The Delicate Sound of THUD

Shhhh. Listen. Hear that sound last night? That was the delicate sound of thud. The sound of the Yanks hitting (what I hope is) a new rock bottom.

Moose, who had been cruising lately with his new slow, slower, slowest approach, got torched. He walked the first batter --never a good sign-- then got to two outs before Jeter threw the 3rd out high to Giambi and the inning ran off the cliff after that.

So let's review where the Yanks are, now that we are past the quarter-pole:

1. Posada remains on the shelf and Molina, a solid defensive catcher, can't hit his weight. When Posada returns, will he be able to throw or will he be relegated to DH? If so, which of the OF loses time?
2. Jeter took one flush on the wrist. Thankfully x-rays are negative but it didn't look good and sounded worse. He might not be perfect but he still comes to play night in, night out.
3. ARod is back but sort of galloped to first in his first AB. Not the long gait we are used to seeing.
4. Giambi is sporting a moustache, and an ugly one at that. I guess it's better than a wearing a gold lamé, tiger-stripe thong. He's not hitting his weight, either.
5. Cano might be hitting his weight, but barely. Still just above .200
6. Damon, who was off to a nice start in April, has gone ice cold. For all his warts, he's still the sparkplug to this team. When he's going, the offense is going.
7. Matsui is producing. No complaints.
8. Melky is solid, unspectactular. If there's a way to get an upper echelon SP talent either this season or in the off-season and the other team demands Melky, I would not be against it. You can always find an OF like him.
9. Abreu is still a bit of an enigma. Now I know why the fans in Philly tired of him: he always looks tired. He's patient. I think he's a very good player (overpaid, but so what) who's still capable in the OF, even if he has no idea how to go back on a ball near the wall.
10. Moose has been better, last night not withstanding, than I expected. I like his new approach.
11. Pettitte has been about what I expected, given his tumultuous off-season. He's not an ace but a capable #2-#3.
12. Wang, as I've written about often here, has been excellent. He still lacks the elite K-rates of other #1's, but I like his demeanor and approach. I'd try to lock him up in a long term deal ASAP. No need to introduce him to free-agency and incur that risk. Post haste.
13. Hughes: Get well soon. I have NO idea what to expect when he returns and that bugs me. All of us Yankee fans are rooting so hard for him to succeed, the stumbles this season hurt that much more.
14. Kennedy: I have no idea. None. Supposedly a cerebral, control artist. A solid #3. But where is the kid that was so good (in limited innings) late last year?
15. Mo & Joba: You guys are the ones who blew the curve. Grade: A
16. Hawkins & Farnsworth: If you miss an intentional attempt to exact payback from one of your teammates getting plunked, don't try it a 2nd time with that batter. Getting ejected and insighting a brawl is useless and only serves to get your teammates hurt further. And for the love of all things holy, stop throwing near a guy's head.
17. Alberto Gonzalez: I have no idea if this kid can hit, but it seems to me that --right now-- he's a better defensive SS than Jeter. But I've been down this road before.
18. Shelley Duncan: Where have you gone, Shane Spencer?

Last year, the Yanks were equally dismal at this point in the season (20-25) and they went on a great run to make the playoffs out of the WC slot. Will it happen again? At some point, you can't make that run any longer. You can't flick the switch like you used to. You just get old. That's where this team LOOKS to be heading right now. If we see Jeter dating Brittany or Jessica Simpson, well, pack up shop and call it a season.

Can it be fixed? Sure. How? We can get into that in a bit. If you have ideas, email me or use the comments below and I'll run 'em later today.