Alex Rodriguez returned from the DL last night, but the Yankees’ problems continue:
Mike Mussina threw only 41 pitches Tuesday night before Ross Ohlendorf jogged in from the bullpen to take his place. Mussina got only two outs with those 41 pitches, and any game that Ohlendorf enters in the first inning is quickly disintegrating.
Mussina had been undone, in part, because of an error by Derek Jeter, who left the game two innings later when he was hit on the left hand by a pitch from Daniel Cabrera. Fortified by a seven-run first inning, the Baltimore Orioles rolled, 12-2, at Yankee Stadium.
The loss, the fourth straight for the last-place Yankees, dropped their record to 20-25, and 0-1 since Manager Joe Girardi said that his team would be wise to forget about the first seven weeks of the season. Tuesday would be a fresh start.
After Tuesday’s game, Girardi said, “Anyone who thinks you can throw a switch is sadly mistaken.”
This is why I’m beginning to think that replacing Torre with Girardi is going to turn out to be a mistake. Here’s what he had to say the other day about the Yankees 20-24 record:
When Manager Joe Girardi discussed the Yankees’ 20-24 record on Sunday night, he seemingly spit out those two numbers, which define his underachievers. Girardi said he was embarrassed, and he acted disgusted. He preached the need for amnesia regarding the previous seven weeks.
“I thought our record would be better, but it’s not,” Girardi said. “But it’s not about those 44 games. It’s about the next 118. It’s really about the next one, starting on Tuesday.”
Yea, well, you lost that one too so now it’s 20-25. Last year, when they were in a similar hole and, by mid-June, the Yanks were on a nine game winning streak and on their way toward turning the season completely around.
But that was when they had Joe Torre on the bench.
Can Girardi lead the team to another great summer ? Maybe, but I’m beginning to doubt it.
