Problems More Than Injuries

I'm not going to fall for it.

I keep waiting to wake up from this nightmare of awful baseball, hoping, praying that something will simply click and the Yankees will just take off.

But Wednesday night was the worst. After seven innings of lifeless baseball, Mark Teixeira delivered a two-out, three-run double to tie the score in the eighth. They Yankees were one more big hit away from a win.

Only that hit, as has been the case most of this season, never came. Not in eighth. Not in the ninth. And certainly not in the 10th.

Phil Coke's streak of scoreless appearances came to an end when he surrendered Carlos Pena's leadoff homer in the 10th as the the Yankees lost their fourth straight 4-3 to the Rays at Yankee Stadium.

The tendency now is to excuse the Yankees' struggles. To blame it all on the injuries. I can't. I won't.

I'm not saying that playing without Alex Rodriguez, Xavier Nady, Jorge Posada, Brian Bruney and Chien Ming-Wang isn't a factor.

But there is much more going on here.

With a payroll of $201 million, there should be better depth on this team. It should be able to better withstand these injuries. And what we are seeing goes so far beyond injuries.

With or without A-Rod, the guys in this lineup should be able to drive in runners in scoring position, especially when there is a runner on third with less that two out. Wednesday night, they went 1-for-9.

It's not like the Yankees haven't had chances. Fact of the matter is that they've had more than their share, but the results speak for themselves. The Yankees are hitting .249 with RISP. After that nice four-game win streak, the lineup has resumed it plodding ways, waiting for the big home run when a single or flyout would suffice.

Whatever his issues in the clutch, A-Rod is a run producer. But he can't do it all himself. And we don't know what Nady will be able to produce should he be able to return. But the bottom line is the rest of the lineup needs to stop waiting for someone to put the ball in the seats and start looking just to get the job done and get the run in. Nearly all these guys are more than capable of doing that.

Meanwhile, the starters have to get it together. A.J. Burnett finally gave the Yankees their first quality start in a week. And for only the second time this season, the Yankees lost a game in which the starter when at least six innings and have up no more than three runs.

The shocking number is that with a rotation as talented as the Yankees, they have had a grand total of only 10 quality starts. I mean these guys, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain included, should be able to give us a quality start nearly every time out. That number has little to do with Wang's injury. It has to do with no one performing up to standard. Wang's return, whenever that is, won't magically fix that.

But the biggest problem is the bullpen. Bruney had a setback in his recovery from his elbow injury. No one is sure when he'll be back or if he'll be completely healthy and able to resume where he left off. He could go a long way to helping this unit, but even if he returns at 100 percent, that alone won't completely fix the problems there.

Despite Wednesday's homer, Coke has emerged as a reliable option. But no one else has and the Yankees need more than two options to get the ball to Mariano Rivera. Guys simply can't pitch everyday. Otherwise we have a repeat of when Joe Torre was forced to burn guys out.

The problem is Brian Cashman has limited options. There just doesn't appear to be any more options in the minors. And it's too early in the season to pull off a significant trade -- unless you want to gut the farm.

The Yankees always could move Joba back to the bullpen, but they are committed to finding out exactly how good Joba can be as a starter. It's battle between winning now and planning for the future. And given all the mistakes the Yankees have made following a win-now mentality, I think showing patience, even if it means sacrificing this season, will have bigger benefits for next year and down the road -- even if it proves that Joba is indeed better suited for the bullpen.

Here's a little quiz. I found another player in history who had minimal time in minors and started in the majors by pitching out of the bullpen. Here's how he did in his first 18 starts:

99.2 IP, 91 H, 45 R, 38 ER, 3.43 ERA, 59 BB, 78 Ks, 1.50 WHIP, 5-6 Record

Want another hint? Bonus baby.

Did you guess Sandy Koufax? Because of the rules of the time, Koufax was not allowed to develop in the minors. They Dodgers had to keep him on the roster and let him develop in the majors. Few pitchers ever are able to make the leap from college to the majors without struggling. Imagine if the Dodgers didn't keep trotting Koufax out there.

Joba had four months in the minors after college and has only a handful of starts in the majors. I'm not saying he's going to be the next Sandy Koufax (hoping that will be my son, one day), but it's way to soon to declare what Joba is one way or the other. The Yankees just need to keep sending out there every fifth day until he proves himself or fails -- even if it costs them this season.

In the meantime, that means the only option left is to roll the bones and go with what they have in the bullpen. It probably means it's going to be a long and trying first half. We just need to hope that the hitters and starters get going so that Yankees can stay in the race until they can get some trade help and/or Joba runs short of innings and has to be moved back to the pen.

Runners In Scoring Position
Wednesday
1-for-9 (.111)
Season
64-for-257 (.249)

Up Next
Thursday vs. Rays, 7:05 p.m., YES
Jeff Niemann (2-3, 5.68 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (2-1, 3.82)

The Yankees either need for the old workhorse to deliver a stellar performance ... or for another rainout. Anything but a loss.