What Good Offense Looks Like

Nick Swisher went 0-for-5.

OK, I know what you're thinking. Why would I lead with that following a game in which the Yankees went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position and easily beat the Blue Jays 8-2 Wednesday in Toronto?

Well, simply, because Swisher's third at-bat, despite making an out, perfectly illustrates the point.

With the Yankees leading 5-1, Johnny Damon led off the fourth with a double. The Yankees had a runner in scoring position, a situation that's been killing them throughout the season.

Swisher came up, and surely he would have liked to have been they guy to get the run in. Heck, RBI and home runs lead to big contracts. But instead, Swisher made sure to do something this team has struggled to do all year: he got runner over to third by rolling a grounder to first.

Mark Teixeira followed with a sacrifice fly and the Yankees had used two productive outs to manufacture a run. It was A-B-C ball at it's best and it was beautiful to see.

What's the big deal, it made the score 6-1, you say? Well given the miserable state of the Yankees' pitching, especially the bullpen, every run the Yankees score takes pressure off their pitchers and gives them a chance, not just to win, but to build confidence.

Let's look at Wednesday night's game. Andy Pettitte allowed a run in the first and you had to wonder if Pettitte was in for a struggle.

But in the second, the Yankees put together four hits with runners in scoring position, including Brett Gardner's two-run homer, and scored five runs.

In the process, they knocked out Jays starter Scott Richmond. Of course, any time you can knock out your opponent's starter and get into their bullpen by the second inning, it's a good thing. But when Pettitte returned to the mound in the bottom of the inning, we could see we was much more relaxed. He had a margin for error and was able to attack hitters without worrying that a mistake would cost him.

Now we've all seen games in which one team has a big inning, stops scoring and the other team (usually the Sox) manages to rally and pull out the win. With the Yankees' bullpen, that's a risk this team cannot afford to take, especially against a team in the Jays that is first in the majors in runs with 211.

But when Damon crossed the plate with that run in the fourth, the Yankees were able to keep the pressure on the Jays. And when they pushed across two more in the fifth, the lead was insurmountable.

Pettitte pitched six innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits and four walks. Alfredo Aceves pitched two strong innings, allowing just one hit, and Jonathan Albaladejo pitched a shaky but scoreless ninth to close it out.

The Yankees' pitching has been awful so far. It is last in the majors with a 5.64 ERA and 26th in WHIP at 1.52. Those, folks, are horrible numbers.

But here's something that will blow your mind.

The Red Sox's pitching hasn't been that much better. It is 24th in the majors with a 4.91 ERA and 24th in WHIP at 1.51. The big difference between the staffs clearly has been Boston's bullpen, which has pitched roughly the same number of innings as the Yankees', but has been lights out.

The other huge difference has been Boston's offense, which has gotten timely hits -- especially with runners in scoring position -- played aggressively, scratched and clawed whenever it's been behind, and tacked on run after run after run when it has gotten the lead. The Sox's offense has been able to cover up the pitching's struggles because it is relentless and never stops scratching for runs. It doesn't wait for the homer. It's no wonder the Red Sox are 21-13 and in second place a game behind the Jays, while the Yankees are struggling at 16-17 and 5-1/2 games back in third.

Wednesday showed how the Yankees' offense is supposed to look. They have had games and short stretches (notably the four-game winning streak two weeks back) when the offense clicked like that. The problem is the Yankees haven't been able to sustain that type of attack.

This could serve as the starting point for this team. Or it could serve as yet another false start. We'll find out which it might be Thursday.

Runners In Scoring Position
Wednesday
6-for-13 (.462)
Season
77-for-305 (.252)

Up Next
Thursday at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m., YES
CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94 ERA) vs. Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95)

Sabathia finally had a dominant performance his last time out, pitching a four-hit shutout. Now he needs to back that up and establish some consistency. This is a big game for the Yankees. Winning 2 of 3 against the Jays and possibly knocking them out of first would go a long way to righting the Yankees' ship and rebuilding their confidence.