3 in a row. I don't understand why but the A's always seem to have the Yankees number (at least that's how it appears to me)

So Giambi hurt his left hand; Damon has an elbow ailment to go along with a broken bone in his foot; left fielder Hideki Matsui began a running program on Friday, but may be out for the season with a fractured left wrist; right fielder Gary Sheffield is scheduled to undergo surgery on his injured left wrist on Tuesday, and shortstop Derek Jeter served as designated hitter for the third straight day due to an injured thumb that he doesn't expect will be well enough for him to return to the infield on Sunday.

Jeter and Giambi should be fine - you know that Jeter will get back in there and play, and Phillips is a decent fielding first baseman, so Giambi can return to the DH while he's injured.

Damon I'm worried about, just because he would be yet another outfielder, and he's been a great leadoff man for the Yanks, who have sorely needed one for the last couple of years. Hopefully with the days off or DH'ing, we can keep a young guy like Thompson or Reese up to play the outfield and spell Damon.

I've seen and/or heard about most of the injuries but how did Damon hurt his toe again?

Great 4 in a row now. However, Beckett was shaky again in his start again Texas

5 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 3 BB, 7 SO, 112 pitches, 5.26 ERA

Don't worry about the Red Sox. Worry about outfielders colliding, in-the-park homeruns, and Kyle Farnsworth.

Call the ball, and get Octavio Dotel up to the majors ASAP!

I've seen and/or heard about most of the injuries but how did Damon hurt his toe again?

Toe? I thought he had a fractured bone in his foot?

Of course, getting run into doesn't help either...

I thought it was a broken bone in his toe but it's possible I was misinformed. Did he collide with the outfield wall or another player, etc?

From the little I've seen of today's game, Damon and Melky were booking for a deep fly ball and collided and near full speed, allowing Oakland to get an in-the-park homerun.

Gotcha, thanks. Yeah I didn't get to see the game until the 5th or 6th inning unfortunately. I see Chacon didn't go past 5 but how did he pitch? Rusty?

Dunno, like I said, I've only seen bits and pieces from highlight shows. But to me, it sounds like Chacon pitched *decent* but the Yankees couldn't capitalize on the walks and on-base opportunities presented by Zito.

Tied, until Farnsworth allowed a huge homerun, which he explained with this didactic comment:

"I beat him with the pitch," said Farnsworth (2-4) of the homer. "He got the fat part of the bat on it, he had a late swing on it. It was a good hit from a halfway decent hitter."

Yeah. Or, it could be a good hit on a mediocre pitcher.

Looks like those injuries are finally starting to catch up with the Yanks and take their toll in the W-L Column.

After all, a chicken can only run around without its head for so long.

Still a looooooooong way to go, though. Plenty of time to save the season with a deal or two.

Hmmmmm. Looks like the Metropolitans have the best team money can buy.

Or...it could just be a slump, as well as matching up with the A's who seem to do well against the Yankees.

Still, for a bunch of *injured* mop-up guys, they still are tied for the league lead in runs, sixth in hits, first in RBI's, third in batting average, first in OBP, and third in OPS, as well as eleventh in WHIP, tenth in BAA, fourth in OPS and seventh in ERA.

Not bad for a team that's still only 1 game out of the AL East lead. I'd call this a bit of a slump, not necessarily chicken without its head...

The only deal to be made *right now* would be for a starting pitcher.

Their decent W-L record, place in the standings, and big lead in all of those offensive categories is due to the fact, I think, that for the greater part of this season the team was intact.

Start tracking their stats from when Matsui went down, and I think you'll find that they're somewhere in the middle or lower end of the pack.

And with their starting pitching, that ain't gonna be good enough.

Yet, Matsui was considered to be a bit slumpy as well.

I don't think anyone is denying the significance of losing guys like Matsui or Sheffield.

And for such *horrible* starting pitching, they still outrank Boston where it counts - BAA and ERA. Not that the values are any good, but as far as winning the division goes, they still aren't too shabby.

We need another starting pitcher. Moose ranges from good-to-stellar...err...great. Chacon is coming back from injury. Wang is, despite all the criticism, a decent fourth or fifth starter. And, Jaret Wright seems to actually be holding it together...though likely with Elmer's glue.

The key is Randy Johnson.

I took a fast look at the Yankee stats with and without Matsui, with and without Sheffield, and with and without both.

I think that this will illustrate my point:

And its to be expected, as I've said.

I still give this amalgamation a chance, as long as they can prevent or at least minimize these kind of slumps.

I'm not sure what you said "was to be expected"; If it's the decrease in offensive production that you're talking about, I don't see where you said it.

And if their pitching is, in fact, better than Boston's - which I think it is - then I still say they better pick up another bat before their offense goes completely south before they worry about getting another starter.

If they were 24-13 with Matsui and Sheffield in the lineup, that tells me that their pitching is good enough to win if their offense is intact.

Since they're 11-13 with the two of them out of the lineup, that tells me that since the pitching staff is basically the same, they need more offense right now, not more pitching.

