For our New York Yankees, things are just plain ugly right now.
Here are the numbers.
- The Yankees have gone 4-9 in their last 13 games.
- They have gone from a one-game lead in the Americal League East to a five-game deficit. Oh, and that wild-card lead? Vanished, too! They are now in a tie with Toronto and just a half-game ahead of Texas.
- The Yanks are 5-8 in inter-league games. Boston is 9-4, Tampa Bay 8-5, Baltimore 9-4 and Toronto 5-8.
- The Yanks were 37-33, six games out of first after 70 games last season. This season, they are 38-32, five games out.
- Alex Rodriguez is 9 for 63 (.143) in June.
- From the New York Times: Take out a 15-0 pasting of the Mets on June 14, the Yankees are averaging just 3.08 runs per game and batting .219 since their last day in first place, on June 8.
- In their last seven games, the Yankees have scored a total of just 18 runs.
- Melky Cabrera is hitting .200 in June. Johnny Damon is at .219.
Talk about Derek Jeter and double-play fetish all you want. Or, the future of Joe Girardi as manager. For the Yanks, it comes down to this. Can Rodriguez, he of the .207 average, find his stroke and lift this team? Like it or not, he is the difference maker. The New York Times put it this way:
The Yankees attached their fortunes to Rodriguez when they welcomed him back for another decade after he opted out of his contract in 2007, and as he goes, they go. ...
The Yankees need Rodriguez to be great. He is a player with an awful lot to prove, and while many elite athletes are motivated by doubts, maybe he is just not physically up to it. If, when and how Rodriguez becomes a star again is the Yankees’ central question right now.
Right now, it doesn't look good. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope for a prettier picture.