aren't getting it done offensively and/or defensively.

To make matters worse, the players the Yankees rely on most - Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod, aren't carrying their share of the load. Let's take a quick look, shall we, starting with the Captain. Rookie Kevin Russo had the best at-bats the last two nights, delivering a 2-run double on Friday and a bases loaded walk on Saturday.

Derek Jeter, just like the team he leads, got off to a tremendous start in April. An .875 OPS, 4 HR, and 18 RBI in 21 games. 31 hits, including nine for extra bases. Then May came around - a pathetic .522 OPS and 19 strikeouts. It hasn't helped that Brett Gardner, the team's secondary table setter, has just seven hits in his last 34 at-bats.

Mark Teixeira always starts badly in April, so it was no surprise when that happened again. When the calendar turned to May, Tex got going. That included a 3-HR, 5 RBI barrage on that Saturday in Boston when the Yankees reached their high watermark (to borrow a phrase from Michael Kay).

Tex is in a 1-20 skid (and 2-24) and has just one RBI in his last six games. He's also struck out seven times in those 20 at-bats, including three in last night's loss.

Tex would be helped if Alex Rodriguez starts devouring pitchers, but the Yankees third baseman really hasn't gotten into a consistent groove all season. Whether or not a painful knee is part of the problem remains to be seen, but his .877 OPS is nearly 100 points below his career average.

Though hitting .351 in May, just eight of A-Rod's 27 hits have been for extra bases. Pitchers will be more than happy to serve up singles to the player who is 7th on the all-time home run list.

Those three players and the rest of the lineup have failed time and again with runners in scoring position. They barely held on for a 2-1 win in Friday's Subway Series opener after squandering numerous opportunities. Saturday it cost them dearly as Phil Hughes was human and the Yankees bullpen stumbled yet again. The latter has been an issue that actually goes back to last season.

The pen is once again trying to find themselves. There's no question that the bullpen was vital to the Yankees winning their 27th championship. But the biggest part of that success was moving Phil Hughes into the 8th inning set up role and the emergence of David Robertson. Now, basically, the same cast is struggling during the regular season again.

We'll take Mariano Rivera out of the equation immediately. Every season sees some bumps in the road and Mo is in one of those ruts right now. If the reason for this particular instance is because of his mysterious side strain, then this could go on longer than usual. But for now, he gets a pass.

Joba Chamberlain finally told Kim Jones, who was doing a WFAN radio show on Saturday, that he prefers to work out of the bullpen. Perhaps he's realized that's where he's had his most success (somewhere Mike Francesa is doing cartwheels...let's not go there). Joba has stumbled some here and there, including poor back to back performance against the Twins and Red Sox this past week, but overall has been decent. You have to figure he'll get better as he gets more re-accustomed to his role. It would also help if he didn't shake off his catchers so much.

The remainder of the pen though is up for grabs. Robertson has gone back to being the unsure, under confident hit machine. Chan Ho Park was a horrendous signing- I said it immediately and will stand by it. Damaso Marte is as bad as he was in 2009. Boone Logan has been terrible and taking up a roster spot that should go to someone else. Al Aceves went and got himself hurt. Okay, that last one was said tongue in cheek. Aceves' injury has not only hurt him, but has really wrecked the pen as well. And to his credit, Sergio Mitre has stepped up.

Overall though, the pen has been incredibly shaky. They've allowed leads to get away and deficits to increase. Simply, they have not done their jobs.

Okay, not all is bleak. The Yankees are nine games above .500 because of the cushion they built. And players will be back, the soonest of which could be Curtis Granderson this coming week. That means much less playing time for the anemic bat of Randy Winn (and poor judge of fly balls last night) and the the scary glove of Marcus Thames.

Javier Vazquez has given the Yankees two straight solid or better starts. Maybe most importantly, the schedule will lighten up soon and the Yankees won't have to face the best of the American League. Hopefully they can hold out their best play for those meetings in October.