Three in a row! That’s a winning streak. And hey, the Yanks are now in a virtual tie for second place.
It was bound to happen really. Their run differential suggests a team that should be 15-11 instead of 12-14. So now that the luck is evening out, the Yanks will begin their rise through the standings. But the outfield better start picking up the slack.
Tonight marked the Yanks’ 26th game of the season. We’re 16 percent of the way through the season, and here’s what the Yankees’ outfielders have done as a group. They’ve had 317 at-bats and are hitting .230 with a .319 OBP and a .261 slugging. They have 3 HR, 42 RBI and a whopping 16 extra base hits. Alex Rodriguez, by himself, has 22 extra base hits.
With Doug Mientkiewicz sucking up at-bats as the first baseman, the Yankee lineup basically has four spots giving them no offensive production. And in game 2 of the double-header, Wil Nieves, now 0 for 17 this year, played. It was a veritable train wreck.
But the Yankees keep on scoring runs. Their 150 runs scored is second overall to the Florida Marlins. So Derek and Alex and Jorge and Jason are picking up the slack. Right now, that’s ok, and I have to belief that Matsui and Melky and Damon and Abreu will start hitting again. When that happens, look out. This Yankee lineup will become a juggernaut.
Of course, in the meantime, I wouldn’t be opposed to trading Bobby Abreu, but that’s a discussion we’ll have tomorrow.