Spring Break
Yankees reach .500
Jake Williams
Issue date: 7/18/07 Section: Sports
The New York Yankees have two yearly traditions: The biggest payroll in the majors and winning. As of Monday the Yanks rank first in the bigs with a team salary of nearly $200 million but have won just 51 percent of their games.
By defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Monday night, the Yankees improved to 46-44 on the season. That marks the first time NY has been two games over .500 in almost a month. On June 19, New York lost to the Colorado Rockies, falling to 35-33 overall. They lost again the following evening.
The Yankees now trail their perennial foe, the Boston Red Sox, by nine games in the American League East standings. They need to get hot in a hurry if they have dreams of anything better than a Wildcard playoff berth.
So who's to blame for this disappointing 2007 season? It isn't hitting. The Yanks rank fourth in the majors with a team batting average of .281. The Detroit Tigers lead the majors at .290 followed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Seattle Mariners. The Yanks also rank tenth in home runs with 100, although 32 of those have come from one player.
Alex Rodriguez has earned $25.6 million this year, the biggest salary on New York's inflated payroll, and leads the team in home runs, RBIs, and runs. Rodriguez hit his 496th career home run in Monday's win.
Could it be pitching? Analysts predicted the Yanks would have a weak starting rotation after losing the bidding war for Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Red Sox. So far in 2007 the Red Sox rank seventh in the majors in batters struck out while the New York ranks dead last. The Yankees are averaging just 5.5 punch-outs per game compared to Boston's seven. Then there is team ERA. Boston is allowing just 3.77 earned runs a contest, good for fourth in the league. New York, on the other hand, is fourteenth with a team ERA of 4.38.
The Yankees should be looking to deal for starting pitching soon. Such a proud organization can't just stand idly by while the season slips through their deep pockets.
Last season the Yankees were a league best 97-62 in the regular season. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
By defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Monday night, the Yankees improved to 46-44 on the season. That marks the first time NY has been two games over .500 in almost a month. On June 19, New York lost to the Colorado Rockies, falling to 35-33 overall. They lost again the following evening.
The Yankees now trail their perennial foe, the Boston Red Sox, by nine games in the American League East standings. They need to get hot in a hurry if they have dreams of anything better than a Wildcard playoff berth.
So who's to blame for this disappointing 2007 season? It isn't hitting. The Yanks rank fourth in the majors with a team batting average of .281. The Detroit Tigers lead the majors at .290 followed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Seattle Mariners. The Yanks also rank tenth in home runs with 100, although 32 of those have come from one player.
Alex Rodriguez has earned $25.6 million this year, the biggest salary on New York's inflated payroll, and leads the team in home runs, RBIs, and runs. Rodriguez hit his 496th career home run in Monday's win.
Could it be pitching? Analysts predicted the Yanks would have a weak starting rotation after losing the bidding war for Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Red Sox. So far in 2007 the Red Sox rank seventh in the majors in batters struck out while the New York ranks dead last. The Yankees are averaging just 5.5 punch-outs per game compared to Boston's seven. Then there is team ERA. Boston is allowing just 3.77 earned runs a contest, good for fourth in the league. New York, on the other hand, is fourteenth with a team ERA of 4.38.
The Yankees should be looking to deal for starting pitching soon. Such a proud organization can't just stand idly by while the season slips through their deep pockets.
Last season the Yankees were a league best 97-62 in the regular season. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
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