Rays 13 Yanks 4; Pitching Woes, Offense Sluggish

The Yankees struggled mightily last night with junk-baller Andy Sonnanstine for the third time (once last year, once this Spring, and last night), only scoring in the third.  Ian Kennedy was terrible, managing a meager 32 strikes on 70 pitches in 2 1/3 IP of sloppy work--four hits, six runs earned, and four walks with two strikeouts.  Inconsistent umpiring didn't help him, with Kennedy not getting corner calls that Sonnanstine was, but that's a small part of his woes.  He was consistently behind batters and, as John Flaherty pointed out during the broadcast, pitchers are less apt to get the calls when they're not consistently pounding the strike zone, and Kennedy surely didn't accomplish that.  After the Yankees closed a six-run deficit to 6-4 after three, Albaladejo kept it close, finishing with 2 2/3 IP of one-hit, scoreless ball with four K's.  That should leave the coaches with enough of a positive impression to call him back up--since he'll likely be sent down to make room for Pettite's return frorm the DL.  Ohlendorf continued his good work with a 1-2-3 sixth, Traber followed suit with a good seventh.  But LaTroy Hawkins and Nuke LaFarnsworth completely imploded, beginning with Cliff Floyd's solo shot off Hawkins and ending with Carlos Pena's three-run bomb off Nuke.

Though the Yankees had five extra-base hits out of their six, they got five of their six hits, and four of their five extra-base hits, in the third alone.  I know the old mantra about changing speeds and planes is the key to success, but how is it that a guy who tops out at 85 with his fastball, throws change-ups and curves, and otherwise stinks against most teams he faces, continually baffles the Yankees? It's frustrating to watch against someone who has been so ordinary throughout his brief career.  Worse, several Yankees have started out of the gate very slowly in the first four games.  Cano has one hit (.067), Posada is hitless in two games,  Giambi got his first hit last night (a double), Damon's hitless night sunk him to .143, and while A-Rod is 4-14 thus far, he's had some weak at-bats--pop-ups and strikeouts. I'm far from in a panic about the offense since the year is all of four games old, and the team will surely hit.  Also, they're a mere half-game behind Boston, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay for first.   It's early, and the team will come around.

Yet there is some reason for concern.  The youngsters will struggle, as Kennedy certainly did last night, but cannot struggle too much for the Yankees to be competitive.  Also, relying on Nuke is a roll of the dice, and too often the result is snake eyes.  Hawkins has had an awful start after a very good Spring, and the contingent of fans booing him and chanting "Paul O'Neill" at The Stadium aren't helping matters whatsoever with their boorishness.  Yet if his struggles continue, soon enough many more will begin booing only based on his performance.  The two relievers who are supposed to be the seventh-inning guys have been bad thus far.  Plus, the Yankees' YES announcers can only use the cold-weather discomfort excuse so much when the Rays pounded out 15 hits and 13 runs.  Plain and simple, the Yankees' offense has started slowly and been on its heels too much.  That needs to change soon, lest they face the same early-season slow start they've inflicted on themselves three of the last four years.  I am slightly concerned about the team having yet another bad April.

Before I forget, thanks to everyone who stopped by the HDLR last night.  It was fun, though the game didn't assist that nearly enough.

It's a good thing that Pettite is going today, since he has a good career record of winning games after the Yankees lose.  He'll need to be sharp to right the ship, but the offense needs to come alive as a group.  Enough of the garbage pop-ups, enough of the off-balance flailing, enough trying only to pull the ball. Time to play some good smart ball, guys.