The Sun Begins To Set.....

Wasn't that great?

We came so close to winning.

We were, " this far" ( picture someone holding their thumb and forefinger about an envelope width apart) from coming back to win this one.

We are still a bit further away, however, from toasting our latest one game winning streak.

Let's see, have we lost three in a row now?  That is a negative winning streak of three, strictly speaking.

And that is the same number of Yankees who struck out in our first inning, down 1-0.

And we have these terrific competitions going on in our line-up about who can hit the most home runs the fastest.  Isn't it a charmer;  Gardy and Holliday high elbowing and hooting at each others' success in going deep?  From one it is expected  (he is groomed for it ), but for the other it costs too many quality at bats.  And it has created a contagion ( DIDI and Headley look always to be swinging for the fences ).

And when you just swing for the fences, what happens most of the time against a good pitcher?

You strike out.  Good.  You picked that up right away.

And our, "ace," our top pitcher, is having the worst season of his career both here and abroad.

Pretty soon some numbnutz in the Yankee organization is going to realize what I have been saying since the season started; Tanaka has chosen the medical solution of " rest" ' to cure his sensitive
elbow ( small tear was identified two years ago ), as opposed to the surgical route.  The wear and tear of that body of work is taking its toll.  Tanaka, I am certain, works as hard as any human can at his craft, in developing his body,  and in doing everything a great athlete and competitor must do.

 But I believe a weakness persists and has actually deteriorated. This weakening shows up in his pitching repertoire and consequent pitch selection.  The number of pitches he now uses, with confidence, are narrowing.  His command is just a touch more inconsistent than it has been. And one of his key strike out pitches is not getting the same depth it used to get, compromising its effectiveness.

Tanaka was really good the last two years.  That's why we named him as our number one starter this season.  He is the guy who shuts down losing streaks and the guy who extends winning streaks.  Through his leadership, performance, and success, he sets the tone for the ball club, and shows the team they can win.  He is the engine for confidence.

It may take two or three more similar (or worse) performances (which he has had in spades this year....also a first in our experience with him ) to get everyone's attention to the likely cause.  And the likely solutions are ;  he either needs extended rest ( more than a month ), or he needs corrective surgery.

I hope I am wrong on all counts here.  But I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't believe it to be true.

We shall see.