Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera believe because that is part of an elite athlete’s DNA. Yankees fans have watched the three long enough to know what has made them special is an unwillingness to give in.
Now, with the numbers stacked against them, handicapped by an inconsistent lineup and with the Yankees headed for a dark October, the remaining pieces of the Joe Torre Era believe their club isn’t bathing in embalming fluid.
“In my mind I can’t comprehend not playing in October until we are mathematically eliminated,” said Pettitte, tonight’s starter for the opener of a three-game series against the Royals in front of a Yankee Stadium crowd that could go hostile early. “Hopefully, we can put together a good run.”
Hoping isn’t going to help the Yankees. When you study the math, they are “3D” – police talk for stiffs at a crime scene that stands for “definitely done dancing.”
The Yankees, losers of seven of 10, began yesterday’s day off nine games behind the AL East-leading Rays and six back of the wild card-leading Red Sox.
Going into yesterday’s action, in order to catch the Rays, the Yankees needed to go 29-12 while Tampa Bay posted a 21-22 ledger the rest of the season. That’s .707 ball from the Bombers. Does anybody expect them to win at that clip? Do you really believe the Rays are going to play sub-.500 ball for the remainder of the season?
To snag the Red Sox, the Yankees must go 26-15 while the defending world champions go 20-21. That’s .634 for the Yanks, who haven’t shown any sign of playing that well. And do you think the Red Sox are going to lose more than they win across the final six weeks?
“It’s serious,” Rivera said. “But we have talent and you can’t discard that.”
The blame game is popular today in the Yankees Universe. Sure, serious injuries to key players (Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain) have hurt the Yankees. But all teams suffer injuries.
“Everyone is responsible,” Jeter said. “When you win, everyone gets credit, so everyone is responsible for losing. Everyone has to do more. From this point on everyone needs to do a better job.”
A lot of fingers point to the lineup, in which Jeter hits second, as the main reason the Yankees won’t make it to October. And because Jeter’s .284 average is 33 points lower than his .317 career mark, he deserves a piece of the blame.
So, too, does Alex Rodriguez and his .234 average this season with runners in scoring position. A popular target is Robinson Cano, a career .314 hitter batting .262 one year into a four-year, $30 million deal. Melky Cabrera is rightfully getting banged on for batting .242 overall and .204 in the clutch.
There are others. Jason Giambi is at .212 with runners in scoring position. Bobby Abreu has two extra-base hits in his last 12 games and is 3-for-14 (.214) with runners in scoring position. Pudge Rodriguez is batting .259 with one RBI since being acquired from the Tigers.
Last week in Texas, Johnny Damon called the Yankees’ situation critical. So what it is today?
“Even more critical,” Damon said. “It’s out there for the taking. We have six games with Boston and six games with Tampa Bay, who has had some injuries. It’s there for us. We have to play well and see what we are made of here.”