Tigers 6, Yankees 2

Right after Derek Jeter grounded out to Edgar Renteria to end the fifth inning, I scribbled this note at the bottom of my scorecard: Was that too fast? Pettitte just threw 20 pitches and looks gassed. Uh-oh....

On the second pitch of the sixth inning, Placido Polanco took Pettitte deep. Looking again at the question I had just scribbled, I wrote next to it, Yes.

Obviously, I'm not normally so prescient. If I were, I'd be living in a house outside Vegas and collecting my winnings every night. But will someone please explain this to me: When the Yankees are facing a pitcher who has a 1-3 record and who walked seven batters his last time out, and when that pitcher goes to a three-ball count on four of the first nine batters he faces and surrenders two runs in the first inning, why does this Yankee lineup decide that swinging early in the count is the rigth way to set about winning a game?

The Yankees had a rope around Jeremy Bonderman's neck in the first inning, forcing him to throw 27 pitches, only 14 of which found the plate. but after the first inning Bonderman's pitch counts looked like this: 15, 11, 9, 5, 11, 7, 15. And that would be fine if Bonderman had been dealing strikes and being generally unhittable. But from the second to the eighth innings Bonderman threw only 45 strikes out of 73 pitches (not a terrible ration, but not Hall of Fame stuff, either), and the Yankees swung and missed at exactly two pitches. Two.

The point is that they could have put wood on Bonderman's balls any time they wanted to, so why do it with a 1-1 count, or an 0-1 count? Why not let this guy run the counts deep and see if his tendency to walk hitters was still a problem? I simply do not understand a lineup that fails, nightly, to protect its pitching staff.

What is Joe Girardi preaching in that clubhouse before games? And for that matter, where the hell is Kevin Long? Do these guys ever take a look at how this team approaches at-bats and wonder if a different approach might be in order? Isn't Long paid to do more than just chit-chat with Giambi after Giambi gets back to the dugout?

It is infuriating to watch, game after game, when a lineup of veteran hitters like Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, and Giambi let struggling pitchers like Bonderman get away clean. In 32 trips to the plate in Wednesday's game, 11 Yankee batters put the ball in play on the first or second pitch. In those at-bats, the Yankees were 1-for-11. And the captain, Derek Jeter, pulled this stunt twice, going 0-for-2.

In a long baseball season, fans accept the inevitable 60-70 losses; that's what makes baseball such a different sporting experience. But losing games to average pitchers who are just begging to get beat gets old the first time. In two consecutive games now, the Yankee have faced struggling Tigers pitchers who were ripe to go down, and the Yankee batters have failed to earn their money.

It's enough to make me want to eat this damned scorecard.

They're kidding, right?

So now the Yankee front office, too proud to admit it was a little rash in insisting that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were ready for prime time, is inventing injuries and enabling Hughes' skittishness? An oblique strain that Hughes showed absolutely no signs of having while he was on the mound on Tuesday? Tell us another one, Brian Cashman, because this one's a real knee-slapper.

Hughes is no more injured than Joe Girardi is. Whatever problems Hughes has had on the mound this season, they do not stem from any abdominal injury. The only place Hughes might be hurting is in his pride. He was just too highly touted this early in his career. None of what has happened to Hughes is his fault, but be that as it may, he is still the guy collecting the paycheck, and it is still his ass on the line. He just has to perform better.

Call it a much-needed break from the stress of being in the rotation. Call it a trip down to the minors to work on some stuff -- like confidence. But to call it an injury is insulting. Girardi is creating a bunker-like mentality around his team when it comes to decisions and injuries and anything that might possibly lead to an advantage being gained by Yankee opponents. Okay, fair enough. Teams have to guard against leaking too much information in a highly-competitive league. But Girardi is dangerously close to the Bill Belichick model of how to appear the most paranoid in public. There's a fine line being secretive and being deceptive.

This Phil Hughes 'injury' seems very close to the latter.

Sit Cano, now!

Why is Robinson Cano still starting? Could the Yankee lineup be any less potent with Alberto Gonzalez and Morgan Ensberg at second and third base, respectively? Maybe Cano has more potential in his bat than either of those two, but potential is just French for "ain't done shit yet," and that about sums up Cano's season to date.

Bench him tonight, Joe G., and spare us all the pain of watching him slump his shoulders after popping up to short centerfield. If there's anything worse than watching a young player struggle, it's watching a young player sulk while he struggles.

Do us all a favor and let us get through a game (or two) without screaming at Cano through the television screen.

Season to date

The Yankees are 14-15, finishing their first month under Girardi with a sub-.500 record and in fourth place in the American League East, three games behind division leader Boston and one game behind Baltimore and Tampa Bay, whop are tied for second. The Yankees are now 0-2 on their nine game home stand.

Thursday's starting pitchers

Yankees: Ian Kennedy, RHP, (0-2, 8.53 ERA)
Last start: Kennedy threw 105 pitches in a five-inning start at Cleveland, allowing three runs, seven hits, walking one (with the bases-loaded) and striking out three.

Tigers: Nate Robertson, LHP, (0-3, 6.91 ERA)
Last start: Threw just 89 pitches in a seven-inning start against the Angels, but gave up four runs, including a two-run home run to Vladimir Guerrero.