Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Tick... Tick.. Tick...

Tick... tick... tick...

The clock is ticking for the Yankees. They are running out of time, running out of games, and running out of excuses.

And Brian Cashman, Kevin Long and Larry Rothschild -- and Joe Girardi? -- ought to be run out of town.

Last night, Hiroki Kuroda did not have good stuff, allowing 4 runs, and he didn't get out of the 4th inning. Between them, David Huff, Chase Whitley, Rich Hill, Esmil Rogers, Josh Outman, Shawn Kelley and David Robertson pitched 5 2/3rds innings of scoreless relief, allowing just 2 hits, none after Huff, and just 2 walks between them.

Maybe Huff or Whitley should have started.

Then again, Girardi needs to explain this bullshit of needing 7 pitchers to hold a major league team scoreless for 5 2/3rds innings.

Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the 4th, the Yankees tried to mount a comeback. Jacoby Ellsbury hit his 15th home run of the season in the 4th. In the 5th, Chris Young singled home 2 runs to make it 4-3.

But that was as close as the Yankees got. When it matters most, the Yankees couldn't hit sand if they fell off a lifeguard's chair.

Stephen Drew: .161. Mark Teixeira: .222. Carlos Beltran: .236. Brian McCann: .238.

You say batting averages aren't everything? You have a point. But do you really want me to post their on-base and slugging percentages? No, I don't think you do.

You say those guys have been injured? You have a point. Then they shouldn't have been rushed back.

Anyway, Rays 4, Yankees.3. WP: Chris Archer (9-8). SV: Jake McGee (17). LP: Kuroda (10-9).

Here are the truly killer stats, with the Yankees' ranking among MLB's 30 teams:

Batting average: .249, 18th
On-base percentage: .310, 21st
Slugging percentage: .382, 18th
Runs: 558, 24th

The Yankees are now 5 1/2 games out of the 2nd AL Wild Card spot. There are 20 games to play.

Tick... tick... tick...

I was going to use a stopwatch for the picture on this post, but with the Yankees' age issues, I thought a grandfather clock would be more appropriate. And when I saw that this one read 10 minutes to midnight, I knew I had to use it.

The series continues tonight. Chris Capuano starts for the Yankees, Jake Odorizzi for the Rays.

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