Call your mother, and Luke Voit's, too

Last night, in the 8th with the game still close, Luke Voit came up with something to prove. Earlier, he'd been whacked by a pitch, and the Yanks were still muy pissed-off. He needed to drive one, do his trademark hop-step, and bring the Death Star to within one. But as Luke stepped to the plate, something looked amiss. His stance? No. His face? Nope. Ah, I figured it out...

His batting average. For the first time in Yankee memory, it had fallen below .240 - to .239. Two-thirty-nine... this from a bench-pressing brute who not long ago won AL Player of the Week. On his fourth pitch, Luke blasted a high fastball, danced his little dance, and watched the ball disappear into the rafters of Tropicana Dome - unfortunately, almost straight up... a routine fly to right. 

Next time Luke appears, the graphics will say .237. Two thirty seven...

In his last six games, Voit is 1 for 20, an anemic .050. Suddenly, the fears we had last winter - that Luke, the career minor leaguer, would circle the league once and then vanish - have returned. He's still got those 10 HRs - (more troubling, his lone hit over the last six games was a HR) - but if he plummets into the .220s - the Mendoza line for first-basemen - there will be cause for alarm. Not even Mark Teixeira could survive the .220s, and he was a gold glove. Worst of all, Voit bats second in the lineup, the slot reserved for Aaron Judge and the best Yankee hitter. 

Maybe this will pass. We always knew Voit would hit his first slump. It happens to everybody: The league writes a book on him, and he flounders until making an adjustment. Last fall, he was wondrous. This spring, he was better. When Greg Bird went out with another bad bunion, nobody batted an eye. We just yelled "Luuuuuuuuuk."

The concerns have returned. Two thirty seven. One of these days, they won't be yelling "Luuuuuuuuk." And here's another troubling fear: The Red Socks are two games above .500 and winning with football scores. 

Finally, there's the predicament: If Voit's slump continues, we have no replacement. (Bird isn't close.) There's Mike Ford in Scranton, but his glove is even sketchier than Voit's. Would we try Ryan McBroom and hope for another once-around-the-league? Jeeze.

Last night was a clunker. Everything looks bad after a clunker, and the Yankees recent winning streaks were marked by occasional clunkers, when we bundle all our foibles into one ugly, blowout loss. Better that than two heart-breakers.

But when Voit came up last night, the game was still on the line. If he falls into the .220s, alarm bells will signal. At the least, he needs to drop in the batting order. At the worst, the fears of winter may have been justified. 

Oh, and call your mom. 

(ADDITIONAL NOTE ADDED LATER: To answer the question of who's next? Veteran Logan Morrison played 1B for Scranton last night. He went 0-4 with 2 Ks.)