It might be time for the old firecracker-in-the-bat-rack stunt.
Maybe that would spark the Yankees’ bats tonight when they take on the Orioles in the second of three games at Camden Yards in Baltimore (7:05 p.m., YES, WCBS).
JOBA EXPECTED BACK FOR TONIGHT’S GAME
The sight of Orioles starter Brian Burres (1-1, 5.40 ERA) might do the trick, too. The nondescript 27-year-old owns a career record of 7-9 with a 5.69 ERA. If the Bronx Bombers are going to break out of the funk that has them batting .267 as a team, Burres seems to be a prime candidate to do it against.
But hold the phone. Burres is a lefty, and even mediocre lefties have given the Yankees problems. In seven career appearances versus them, Burres is 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA. He has allowed 21 hits in 23-1/3 innings.
Right-hander Ian Kennedy (0-1, 8.74 ERA) starts for the Yankees and certainly would welcome the same type of run support he had for his previous start, when his teammates scored eight runs to beat the Rays.
Offense was the least of the Yankees worries before the season started, but injuries have taken at-bats from Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, and Jason Giambi (.116), Robinson Cano (.171) and Johnny Damon (.203) have gotten off to painfully slow starts.
Some people around baseball believed the Yankees (9-9) to be capable of scoring close to 1,000 runs this year after they tallied 968 (5.97 per game) last season. But they are averaging 4.33 runs per game, a pace that will generate 702 runs over a full season. That’s not good enough when your pitching staff, which includes five rookies, has an ERA or 4.67.
Inconsistent pitching, coupled with a sluggish offense, has resulted in an unspectacular beginning to the Joe Girardi Era. The Yankees have allowed more runs (86) than they have scored (78), and they’ve allowed six run or more seven times, including three in a row heading into tonight’s game (eight last night against the Orioles (10-7)).
“I’m not satisfied,” Girardi said. “I think we can do better.”
Most troublesome is the lack of production with men on base. The Yankees have stranded 125 base runners, including 68 in scoring position, through 18 games.
“You look at your opportunities, and when you don’t take advantage of them, it’s going to hurt you,” Girardi told mlb.com last night. “You’re not always going to get hits with runners in scoring position, but you look at the at-bats, and I thought the at-bats were pretty good.”
“Pretty good” at-bats aren’t enough to win games, or the pennant. The Yankees need to score more runs.