Yankee News For Yankee Fans

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Yankees' bullpen shutting hitters down late in games

Opposing teams aren’t just having trouble breaking through against closer David Robertson, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and Shawn Kelley, they’re struggling just to put the ball in play. Those four pitchers have combined to average 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and allow less than one man to reach base per inning.

David Robertson has 12 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings as he seems to be adjusting smoothly into his new closer role.

You can't touch this.

When it comes to the quartet of Yankee relievers that manager Joe Girardi entrusts with a lead, the old MC Hammer lyrics are very appropriate. Opposing teams aren’t just having trouble breaking through against closer David Robertson, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and Shawn Kelley, they’re struggling just to put the ball in play. Those four pitchers have combined to average 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and allow less than one man to reach base per inning.

It may be the biggest reason the Bombers are 18-2 when leading after six innings and 17-1 when leading after seven.

“(Strikeouts are) extremely important because there are times when you’re going to need those strikeouts to keep them from scoring,” Girardi said. “We have some power at the back end.”

“There are definitely certain situations you have to pitch for the strikeout, but a lot of us, with nobody on, we’re just trying to get ahead and get weak contact,” said Warren, who has whiffed 22 batters in 23.1 innings. “Our bullpen has really good stuff, so we have to just stay confident, keep pounding the zone and stay aggressive.”

On Thursday against the Mets, Betances was the embodiment of what Girardi is talking about: he retired all seven men he faced, the last six via strikeouts, and got the Yankees from the fifth to the end of the seventh.

The Mets strike out more than most National League teams. The Pirates, who will play the Bombers three times in the next two days at Yankee Stadium because of Friday’s rainout — are among the better clubs in the NL at putting the ball in play.

“It’s tough. It’s hard to explain your mentality when you get out there, but you just know that you have to make the best pitches every time,” said Robertson, who has 12 strikeouts in 10.1 innings this season.

Robertson marveled on Thursday at Betances, who now has 39 strikeouts in 22.1 innings for a stunning average of 15.7 per nine. And that’s saying something from Robertson, whose career mark is an impressive 11.7.

“With Dellin’s stuff, just throwing a fastball and a curveball is all he really needs. It’s that good,” he said. “For me, it was a little more difficult — I was always in a 3-and-2 count, fouling them off or walking guys and leaving runners everywhere.”

Kelley had 16 strikeouts in 15.1 innings when he was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a strained lumbar spine.

That injury moved Warren into the role of pitching the eighth inning in front of Robertson, and Betances into the role of getting batters out in the seventh or earlier, as he did in the Yanks’ 1-0 win Thursday (he actually relieved Chase Whitley with two out in the fifth).

“The one nice thing for us is a lot of times we had three guys for two (set-up) spots — Kelley, Warren and (current starter David) Phelps for a while,” Girardi said. “Then Betances emerged, and it was still three guys for the two spots.”

Now he’s just down to two, but opposing hitters are still going down swinging.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: ESPN announced that the Sunday, Aug. 3 meeting between the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway Park will be slotted into the 8 p.m. spot as its national broadcast. The Bombers begin a four-game series at home against the Tigers the next day. The Yanks or Red Sox appear in three of the next six Sunday night telecasts.

ALL ABOUT THE 2: In the six weeks since Opening Day, more Derek Jeter jerseys have been sold than any other, according to MLB.

PINEDA UPDATE: Starter Michael Pineda, expected to be out until June with a strained muscle in his upper back, threw a 20-pitch bullpen session at the Stadium. General manager Brian Cashman said in a text message that Pineda experienced no discomfort.

[Yankee4Life]

David Phelps #41 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 17, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.

David Phelps #41 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning on May 17, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Brian McCann #34 of the New York Yankees tags out Gaby Sanchez #17 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning on May 17, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.The New York Yankees defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1.

Derek Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees hits a single in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 17, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Yankees beat Cardinals again, salvage swing through Midwest behind Hiroki Kuroda

The Yankees’ offense had been quite offensive for the most part during the road trip, posting a collective .206/.284/.268 slash line in the first eight games. They scored only 3.6 runs per game, though they had found a way to go 4-4 during the stretch.

Hiroki Kuroda salvages the Yankees road trip with a workmanlike performance in a 7-4 win over the Cardinals Wednesday.

ST. LOUIS — When Masahiro Tanaka lost his first game in nearly two years to start the Yankees’ nine-game road trip, it looked like Joe Girardi’s club was in for a long week in the Midwest.

