In last night's game against the White Sox, the 7-8-9 hitters in the Yankees' lineup were Melky Cabrera, Minky Baseball and Wil Nieves. The members of that enticing combo have OPS+'s of 73, 84 and -79 respectively (league average is 100). The fact that the Yankees can send three such pathetic , inept hitters to the plate in succession condemns the way this team was put together, particularly given the franchise's financial advantages. So, Brian Cashman made some awful choices.
Making matters worse, though, is that in the second inning of last night's game, still scoreless, the Yankees had runners on first and second with no one out and Cabrera up. Melky bunted, advancing the runners. There can be no possible justification for Joe Torre putting the bunt on when two such awful hitters are due up next. Melky is off to a putrid start, but at least he has some modicum of ability. The Yankees' only legitimate chance to score that inning was for Cabreara to drive in a run or two. Sure enough, Minky struck out and Wil Nieves flied out. So, Joe Torre made an awful choice. Again.
