Down The Stretch

Okay, I wouldn’t say “too close for comfort,” but after last night I have an uneasy feeling. Last night’s game was just a lackluster performance all the way around. Tim Wakefield’s knuckler didn’t have a lot of bite, resulting in a totally mediocre 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR line. The offense didn’t have the punch to offset the pedestrian performance, partially because Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis and Julio Lugo were all on the bench. The team only left three on base, but lacked patience, failing to work a walk off Dustan McGowan while striking out nine times. In short: we look like a team in need of an off day. And we’ll get it on Thursday, after completing the Blue Jays series.

In the meantime, though: the Yankees keep winning, and are playing with a chip on their shoulder and accelerating chemistry as they enter the stretch run. It’s only three and a half games right now, closer than it’s been since May 1st. Their big players are stepping up, such as Derek Jeter’s ultraclutch three-run home run to win Sunday’s series finale and the big start by Roger Clemens in the same game. Last night Phil Hughes turned in a solid start and Jorge Posada had a three-hit game. They’re firing on all cylinders.

I agree that it’s wise to nurse Manny Ramirez along, because his health for the postseason is of the utmost importance. However, sitting half of our postseason starting lineup (as Francona did last night) is practically a forfeit in a game that really could have been a useful win. It’s not like we have Hideki Matsui and Jason Giambi coming off the bench; the pine warriors last night went a combined 1 for 9 with four strikeouts and presented the woeful bottom four of Eric Hinske (.220 BA), Coco Crisp (.270 BA), Alex Cora (.237 BA) and Kevin Cash (.115 BA). That is a pretty toothless stretch, even for a pitcher with as mixed of a track record as Dustan McGowan. It’s nights like last night that make me ask, “this is seriously a $125 million team?”

This is not to say that I am threatened by simply our team’s performance, but the lack of mental focus that lurks beneath. Plain and simple, the Yankees having won five of the final six games between our teams was a huge psychological blow. We are playing with our tails between our legs to a certain point, and we need the same kind of uplifting moment that Buchholz’s no-hitter provided after the Yankees sweep. So don’t sit Lugo while Varitek gets his necessary night off if Manny and Youkilis are out with injuries. He has had a good second half, and the Blue Jays are exactly the kind of team against whom we should be able to strengthen our advantage over the Yankees.

We can’t lean on Beckett, as he will have his hands full with Scott Kazmir on Friday night. We need Jon Lester and Julian Tavarez to come up big tonight and for the peripheral bullpen arms to continue to take pressure off of Gagne, Papelbon and Okajima (whose Friday shellacking at the hands of the Yankees echoed eerily of Byung-Hyun Kim). After the Beckett/Kazmir matchup, we need Dice K and Curt Schilling to step up against Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson. Those are two of the worst starting pitchers in the league, and our studs need to earn their paychecks.

And the offense needs to step it up, as well. We can’t always lean on Mike Lowell (.402 BA over the last 30 days) and Big Papi to carry the team. Jacoby Ellsbury is a great story, but he is going back to the bench as soon as Manny returns (tomorrow?) and either way is not a .390 hitter. Successful playoff lineups are strong 1 through 9, and are bench isn’t strong enough to sustain major injuries. Jason Varitek (.179 BA over the last 30 days), J.D. Drew (.237 BA over that span) and Coco Crisp (.255) need to step their game up enough that we can give Youkilis and Ramirez the leeway to be 100 percent for the playoffs.