Wednesday night, the Bombers headed home with a winning record on the trip, taking a 7-4 victory from a Cardinals team that had won nine of 11 before the Yankees hit town.

“We battled,” Derek Jeter said. “We’ve faced some tough pitchers and some good teams. We’ve played some long games, and I think everyone here is proud of how we played. We grinded some games out, especially here in St. Louis.”

The Yankees scored all seven runs in the third and fourth innings against Shelby Miller, then held off a steady Cardinals comeback as St. Louis scored in four of its final six innings.

Hiroki Kuroda (4-3) allowed three runs on nine hits, striking out three. Dellin Betances recorded one big out to foil a Cardinals rally, while David Robertson got the final four outs in a non-save situation, striking out the side in the ninth after putting the first two runners on base.

“Our bullpen was pushed a little bit tonight but they all did an excellent job,” Girardi said. “Big outs and a big series win for us, and we get to go into an off day with a winning series.”

The Yankees went 5-4 on the trip after splitting two games with the Cubs and four with the White Sox. They head home for an off-day Thursday before hosting the Twins on Friday to start a seven-game home stand.

“It’s big when you’re not playing your best baseball, to salvage games like we did on this trip,” said Brian McCann, who made his first career start at first base. “We won games where we fought back. There were a lot of good things that happened on this road trip.

The Yankees’ offense had posted a .206/.284/.268 slash line with only three homers in the first eight games of the trip. Despite scoring only 3.6 runs per game, they had managed to go 4-4 thanks to solid starting pitching and several superb efforts by the bullpen.

St. Louis actually out-hit the Yankees on Wednesday, 13-12, but the Bombers put their hits — 11 singles — together in timely fashion.

The first two innings looked like much of the same for the punchless Bombers, but they broke out in the third with a big one-out rally against Miller.

Brett Gardner (r.) gets some love from manager Joe Girardi after scoring a run.

Brett Gardner drew a one-out walk, then Brian Roberts and Jacoby Ellsbury singled, bringing Gardner home for a 1-0 lead. Ellsbury stole second — he was 3-for-3 in the series against Yadier Molina, who has thrown out 13 of 23 baserunners against everybody else — and McCann walked, loading the bases.

John Ryan Murphy hit a two-run single to push the lead to three runs, then Ichiro Suzuki’s fielder’s choice scored McCann to cap the four-run frame.

The Yankees went back at it in the fourth, scoring three times against Miller on a two-run single by Ellsbury and an RBI hit by McCann. Miller (6-4) was charged with seven runs over five innings.

“To be able to have two innings in a row there where we put up a crooked number is always good,” Murphy said. “Hiro got on a roll there, started rolling a little bit.”

Kuroda took the mound in the fourth with a 7-0 lead, but the Cardinals scored in each of the next three innings as they inched their way back.

[Yankee4Life]

Jacoby Ellsbury of the New York Yankees hits an RBI single against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Busch Stadium on May 28, 2014 in St. Louis, Missouri.

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John Ryan Murphy of the New York Yankees hits a two RBI single against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Busch Stadium on May 28, 2014 in St. Louis, Missouri.

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Teixeira day-to-day with sore wrist

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is experiencing "stiffness" in his surgically repaired right wrist.

With the possibility Mark Teixeira’s surgically repaired right wrist is going to need rest throughout the season and no experienced back up first baseman on the roster, Hal Steinbrenner was asked if the Yankees were interested in signing free agent DH/first baseman Kendry Morales.

“We never say never, we always look at all possibilities,’’ Steinbrenner told The Post Thursday. “Right now we are doing it from within and I think Tex is going to be okay, but anything is possible.’’

Teixeira, who hasn’t played since Sunday, was examined Thursday by Dr. Keith Raskin, who performed surgery on the wrist last year. The first baseman was told the reason the hinge was sore because of inflammation, not structural damage.

“Not surprised, we thought it was inflammation and he is day-to-day,’’ general manager Brian Cashman said.

Manager said Joe Girardi started Kelly Johnson and Brian McCann in the three games at first against the Cardinals and has used Brendan Ryan late in games.

The switch-hitting Morales turned down a $14.3 million qualifying offer from the Mariners to test the free agent waters after hitting .277 with 23 homers, 80 RBIs and an OPS of .785.

Any team signing Morales before the draft ends June 7 will lose a draft pick. If Morales, 31 next month, is signed after the draft his new club won’t lose a pick.

“As you would expect the need for switch-hitters is there,’’ said Scott Boras, Morales’ agent. “And he can play first base.’’

