Get well soon, Nick Swisher. And Curtis Granderson. And yes, even you Nick Johnson.
The New York Yankees need you. Their offense, right now, is missing in action.
The Yanks were shut out twice while losing three of four in Detroit. And, as Chad Jennings pointed out, take away one six-run inning and the Yanks scored just six runs total in the other 35 innings.
Yes, Justin Verlander is a dominant starting pitcher. But, did you check out the bottom of that Yankee lineup Thursday?
Juan Miranda (seven big-league hits) batting seventh.
Randy Winn (.200 batting average, one extra-base hit in 35 at-bats) hitting eighth.
Greg Golson (one bloop single for his big-league career) hitting ninth.
Yuck! These are not your 2009 World Champion New York Yankees. Or, even the team the Yankees started 2010 with.
I have to agree with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, though. Forget criticizing those guys. They are what they are. It's time for the Yankees' big-time players to step up.
The Yankees knew that adversity was just around the corner. It always is in baseball. Adversity has officially arrived. Time to shout mayday three times.
Beginning tonight at the Stadium, the Yankees play 13 games against the Twins, Red Sox, Rays, Mets and Twins again. They started an outfield in Detroit yesterday that featured Randy Winn, Brett Gardner and Greg Golson. That's not exactly a World Series championship outfield.
With all the injuries, it's time for the Yankees' two big offensive stars to start carrying them: Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
Toss Derek Jeter into that statement, too. The Captain is in 4-for-39 slide (.103). Even Robinson Cano has cooled off, hitting just .205 the past two weeks after his torrid start.
Every season, of course, has peaks and valleys. It sure would be nice, though, to see a couple of these Yankee mainstays begin to lift this less-than-whole offense.