Game 27: Death by southpaw

Oh, lefties, how the Yankees hate you.

While the Yankee offense has sputtered all season, against lefties, their numbers are particularly brutal. In a combined 186 at bats, the Yanks are hitting .247/.325/.339 against lefties. They’ve managed just three home runs off of southpaws and just nine extra-base hits overall. Against righties, the team is hitting a not-quite-so-robust .267/.332/.454 in 692 at bats.

So after facing a tough lefty yesterday and managing just one run on four hits, the Yanks are in for yet another lefty starter. Tonight, they’re facing Aaron Laffey, a soft-throwing lefty making his 10th Major League start and first against the Bombers. Laffey’s a high-80s guy with a decent sinker. I hope it’s not one of those games where I want to hurl my TV out the window by the end of the third inning.

To counter Laffey, the Yanks are turning to none other than Mike Mussina. Moose threw a great game against Chicago last week. Can he put together back-to-back starts against good-hitting teams? Time will tell. The weather — a game-time temperature of 47 degrees — does not bode well.

Meanwhile, it seems as though Chris Stewart, the Yanks’ fourth-string catcher, will don number 38. I’m not sure what Chris Britton will take in his place, but I do expect fans of Matt Nokes and 1984 Jose Rijo to boo Stewart tomorrow night at the stadium. How dare he takes Randy Choates’ old number? (For more on Stewart, check out this profile.)

Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez DH
Giambi 1B
Matsui LF
Ensberg 3B
Cano 2B
Molina C

Mussina P

Game Notes: The Shelley Duncan two-day experiment is over. Jason Giambi — 0 for 10 against lefties this year — is in the lineup, and Hideki Matsui’s two-day vacation is over…RAB is now tabloid-free. Find out more in this post.