While Cashman had a clear view of what to expect from Teixeira’s ultrasound treatment, he remains in the dark about the bone spur in Carlos Beltran’s right elbow.

“It’s not fair to expect anything either way,’’ Cashman said about the switch-hitting outfielder who hasn’t played since May 12.

Beltran graduated from dry swings to a 25-pitch tee and toss activity Thursday at Yankee Stadium with hitting coach Kevin Long watching.

“He will recover or he won’t but Kevin said [beltran] was full bore and he was excited,” Cashman said.

The plan is for Beltran to repeat the exercise Friday if the elbow allows it.

“Hopefully, he graduates to cage work and play in rehab games,’’ Cashman said.

If the cortisone medication Beltran is using doesn’t work he likely will face surgery that could sideline him for 10 weeks.

Lowering your time from home to first by .20 seconds isn’t much but when you are 39 and missed most of last season with lower leg issues that included a surgically repaired left ankle, it’s an indicator the legs are getting stronger.

Earlier this season, scouts were clocking Derek Jeter at 4.52 seconds from home to first. Tuesday in St. Louis a scout timed him at 4.32. The major league average is 4.3.

After Girardi didn’t start Jeter Wednesday night against the Cardinals, expect him back in the lineup Friday night when the Yankees open a three-game series against the Twins at Yankee Stadium. It will be the first of 17 straight days of games for the Yankees.

[Yankee4Life]

Pitch-perfect: Betances’ ‘slurve’ taking majors by storm

Dellin Betances

It is the unidentifiable flying object that’s impacting baseball like nothing quite else.

“It’s a curveball,” said Yankees catcher Brian McCann, who has seen more of it up close than anyone else.

“It’s a slider,” said Cardinals center fielder Peter Bourjos, who swung at three of them and missed all of them this past Monday.

“I call it a cutter,” said Reds minor-league pitcher Mikey O’Brien, who helped create it, “but that’s just for my mind-set.”

MLB.com, in its “Game Day” feature that utilizes data from PITCHf/x, calls it a knuckle-curve.

“It’s a slurve,” Dellin Betances said, before rendering the discussion moot: “I just throw it, you know?”

If you have seen Betances pitch out of the Yankees’ bullpen this season, you know the pitch we’re discussing: The crazy, nasty breaking pitch that has elevated him into a trusted, valuable part of manager Joe Girardi’s bullpen.

That has him leading all major-league relievers in strikeouts with 51, and has made him the first rookie relief pitcher in the game’s history to strike out at least 50 batters through his team’s first 50 games of the season (thanks, Elias Sports Bureau).

It’s the pitch that just might have saved Betances’ career, and in turn just might save the 2014 Yankees’ season.

“This is a dream come true,” Betances said Wednesday. “I always wanted to be here. I always wanted to come and help the team in any way possible.”

An eighth-round selection in the Yankees’ amateur draft out of Brooklyn’s Grand Street Campus High School, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound Betances slowly worked his way up the Yankees’ farm system but hit a wall when he arrived with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2012. He recorded a 6.39 ERA in 16 starts and walked 69 in 74²/₃ innings, and the Yankees sent him back down to Double-A Trenton, where he wasn’t much better (6.51 ERA and 30 walks in 56 2/3 innings).

The problems, Betances said, stemmed from his inability to throw a breaking ball for strikes. “I had problems with my hand,” he said. Specifically, his right index finger developed blisters, and the nail got black and blue.

So he turned to O’Brien, a teammate at Double-A Trenton and asked him for advice. O’Brien told him to tilt his right wrist a few degrees. That alleviated the pressure on his finger and produced the spectacular break we’re now seeing. The Yankees then made him a reliever in 2013.

“The key is being able to throw it for a strike,” O’Brien, whom the Reds took from the Yankees in the Triple-A portion of last winter’s Rule 5 draft, said in a telephone interview. “For him, he has that power fastball. If he throws [the pitch] on the same plane as the fastball, they’re just gearing up for that fastball.”

“The thing that makes it different is he throws 98, 99 [miles per hour],” Bourjos said. “So I think it’s similar to a lot of pitches. It’s just that guys that have that pitch are throwing 91. So he’s throwing 98. So it makes it tough, especially with the difference in velocities — it’s 81 and he tops at 98. It’s a big gap.”

