The bottom of the Yankee lineup has become an abyss

Fred Nietzsche, the founder of Uber, once said, "If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you." For nearly two centuries, nobody knew what the fuck he meant.

Then came the 2021 Yankees...

Last night, the Death Barge rallied to beat Texas, the AL's fourth-worst team after the Twins, Tigers and Orioles. If anyone wonders why the Yankees sit in fourth place in the AL East, you only need to ponder the abyss - that is, the batting averages that accompany the last five hitters in our lineup.

Here is what you find. (Note: When navigating this list, do not hesitate or spend too much time pondering one name. Keep moving. Keep stepping. And if any of the haunted entities on this list calls to you, DO NOT ANSWER.)

Yeesh. This is as paltry as anything we've experienced in the last 12 brutal years. 

The fact is, Yankee fans have become desensitized to mediocrity. We've stared into the Abyss. It's become our reality.

We've watched modern analytics drain the game of its spirit, beauty and poetry. These days, a 10-strikeout game is nothing. 

We have come to expect $200 million Yankee lineups that struggle to score three runs or more. The infamous Mendoza Line should be lowered - from .200 to .150.

We have gotten so used to injuries that nobody is surprised when Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks go down. (Nor will we when Aaron Judge joins them.) 

We don't flinch when our eighth and ninth batters take long HR swings, or hit balls directly into defensive over-shifts. That's baseball, Suzyn. (In case you're wondering, we have 10 hitters under .200, and eight above it - 55 percent Mendoza herd immunity.) 

But what is galling is how the Yankee bullshit factory spent last winter describing an Olympian, Ruthian lineup that would roar from top to bottom - a circular attack, they called it. The Yankees were favored to win the AL East, with firepower throughout the order. If anyone questioned  their lack of a lefty-bat, the answer was simple: Who in this championship lineup could be replaced? 

Look again at those averages. Just don't stare.