Anyway....

I guess it depends on what you consider a "successful" season to be.

If simply making the playoffs qualifies as a success, then sure, the Yanks could do it, even with their weakened lineup.

I don't see any teams in the AL as being head and shoulders above the rest, although it does look to me like the White Sox may be a bit better than the competition because of their starting pitching.

The AL West is probably the weakest of the three divisions, but someone has to get a playoff spot from there.

So it would appear that the Yanks are battling Boston and Toronto for the top spot in the AL East, and/or Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Ananheim, Texas, and Oakland for the wild card.

Nothing there that nobody didn't know, of course, but I don't see anything to be particularly optimistic about, given that the Yanks are battling two other teams for a division title, and six othr teams for one wild card spot.

Alas, while I didn't use those exact words, I did comment on losing Sheffield and Matsui during the Tigers series:

Injuries hurt, true. But I think that beating the hottest team in the AL while missing key players shows that players on this team have the ability to step up (Melky Cabrera, Andy Phillips anyone?).

I'm not saying that either of these guys can replace the talent like Sheff or Matsui. But until there is a serious sign that this team can't be competitive without them, I think they made the right move by bringing up prospects (who look like they benefitted from the WBC by playing in the majors during Spring Training) rather than trying to go out and spend on someone like Soriano.

For a team missing big players and not having a A-Rod-ish A-Rod so far this season, they are still only half-a-game behind the Red Sox for first place in the AL East.

Perhaps I'm still idealistic after watching my Sabres nearly make it to the Stanley Cup with patchwork players, but the young players (especially Cabrera) seem to be playing decent, at least well enough so that it doesn't warrant going out and spending on a huge 1-year deal to someone like Soriano or Burnitz or other names you mentioned. [/b][/quote]While that may be true, I don't see who could really replace the level of offensive prowess with the exception of Soriano.

And, for the time being, I'm still going to give these youngsters a chance, as well as for other hitters (namely A-Rod) to start coming on.

I think being in the hunt when they make it to September when Matsui (and later, possibly Sheffield) will return to the lineup would be success enough, and with that revitalization could bring a push down the stretch into October.

Well, let's see.....

They're 35-26 now, and look like a .500 team.

With about 70 games to go until September, if they continue to play .500 that gets them to about 70-61.

Then what? 21-10 or 22-9 to get them to 91 or 92 wins?

I don't think there are two teams in the West capable of winning 91-92 games (I doubt if there's even one, but somebody's gonna come out of there), and if we give the White Sox the Central crown, then the Yankees are in trouble.

Detroit is 40-23 already, and i don't see any reason why they won't finish with at least 93 wins. All they need to do is go 53-46 the rest of the way, and they look good enough to do that.

So that means the Yankees road to the playoffs involves winning the AL East outright, which I don't think will be easy.

I'm certainly not a Yankee-hater, just an objective realist here, and IMO it's just a matter of time before the wheels fall of this team completely.

I still think it's possible, though, for the Yanks to make the playoffs by winning the East with as few as maybe 88-90 wins, but I certainly don't see them getting very far in the playoffs.

Well then.

I suppose for the sake of brevity I could simply summarize any remaining argument in this particular instance using the following image:

Since when has brevity ever been an issue around here? :rolleyes: :p

When I've got three different threads to reply to at once, all of which involve debating with you. :p

I had to save time somewhere.

I'd have to disagree with you on this. I truly think the Yanks need pitching (starting or bullpen). I thought Boston was incredibly stupid for letting A LOT of guys walk this past offseason while they upgraded their offense. Many of these guys I never heard of and thought they couldn't hit. Some can and some can't, but their defense is a lot better. The point I'm trying to make is, guys will hit when they're in the batters box. Maybe not all the time, but I think the Yanks need more help with the pitching than the hitting (remember, this team has 12 straight games with at least 10 hits, a franchise record)

Actually, there is a great article on Yankees.com today about prospects like Philip Hughes and Eric Duncan, and whether it would be worth it to trade them for someone like Dontrelle Willis.

Personally, I'd like to see Hughes up in a major league outing sooner rather than later, but I can see why they are being patient.

Dontrelle Willis is a 24-year old proven #1 or #2 starter.

I'd trade him for prospects in a second if I was sure I could sign him (I'm not sure what his contract status is).

It's not like he was a 35-year old or older veteran.

I wouldn't trade my best prospects for guys like Jon Lieber or Andy Pettitte or Kenny Rogers, for example - deals that the Yankees might have made in the past, but again: Willis is only 24.

I knew the Yanks should have taken the gamble with Kenny Rogers in the offseason. Look what he's doing for the Tigers thus far:

8-3 with a 3.46 ERA

Was he a Free Agent?

Would have been a nice pickup if he was.

Yeah, because the Yankees didn't want improved team chemistry and desperately wanted a prima donna pitcher.

Maybe if he hadn't acted like an ass last season. True, he's doing well this year, but if it wasn't for his asinine behavior he probably could have landed a better deal elsewhere.