Questions and Comments

The Yankees lost to the Royals last night in what was a sad show of offense. The Yanks had 3 runs on 12 hits. The Royals had 4 runs on just 4 hits. The reason for this lopsided box score is that the Yankee bats were just 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position. Surprisingly, that's not what I want to dwell on this morning. Why? Because that's horrific and everyone knows it. No need to tell you that the sky is blue.

There are two topics I want to focus on. The first might be a bit obvious. Did A.J. Burnett hit Jeff Francoeur on purpose? The truth is, we will never know the answer to this question. The Royals will tell you there was intent and Burnett will tell you it got away from him. A person can clearly argue both sides. In the half inning prior too Francoeur getting hit, Cano was hit in the head by relief pitcher, Nathan Adcock. I do not believe there was intent to hit Cano but you have to be more careful. Even accidentally hitting someone in the head looks bad, you can end a guys career. Is it possible that Burnett was trying to send that message? Definitely.

The situation did not seem to be ideal for Burnett to retaliate. A runner was already on and the it was a one run game. However, Burnett had always been known for being an emotional guy. So was burnett trying to send a message? I hope so!

The second topic I want to touch on is the undertone of what happened to Jorge Posada last night. Posada had a good game, getting on base 4 times with a pair of hits ands pair of walks. There is one at bat I want to focus on though. In the bottom of the 9th with Nunez on second, the Royals decided to walk the struggling Nick Swisher to instead face Jorge Posada. The Royals felt more comfortable trying to get Posada out than a slumping Swisher. It used to be that Posada was one of the last guys you would ever want to face in the 9th with the game on the line. What happened? Posada needs to figure out the problem quick because teams have officially started to pin him as an automatic out. It's tough enough to not see him behind the dish but now to see him batting .150 is just painful.

I will not do to him what everyone has done to Jeter. I do not believe that Sado's career is over. Most of his 6 homers came on fastballs which means that his bat speed is still there. It seems that he is simply uncomfortable in the DH position. Hopefully he can turn it around.

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