## I keep hearing and reading about how shaky the Yankee pitching is, how the bullpen is suspect and what a great job Girardi is doing using the pitching that he has. To me, it's still the hitting that is the problem. The analysts do mention how poorly they hit with runners in scoring position (RISP), but they give you all these positive statistics when they come to the plate. That's because the numbers are very good. They hit but not when it counts.
The Yanks are 5th in runs scored, 3rd in slugging, 4th in batting average and 1st in home runs, yet their run differential is only +19. If you don't look too deeply, you say, "See, the pitching isn't. good." Well, it isn't outstanding, but the offense is averaging a little over 4 1/2 runs a game. Last year, it was almost one whole run per game more. Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson lead the team in RBIs with 33, which places them 17th in the league. But they hit a lot of home runs.
***THE UMPIRE'S CORNER***
Congratulations to Johann Santana on his no-hitter Friday night. Too bad that it's been tarnished a little by another horrid call by an umpire. This one was by Adrian Johnson, who called a hard hit shot down the third base line foul when the ball clearly hit the chalk. Okay, he blew it, but at least he didn't feel that he had to toss anyone when they came out to argue.
Laz Diaz little tantrum is being played up quite a bit. Of course, there are some people who just don't get it. Mike Lupica for one: "I'm not quite clear, am I supposed to organize a protest rally because an umpire was mean to Russel Martin in Anaheim?" Well, yes, you are, Mike. Umpires are supposed to have a non-partisan attitude in the game. Going out of your way to "punish" a player who doesn't agree with you, is NOT being objective. Sometimes I think Lupica doesn't understand the game.
Just where is Joe Torre, who is supposed to deal with this kind of a situation. He's too busy telling interviewers what a bad teammate A-Rod was when he was the manager of the Yankees. I almost said he 'was managing' the Yanks, but it's become clear in retrospect, that he just sat in the dugout, trying to keep from nodding off, while Don Zimmer made all the tough decisions. When Zimmer left, so did the harmony and positive attitude in the clubhouse.
## There seems to be a rash of injuries lately. There are so many excellent players on the DL, that they could have their own all-star game. Currently, there are 184 players on the disabled list. That's an average of better than 6 per team. Is it poor training? Are players being babied? Maybe they're being over-trained. Maybe they are so strong, that tendons and hamstrings can't handle the stress. Something has to be done. Look at this partial list of stars that are on the DL:
Matt Kemp, Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, Mariano Rivera, Carl Crawford, Chipper Jones, Jacoby Ellsbury, Roy Halladay and on and on. I'm not even including stars who have been on, but are currently awaiting their next visit, like Mauer and Morneau or even A-Rod.
## One bit of sad news. Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is being investigated for possible charges for an alleged sexual assault.
## According to Dwight Perry, ex-Yankees pitcher Don Larsen, 82, who is auctioning off the uniform in which he pitched a perfect World Series game to pay for his grandkids' college educations, figures to fetch more than $500,000 for it. Larsen's pay for that entire 1956 season? $13,000.
***THEY SAID IT***
"UCLA is catching some flak because it awarded a $54,000 football scholarship to cornerback Justin Combs, whose dad is millionaire singer Sean "Diddy" Combs. Or are the Bruins just getting a bad rap?" -- Dwight Perry
"Why he picked the L.A. Kings — a team he once coached — to win the Stanley Cup Finals in six games: "Because my memorabilia will be worth more." -- ESPN analyst Barry Melrose
"The Los Angeles Dodgers want to host the NHL Winter Classic. And why not? The previous owner specialized in snow jobs." -- RJ Currie
"Phil Mickelson is leading a group trying to buy the San Diego Padres. Hope someone has told him the Padres’ propensity for low scores is not, as in golf, a good thing." -- Janice Hough
“Turn back the Clock” day today at A T and T Park, as the teams wear uniforms from 1912. If the Cubs and Giants really wanted to be authentic, however, one of them would have signed Jamie Moyer." -- Janice Hough
"The NBA lottery was just held. As usual, Kim Kardashian got the first pick." -- Brad Dickson
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