It remains to be seen whether yesterday’s acquisition of Alfonso Soriano changes the conversation regarding the Yankees, who have been dragged into an endless Alex Rodriguez spin cycle that includes much rinsing, washing, and repeating.
Of course, distasteful as it might be, discussing A-Rod might be less painful for management than tackling the subject of CC Sabathia, who was a woebegone figure in last night’s 10-6 defeat to the Rays, gone after five innings in which he surrendered seven runs on nine hits in his third consecutive woeful performance.
Brian Cashman, the general manager, was asked more questions in his pregame press conference about the guy who isn’t here and may not be here for a very long time than about the guy who had just gotten to The Bronx and was in the cleanup spot last night for the first time ever as a Yankee.
Cashman played it as if a latter day Joe Friday; a guy who is interested in the facts and only the facts, with all of the commentary extraneous and not worthy of any more of his or his organization’s time.
“I’m not going to comment really on the Alex stuff; it’s something that’s hard to keep up with and follow,” Cashman said. “I’m just going to provide you with the facts and keep it simple.
“We’re running a baseball team. We just made a trade today. I am focusing on the obvious.”
What’s obvious is even if Soriano — who went 0-for-5 while flying out with the bases loaded and two down in the third with the Yankees down by 6-1 before bouncing into a run-scoring force-out with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth with the score 10-5 — adds right-handed pop to the lineup, the chase for October is doomed if Sabathia’s left arm doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
“Getting no help from me is making it tough,” said Sabathia, who has been battered for 22 runs (17 earned) on 24 hits over 14 innings in his last three starts.
It’s making it tougher than a right side of the plate that has been a dark hole most of the year, producing the fewest homers in the AL (24 and none since June 25), the next-to-worst batting average and the poorest on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS in the league.
Soriano, who will turn 38 in January, may not be the dynamic weapon he was in pinstripes from 2001-03 before being sent away to Texas in the deal for Rodriguez, but he has 17 homers on his own and sure adds legitimacy to a middle of the order that has been filled with imposters whose best quality is their desire to win.
“We’re not used to running out the type of talent we have been this year,” said Cashman. “But our ownership’s commitment is still the same.
“There’s a strong desire to reinforce this team and get into the playoffs.”
Oh, right, the playoffs. The rehab sagas of the quad side of the infield — Derek Jeter could return tomorrow — plus the sword of expulsion hanging over A-Rod for his alleged complicity in all matters of Biogenesis have all but obscured the more mundane day-to-day developments on the field.
Even having faced so much adversity, some of their own making and much not, the Yankees are still only 3¹/₂ games behind the Orioles for the AL’s second wild-card spot and that’s with having lost 10 of the last 16 games.
But regardless of who returns and when, and regardless of Soriano’s stabilizing presence in the middle of the order, the team is extremely unlikely to even remain on the periphery of the race if the 33-year-old Sabathia continues to plummet to earth like a space capsule missing a re-entry rocket.
Sabathia yielded a cascade of ropes in a six-run second inning during which he surrendered a walk followed by four straight hits with two out and only one in. He is 9-9 with a 4.65 ERA overall. The Yankees have won one of his last six starts.
Nothing mundane about that.
“It’s really shocking what he’s going through,” manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s back to the drawing board.”
That was the crux of the postgame conversation. The Yankees probably wouldn’t have minded talking about Rodriguez instead.