The Yankees really needed to take two out of three this weekend. It's still too soon to panic (said the broken record), especially with the starting rotation getting healthy, but losing five of six to Boston in the early-going is a major blow.
The whole team looks flat and timid right now, and since ARod has finally cooled off, the lineup is not producing nearly enough...especially against the likes of Tim Wakefield and Julian Tavarez. Johnny Damon is clearly hurt, and not pulling his weight. Unfortunately, Melky Cabrera seems to have regressed wildly and offers no assurances as a back-up. Robinson Cano is off to a sluggish, ever impatient start. Minky is Minky. Not filling the starting first base and backup catcher roles in the off-season is haunting Brian Cashman sooner than expected.
The bullpen continues to bleed runs as if Felix Heredia and Juan Acevedo were still around. Joe Torre's handling of said bullpen continues to be alarming, if not downright dangerous to the health of his pitchers. What can possible run through Scott Proctor's mind as he gets the call to start warming up yet again?
Although the calendar hasn't turned to May yet, the Yankees find themselves 6.5 games behind Boston, with only 12 games remaining against the Red Sox with which to make up ground directly. There's also the small matter that the Red Sox look like the better-constructed roster thus far. That might not be the case in August, but no argument can be made that the Yankees have the better team today.
