MLB Tribune

Why the Yankees may not win the AL East

by Scooter on 08/07/2010 in MLB News, Yankees Blogs

As of late, the offense has been sputtering and the pitching has been inconsistent. AJ Burnett seems like a man on an island all by himself. He hasn’t been the pitcher the Yankees expected.

They acquired Lance Berkman, Austin Kearns and Kerry Wood, but nothing has improved. Berkman just is not hitting and Kearns is a part timer. Wood has showed some progress and it could help the Yankees down the stretch.

The Yankees are waiting on a healthy Andy Pettitte, and reliability from A.J. Burnett. Alex Rodriguez has been quiet, but hopefully he can get hot soon. Derek Jeter at 36 is not having a Jeter type year. His offensive numbers are the lowest in his career. From Sept. 13 on, the Yankees play the Rays seven times and the Red Sox six times. Curtis Granderson has been a disappointment, but there’s still time for him to salvage his sub-par season.

The Yankees have a few things going for them. Mark Teixeira is getting hot, but he needs to have more multiple hit games to raise his .258 batting average. Nick Swisher is the Yankees Co-MVP so far and has carried the bombers up to this point. Swisher is batting .297 with 22 home runs and 66 RBI. Robertson Cano is the other Co-MVP who leads the Yankees in batting (.328) and has 21 home runs and 71 RBIs.

The Yankees will need the Rays to trip in order to stay on top of the AL East, but that’s a tall order considering how well the Rays have been playing. They were 4 games back of the Yankees at one point, but the Rays erased that quickly.

If the Yankees could have signed Cliff Lee, things would be much better in the Bronx.

Congrats Alex Rodriguez on your 600th Home Run!