On the Yankees beat

Remember all the discussions we had way back when about chemistry. Some bloggers believe that chemistry comes from winning. I stand in the gray area of winning and guys being comfortable with each other. Comfortable with each other is trusting in the guy to the left or right, front or back to do the job. Also are most of the guys playing up to potential. Many factors just a few mentioned. Their is no chemistry because of injuries and obviously some of the vets find it difficult to place trust in guys like Cano and Cabrera just to mention two. The roster picked in April has been so rearranged that Girardi has a tough time remembering his 25 man roster.

You can't play winning baseball if you can't bunt, no clue of the strike zone, run the bases like tee ball kids or just don't give a $hit. Look there is a rotation but its so far removed from what was planned that we are lucky to be 6 games over .500.

I keep hoping for a bolt of lightning but it won't be the worst thing in the world not to make the playoffs. It could bring real change to the new Yankee stadium plus we'll be shedding some players who do not belong in pinstripes. I'll give you two Cano and Melky stop screaming Cano is not Yankee material. He could bring some player who gives a damn to the stadium with desire to play all facets of the game. He's so noticeable on the field for his negativity, he glows like a beacon.

Don't throw in the towel just yet. Until they're mathematically eliminated, they have a shot. They still have to play TB and Boston 6 more times and if they can somehow manage to get the wild card lead down to 3 games or less before Boston comes in, they have a shot.

How many teams have blown big leads during the final quarter of the season and not made it? The 1951 Dodgers blew a 13 1/2 game lead that they had on Aug 12th (somewhere around that date) and then lost to the Giants.

The 64 Phillies blew a 6 game lead with 10 to play to the Cardinals who went on to win the 64 Series.

The 78 Red Sox blew a 14 1/2 game lead, 11 1/2 in August.

The Mets blew a 7 game lead with 17 to play last year.

It doesn't look good and these guys aren't doing anything to make us think that they can do it granted, but it's not over yet.

One game at a time, one inning at a time, one at-bat at a time.

Love the attitude John G.

I am with you.

You can certainly tell English is Manny's second language.

I read an interview with Cashman today and he said he is disgusted with the offense and he is trying to figure out ways to fix it so I'll say this again, a lot of people did not realize how important Matsui's bat is to the Yanks lineup. It seemed like he would come through when the team needed it.

The thing is the Yanks are getting worse production compared to last year from A-Rod, who is human now, Cano who is in the clouds, obviously nothing from Posada and Matsui due to injuries and Melky, while he is terrible, is a non factor in a way because this team should not be depending on his offense and of course Jeter is not having a good year, but it's not horrible.

Now, Damon is having a better year than last year, Nady is mashing, Giambi is better than last year, Abreu is having a solid year so what is the root cause of this team's offensive woes? Is there just one problem? A team with A-Rod, Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, Nady and Damon in the lineup ought to be able to put some runs on the board consistently and I do believe they are just in a team wide slump right now and they will come out of it, but this is crazy.

Look, there's a bright side to watching this lack of energy and overall lack of fundamental ball from this team.

You can bet that Cashman is going to make a lot of changes to that everyday lineup next season and it has to start with letting Abreu and Giambi walk and perhaps moving Cano and making sure Melky Cabrera is nowhere near the starting lineup on Opening Day next season.

And I don't think they are going to go crazy with FA signings to patch the holes as they have in recent years.

They have to change the culture of the team and that starts with getting significantly younger and moving on from the underachievers and guys who don't come to play hard every day.

Truthfully, this team isn't that far away from being a WS contender again next season. It would only take a handful of smart moves to change everything and make them as dangerous as ever.

Signing Sabathia is the key to the entire offseason and even the Yankee hierarchy knows it. If they can get it done, it opens the door to address the everyday lineup by using some of the young pitching as trade chips to get what they need.

It will be an interesting offseason to say the least because I foresee a lot of changes, which is exactly what this team needs.

Hey, every organization has to take a step back every once in awhile to address such issues. But the Yanks' success over the years combined with the demanding fan base turned out to be their worst enemy because all of those bad decisions the last few years of simply patching holes and aging roster have come back to bite them on the arse.

No worries, this lackluster play is exactly what this team needed over the long haul because it forces the front office to make the widespread changes to put this team back where they should be.

I'm with John G.

Besides, if Carl "Glassman" Pavano can make it through just one more rehab start, he might actually be pitching at the major league level. And that is CRAZIER than a Yankees comeback in September haha.

This season is not over yet. Everyone needs to have a little faith.

6 games behind the wild card with 41 games to play and everyone (including Hank) wants to call it quits?

I admit the team has played god awful baseball recently. But I still believe there is some fight left in these guys.

Here is what needs to happen to get us back in this:

1. Pettitte needs to start pitching the way he usually pitches in the 2nd half of seasons.

2. We need Arod to go on a tear. He is capable of picking this offense up and getting it going. When he is hot, other people will catch fire as well.

3. Joba/Hughes need to come back. Joba is our 3rd guy in that rotation that can keep them in games. Hughes just needs to be able to pitch more consistently than Rasner and Ponson.

Thats it. Its not that far fetched.