So, where do we go from here?…

 

The Yankees have definitely been stopping and
starting lately.  They go into a funk,
rebound, and then go into a funk again. 
After a succession of losing or tying series, they’ve started to win a
few but it has been easy.  In the most
recent series with Seattle Mariners, they were dominated in the opening game by
Felix Hernandez, as the M’s won, 6-0. 
They rebounded to take the next two including a 10-0 annihilation on
Sunday that feature a grand slam and 6 RBI’s by Robinson Cano.

 

As Sunday’s game got underway, Yankees radio
announcer John Sterling made a comment about whether Cano could reach 100 RBI’s
(he had 80 at the start of the game). 
With simple math, he deducted that Cano had been averaging about 20 RBI’s
a month so with that reasoning, it would appear that Cano would have a shot
after nearly making the milestone in 2008 with 97 RBI’s.  Cano must have heard Sterling because he
promptly went out and reduced the “magic number” to 14 RBI’s with a little more
than a month to go in the season. 

 

Then Monday, the Yanks were back in the doldrums
when Jose Bautista hit home runs 39 and 40 as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the
Yanks 3-2.  The Red Sox own the Jays, but
the Yanks and Rays struggle against them for whatever reason.  With Dustin Moseley on the mound for Tuesday’s
game, there’s not much optimism unless the Yankee bats can come around.

 

Of course, it doesn’t help with names like Eduardo
Nunez, Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli among the starters and Ivan Nova on
the mound.  To Nova’s credit, despite
allowing one of the Bautista homers, he pitched very well, going 5 1/3 innings
and allowing only 2 runs (courtesy of the Bautista home run) despite 6 hits and
1 walk.  He struck out 3.  Nova showed that although he is not a talent
like the Rays’ Jeremy Hellickson, he can pitch at this level. 

Gunn/AP

 

It was sad to see former Yankees and current
Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella step aside after Sunday’s game, a rout by the
Atlanta Braves.  Lou opted to depart now
rather than at the end of the season to tend to his ailing mother.  At 66, Sweet Lou is most likely done as a
manager, but given his intensity and desire for the game, I’d have to put this
one in the “we’ll see” category.  It
would not surprise me to see him return to the dugout at some future date.  As for now, it would be good for the
Steinbrenner family to reach out to Lou for a consulting role.  It would be nice to have him back in the
organization.

 

As the speculation grows for the next Cubs manager,
which inevitably includes current Yankees manager Joe Girardi, I can’t help but
wonder if the Yanks would reach out to icon Don Mattingly or if they’d go for a
seasoned vet like Bobby Valentine if Girardi left.  I’d prefer to see Donnie Baseball don the #23
pinstriped jersey if I had my preference.

 

 

With the Yankees most likely in a first-place tie
after tonight’s game (assuming the Rays hold their lead against the Los Angeles
Angels), it’s time to kick it into gear. 
Now is the time that separates the men from the boys so hopefully the
Yanks are up to the challenge.  If not,
they’ll be looking at the backside of Tampa and Boston jerseys. 

 

–Scott