Yankee Self-Haterade

Well going into this weekend's abbreviated 2 game subway series, both teams came in looking like utter garbage. The Mets struggled against the dreadful Nats while the Yankees embarrassed themselves against the young and upstart D-rays. Both teams couldn't hit a beach-ball with a fongo bat. I was nervous going in because the Yanks were going up against two pitchers that have destroyed them in the last few seasons. Both are lefties with great stuff and one of them actually is consistent in his delivery and performance (I'll give you a clue,its not Perez). Either way, if either team was able to come out with a 2 game sweep, it would go a long way towards quelling its angry if not entitled fan base. The loser of both games would be under intense fire and criticism for continuing to underachieve with the NL/AL's highest payroll.

Congratulations Willie ,you get to keep your job for at least the next month or so; that is, until you play 4 games in June with the hated Yanks including a sexy day night Shea/Yankee double-dip. While the Mets two most talented pitchers stepped up, the two best Yankee starters were less than overwhelming. Pettite, for some reason, has the lost the ability to go an entire game without falling apart in at least one inning. It seems that every game he starts he gives up at least 3 runs in a given inning (lately the 4th is his inning of choice). Even the reliable Wang got torched for 7 runs over 7.2 last night. I won't soon forget the sick feeling in my stomach hearing the searing chants of "Lets Go Mets" as I walked out of the stadium and threw my New York Giants Superbowl Champions hat against a garbage can.

More than the bad pitching however, this Yankee offense has been downright pitiful. Yea, I know that two of the top 10 MVP candidates from last season are hurt but there is no reason a team with Matsui, Jeter, Abreu, Cano and Damon can't put together 4.5 or more runs per game. Molina is as bad at calling a game as he is at making contact with a baseball. I'd rather see Mussina bunt than Molina hit. As my friend the B.I.G (Baseball Insight guy) said, Molina, like Pudge, calls fastballs in off speed pitch counts just to try and gun down would be base-stealers. He also seems to have no calming affect on his pitchers when they get into jams. Wang used to be the master of the bases loaded and 1 out double play. Now, he either dominates the whole game or apparently will implode if he gets some runners on like he did Sunday night.

Robby, I love you but you gotta start carrying this offense a little bit. You are a career 300 hitter and we need you until Posada comes back. Also, I love you Derek, but you are not nearly as important to this team as A-rod is. I hope nobody boos A-Rod when he comes back because his mere presence instantly adds a run a game to our offense; he will lead to intentional walks, put Giambi in the bottom third of the order, and allow me to never see Alberto Gonzales swing a bat in a Yankee uniform again. Now if we just get Jorge back, we might actually have a decent 9th hitter in the lovable Melk Man.

Finally, how is Brian Cashman anything but the worst GM in sports? (Zieke is not a GM anymore remember). He has the highest payroll in the game by far every year, and his teams have won a combined 2 playoff games in the last 2 seasons. He has a lineup stacked with lefties and has a pitching staff filled with embarrassing signings like Igawa, Pavano (remember him), and Kyle Farnsworth. Worst of all, his best prospects in recent years, Chamberlain, Cano and Wang were barely hyped where as early disappointment Phillip Hughes and bust Eric Duncan have been very highly regarded by the Yankee Brass. This organization needs a major overhaul starting with "Cash."