Joel Sherman

Joel Sherman

Alfonso Soriano has looked the worst in Yankees’ woeful offense

HOUSTON — Where have you gone, David Adams and Ben Francisco?

For all the concentration on the signing of Masahiro Tanaka and the first-game collapse of CC Sabathia, most of the money spent in the offseason and most of the problems through two games are on a Yankees offense that has managed three runs.

Around the Yankees clubhouse, after a 3-1 defeat Wednesday night, there was the expected veteran calm that two games do not make an offense or a season. Manager Joe Girardi declared: “That [poor offense] will change.” He said that after altering his familiar postgame locale — his office or a press conference room — to the indoor batting cage at Minute Maid Park. Go ahead and run with the metaphor if you would like.

But before you run too far here are some disclaimers:

In 1998, the Yankees lost their first three games and there actually were questions when George Steinbrenner would fire Joe Torre. And, of course, that group only won 114 regular-season games and a championship. The Yankees spent more than $400 million to infuse a 2009 squad that lost the first two games of that campaign by a combined 17-10 before righting themselves for championship No. 27.

They lost three in a row to begin 2012 and won the AL East. And even last year managed 85 wins after dropping the first two and incurring an injury torrent.

Still, with the teams widely expected to finish last in the AL West and East, respectively — Houston and Toronto — on the schedule to open, the Yankees were looking to jump-start their season.

Heck, the Astros had lost their final 15 games last year, including the last three to a Yankees squad that was hardly trying. And with all that went wrong in 2013, the Yanks still managed to go 14-5 against the Blue Jays.

Then this offseason — while the Yankees were on a Kardashian-esque shopping spree — the Astros and Blue Jays hardly moved the needle. The biggest move by either team was Houston’s three-year, $30 million signing of the pedestrian Scott Feldman. But Feldman walked all over the Yankees, throwing 6 ²/₃ shutout innings to win the opener. Jarred Cosart followed with five goose eggs in Game 2.

Cosart has good stuff, but a rep for being wild — he walked more than he struck out last year. But against the Yankees he was precise with both his fastball and curve. He didn’t issue a walk and actually got ahead of nine of the 19 hitters he faced 0-2.

“I have a lot of confidence in our offense,” hitting coach Kevin Long said. “There are a lot of good days to come.”

But here are some facts from two very bad days: The Astros have eight extra-base hits (four by leadoff man Dexter Fowler alone) and the supposedly re-loaded Yankees have two. It is 4-0 in homers.

Yes, Sabathia put the Yanks behind 6-0 in the opener after two innings. But Houston did not score again. A few timely hits could have made the game competitive. And a few on Wednesday would have brought a win. Instead, the Yankees were 3-for-16 with men on base and hitless in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

There have been many culprits in this 0-2 stinker. No one, though, has looked as bad as Alfonso Soriano. He is hitless in eight at-bats, five of which have come with men on base, four with runners in scoring position. He has struck out four times and managed to get just one ball out of the infield.

Soriano, who has been the designated hitter in both games, has indicated previously he prefers to be a full-time player (though in his limited DH time he actually has hit .280 with an .873 OPS).

“It is a new challenge,” Soriano said. “I just have to figure out to hit being the DH.”

For his part, Soriano said this is not about the role; it is about being over-aggressive and swinging at bad pitches. He is 38 and maybe this is a snapshot of a decline, but just last year he led the majors in homers (17) from his July 26 Yankee acquisition to the end of the season.

“Two days haven’t gone well,” Long said. “He is going to drive in a lot of runs and be productive for us.”

It was part of the Yankee spin. It is not the opening they wanted, not the debut they hoped for from the rebuilt offense. But, come on, there is 160 games left and the history of these hitters scream it is going to be a high-scoring season.

For now, though, the lineup has been two bad.