Team Effort

As things stand today, the Yankees are second in the AL for runs scored and first for homeruns hit. By contrast, the White Sox rank twelfth and tenth, respectively. New York pitchers have the second-lowest staff ERA in the league while Chicago comes in at number eleven. Not good. To have a fighting chance in a four-game series against a superior opponent, you better have a plan. If the Sox came in with one, they better get another. In the first two games, the Bronx Bombers have outscored the peashooters of Guaranteed Rate Whatever by a combined score of 25-11, both games going to the visitors. What, if any was the plan? Dylan Cease struck out eleven New Yorkers in just four innings, just four innings because he also coughed up six runs. Last night, Vince Velasquez was hit for seven in five. As for Sox “hitters,” hitting coach Frank Menechino might want to update his resume. Consider last night’s lineup. Leury Garcia managed a hit in four at-bats to pull himself over the Mendoza Line at .205. But left fielder A.J. Pollock; second baseman Josh Harrison; and catcher Reese McGuire are still south thereof; Jose Abreu finds himself perilously close, at .202. This week’s heat wave has done little for our first baseman. If nothing else, Menechino and pitching coach Ethan Katz might want to site the adage about sows’ ears and silk purses. At the end of the day, Vince Velasquez and Josh Harrison are what they are and nothing more. Which brings us to general manager Rick Hahn. Velasquez and Harrison were the best you could do? Nobody in the minors? If both are true, Rick, shame on you. Last and certainly not least, we have the “manager,” Tony La Russa, who acts like more of a cheerleader for the opposition when he’s not busy making excuses for his players. Both habits were on full display in stories today. On the team website, La Russa praised Velasquez for the way he “gutted it out and gave us five. Otherwise, we would have been messy,” whatever that means. Over at the Sun-Times, La Russa was quoted saying, “We got torched. It was almost always missed location. You would see the catcher setting up the pitcher in a different place and missing. That’s what a hitter is supposed to do. They punish it, and they [the Yankees] did.” Yeah, New York New York. The manager covers for his players, who never have to worry about being called out for lack of performance. The owner has no intention of firing the manager, which all but eliminates any incentive for people acting to keep their jobs or the jobs of the coaching staff. Something’s rotten here, and we’re not talking Shakespeare.