Phil Hughes can’t find his velocity and Derek Jeter is struggling to find his swing. Two problems the Yankees don’t want entering tonight’s series with division leading Baltimore.
Hitting coach Kevin Long is getting tired of answering questions about Jeter’s mechanics, but the fact is, he’s not the only one with a cold bat. The Bombers lead the league with 18 homers, but beyond Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Russell Martin, no one is raking.
That trio is hitting a combined .316 with eight home runs and 18 RBIs while the rest of the Yankees are hitting .198.
The terrible trio of Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson went 0-for-9 with eight strikeouts in Sunday’s loss to Boston. Each of them are hitting below .200 despite a combined nine home runs. Teixeira’s numbers are the most alarming. Sure he got off to a hot start with four home runs in the first five games, but take away the long bombs and he has just two hits in 29 at-bats. Do the same thing with Granderson and he has three hits in 27 at-bats, Posada one in 25 at-bats.
“You can’t make too much of a few at-bats,” manager Joe Girardi said. “You just can’t do it because early in the season you’re going to see guys have ups and downs. You’re going to see it, and then as they start getting more at-bats under their belt, they start to get more consistent.”
