A Simple Lack Of Execution

I have to wonder if it is the mere sight of the Red Sox's uniforms that makes the Yankees forget how to execute their game plan.

Phil Hughes was hit hard and failed to get past the fourth, the offense failed to hit in the clutch and did not grind out enough long at-bats against Jon Lester, and the Yankees had to weather five innings from their bullpen. And yet, they still had a chance to win.

Robinson Cano struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth and the Yankees lost 6-4 to the Red Sox Monday at Yankee Stadium, their fourth straight loss to the arch rivals this season.

It was yet another heartbreaker for the Yankees and you have to hope at some point that will be enough to spark a little anger in this team. The Yankees sure could use a blowout of the Red Sox Tuesday, and hopefully that will be the story after Joba Chamberlain and Josh Beckett tangle.

But first we have to deal with Monday's disappointment.

Hughes simply could not replicate his brilliant first start against the Tigers, consistently falling behind hitters (granted he was squeezed by the home plate ump and his inconsistent strike zone) and allowing a run (three earned) in each of his four innings. He allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out two.

Against a patient team such as the Red Sox, the key for any pitcher is get ahead of the hitters and strike 1 is essential. Hughes simply did not do that Tuesday. Of the 22 hitter he faced, he threw a first-pitch ball to 12 and paid the price.

Of those 12 batters, four ended up getting hits and four reach on walks. That means Hughes got out only 33 percent of those hitters.

Now, of the 10 batters he started 0-and-1, seven ended up as outs -- that's 70 percent. Unfortunately, the other three hits were big: Mike Lowell's homer and RBI single and David Ortiz's RBI double. But who knows? Maybe if Hughes was more efficient at getting strike 1, the damage would not have been as severe.

But that led to the biggest surprise of the night: Alfredo Aceves, who was called up earlier in the day as the Yankees finally decided they needed a long man. And Monday only served to confirm why.

Aceves stabilized the game, keeping the team in the game and giving it a chance to come back. His line: 4-1/3 innings, four hits, two runs, two walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 70 pitches, 46 strikes. It was the kind of efficiency the Yankees were hoping the get from Hughes.

Yss, the two-run homer he gave up to Jason Bay in the seventh hurt badly, but we have seen so much worse out of the Yankees bullpen. Still, if not for Aceves, the Yankees wouldn't have had a chance.

If only the offense could deliver.

Lester deserves a lot credit. He was sharp, striking out 10 and throwing 111 pitches in seven innings. Terry Francona said it was Lester's best outing of the year, and I'm hard pressed to disagree.

But against a good pitcher like that, the key becomes the lineup's ability to spoil pitches. They Yankees just didn't do that enough and their inability to grind out six- and seven-pitch at-bats prevented the them from getting into Boston's bullpen, which has seen its innings mount lately and has started to allow a few runs.

Still, the Yankees were able to claw back into this game and were a big hit away from pulling it out.

After Joe Girardi was ejected fifth for arguing strikes, the lineup came to life and showed fight. Johnny Damon hit two-run homer to right and Mark Teixeira followed with another blast to make it 4-3. Teixeira added another homer in the eighth to make it 6-4, but the big problem, yet again, was driving in runners in scoring position. The Yankees went 0-for-7 and stranded 10. It was a problem that plagued them in that sweep in Boston and reared its ugly head again.

And they wasted some golden opportunities. They had first and third and one out in the second, but failed to score as Melky Cabrera and Jose Molina struck out looking. In the eighth, Molina couldn't deliver a two-out hit against Jonathan Papelbon with runners on first and third.

But the worst was the ninth.

Brett Garnder led off with a pinch single, Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch and Papelbon was in trouble. But Damon flew out to right and Teixeira struck out. After a double steal, Nick Swisher walked, but Cano just couldn't deliver the big single the Yankees have been needing against the Sox.

The Red Sox have tremendous pitching, but no team's pitching is that good to be getting out of that many big jams. In the four games against the Sox, the Yankees are 7-for-49 (.143) with RISP. The Yankees must to start coming through in these situations. How else do they expect to win? Waiting for the long ball clearly isn't working.

Maybe they just need borrow some of whatever the Rays have against the Sox. Do they ever need it.

What We Learned
The long man is a key and essential part of the bullpen. You would have though Brian Cashman and Girardi would have learned that after last season. Hopefully they've learned it now.

Runners In Scoring Position
Monday
0-for-7 (.000)
Season
62-for-243 (.255)

Up Next
Tuesday vs. Red Sox, 7:05 p.m., YES, NESN
Beckett (2-2, 7.22 ERA) vs. Chamberlain (1-0, 3.13)

Joba has been strong in his last two starts, allowing two runs in 12-1/3 innings. The Yankees need him to be sharp and to come up big (another seven inning gem would be huge). Beckett has been struggling, his ERA more than 10.34 over 15-2/3 innings in his last three starts. Hope that trend continues.