Yankee Game - Thurs June 5 vs. Toronto

The eighth inning was incredibly frustrating to watch and illustrated the problems the roster has as currently composed. Jorge Posada drew a walk to lead off the inning. With three catchers on the roster (Posada, Molina, Moeller) the obvious move was to pinch run. But with the only players on the bench being Shelley Duncan and Jason Giambi, Girardi did not have much of an option. He even waited two pitches before putting Duncan into the game. With a bench of Duncan to play first and the corner outfield positions, Betemit to play the infield, and Giambi to hit, the Yankees have no athleticism. They have no Dave Roberts, that guy who you know is going but you still cannot stop. So Girardi was forced to bring a guy who is on the roster to be a right handed power bat off the bench to pinch run because he is slightly faster than a 36 year old catcher; he would only get thrown out by two steps instead of three trying to score on a double.

The next batter, Robbie Cano, could not lay down a bunt. The frustrating aspect was not so much he did not get the bunt down as the two pitches he attempted to bunt on were clearly not just balls but high balls, pitches you learn in little league not to bunt. This is after Posada walked on five pitches where the pitch he swung and missed on was clearly a ball. He would have walked on four pitches. Instead on pitch five he grounds into a 6-3 double play. Scott Downs had two outs on ten pitches where only the pitch Cano hit would have been a called strike. The next batter, Wilson Betemit, then singles on the first pitch which would have easily scored the game winning run.

The top half of the next inning Kyle Farnsworth, Mr. I have yet to realize it does not matter how hard I throw as long as the ball goes straight major league hitters will continue to hit the ball, gave up another run.

Still, in late 90s Yankees fashion, the team got some luck when A-Rod hitting a seeing eye single off David Eckstein's glove and were able to come back with a two out rally capped off by Giambi's game winning home run.