I Think We Have To Address The Elephant In The Room

The gods are certainly aligned against us.

Milwaukee had just committed its 5th error in four innings, when the rains came down.

 "Bok" Choi had just put us ahead with his second home run since joining the team.

Romine made it safely to first on error number 5.  We were on a roll.

And the rains came down.

Montgomery, who always, always, always gives up a two run homer, was settling down.  I figured he could hold them to 2 runs over 6 innings.  In today's world, that is an acceptable day's work on the hill.

Fast forward;  Tyler Clippard is called upon by Joe Girardi in a game that could go either way. He stay is is extended.  He fails again, and with great drama, in the form of a game-ending grand slam.  The stadium cleared out.  The air went out of the balloon. In his last 10 appearances, Tyler Clippard is sporting an ERA of 16.4.

Someone ought to be able to look at the math and say, " no more."

But Joe Girardi keeps applying his strategies  from a decade ago, giving more opportunities than called for to re-build the egos and confidence of fallen warriors.  That is why Clippard was in there.

You know, failure is failure. Explain it away any way you wish.  But at the end of the day, when this team is watching the playoffs, failure is what we see. Over time, even with occasional glimmers of hope, if failure is the end result, someone has to take the fall.  Sometimes even the " good guys" have to take a bullet.  This team needs better, and fresher leadership.  The 2017 Yankees are in a, " Twelve O'clock High," situation.  Watch the movie if you don't know what I mean.  A change has to be made or everyone will die.

The Yankees have been out of competitive baseball for too long now.  The optimists can say, "  well, if we take 4 from Boston, we'll be right back on top."  And, yes, injuries have simply erased this team's core.  If this trend turns around, okay, I'll concede a bit more breathing space.  As if what I say matters.

But the reality is; we are now 4 games over .500 and 4 games behind Boston.  A month ago, we were more than 10 games over .500 and had a 4 game cushion in the AL East.

At some point, failure is all we can see, and is all we are getting.  No matter who we play or where we play them. We fail.

How long ago was it that this great franchise won the World Series?  When were we even a contender recently?    Has the objective been lost?  Do we now just hope to " play a respectable season of baseball?"  Is winning no longer the goal?

It isn't all his fault, but he is in charge of what happens on the field.  He is the commander of a ship that is listing.

It is time to seriously consider Joe Girardi as part of the problem.

And no one is talking about that.

It is the elephant in the room.