The website FanGraphs, which categorizes Betances’ pitch as a slider, calculates the average velocity of the pitch as 82.4 mph and his fastball at 95.6. FanGraphs assesses the “slider” as the third-best such pitch in baseball with a value of 6.7 runs above average, behind only Milwaukee’s Kyle Lohse (9.2) and Miami’s injured ace Jose Fernandez (six.eight)— remarkable because Betances has thrown far fewer innings (30²/₃ ) than most starting pitchers.

Betances said, “In high school, I was throwing a similar pitch,” and Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer recalls seeing that from the Washington Heights native.

A scout from another team who has seen Betances from his amateur days through the present considers the “magic pitch” theory to be a stretch.

“He’s able to repeat his arm action now,” the scout said, on the condition of anonymity. “He’s a big kid. He had to grow into his body.”

At the least, however, the evolution of this special pitch has played an integral role in Betances’ development and confidence.

“It has the tightness and depth of a curveball,” Oppenheimer said. “People just aren’t used to a curveball being thrown in the 80s.”

“How about we just call it a breaking ball?” Girardi suggested.

“We should come up with a name for it,” said John Ryan Murphy, the Yankees’ catcher who has worked with Betances since their time together in the minors.

Any suggestions? Until we come up with a winner, Betances will just throw it, and the rest of the Yankees will just appreciate it.

[Yankee4Life]

David Robertson of the New York Yankees pitches in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins during their game at Yankee Stadium on May 31, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Yangervis Solarte of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins during their game at Yankee Stadium on May 31, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees pitches against the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning during their game at Yankee Stadium on May 31, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Who is going to come back and be on the active roster first? Limp-wristed SOB Mark Teixeira or "I'll-never-play-a-full-season-again" Michael Pineda?

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Masahiro Tanaka gives Yankees most impressive outing by grinding through A's lineup

Tanaka allowed five hits and one walk, striking out four. But it was the way he battled Oakland’s deep lineup that stood out as the league’s highest-scoring team challenged him repeatedly.

Masahiro Tanaka leaves the mound after the sixth inning after battling a tough Oakland lineup throughout the afternoon.

A look at Masahiro Tanaka’s line against Oakland on Thursday would suggest he struggled to some extent, the righty failing to pitch into the seventh inning for only the second time in his 12 big-league starts.

He didn’t blank the Athletics the way he did the Cubs and Mets, nor did he reach double digits in strikeouts like he did against the Orioles, Cubs and Angels.

Tanaka’s six-inning, one-run outing actually looked rather pedestrian in comparison to some of the gaudy lines he has put up during his first two months in the majors.

Forget the numbers. Thursday’s win was the most impressive — and important — of Tanaka’s brief Yankees career.

“I think you could say it’s maybe his biggest performance for us,” said Joe Girardi, who was finally able to smile during a postgame press conference after seeing his club snap its four-game skid.

Tanaka allowed five hits and one walk, striking out four. But it was the way he battled Oakland’s deep lineup that stood out as the league’s highest-scoring team challenged him repeatedly.

Tanaka faced 24 batters in his six innings, needing six or more pitches against nine of them. Oakland made him throw 26 pitches in both the fourth and fifth, driving his pitch count up and making him work as hard as he’s had to since he put on pinstripes.

“The fourth and fifth inning is the only reason he didn’t throw a complete game,” Brian McCann said. “They made him throw a lot of pitches, but stuff-wise, he was on point. It’s no different from how he’s been all year.”

Masahiro Tanaka holds the A's to just one-run to help the Yankees snap losing streak.

John Jaso drilled Tanaka’s seventh pitch of the game into the second deck in right field, putting the Yankees in a quick 1-0 hole.

Tanaka didn’t flinch. He retired the next 10 batters, allowing the Yankees to tie the game in the second and take a lead in the third.

It looked like Tanaka was on his way to another gem, further cementing his status as staff ace and front-runner to start the All-Star Game for the American League. But the Athletics weren’t going down without a fight the way most of Tanaka’s other victims have.

“Especially after giving up a homer to the second hitter of the game, being able to shut them down, I thought it was a gritty performance on his part,” Girardi said.

“They’re tough outs and they make you work.”

Tanaka didn’t seem to buy into the idea that Thursday ‘s outing was his best of the season, and while he would probably point to his four-hit shutout at Citi Field three weeks ago, the Mets lineup doesn’t come close to the one Oakland sent to the plate.

Tanaka’s win over the Mets did have one important thing in common with Thursday’s victory: both snapped four-game losing streaks, pushing the Yankees back over .500 each time.

“I don’t think it was my best performance for the season,” Tanaka said through his translator. “But given the fact that our team was in a little bit of a slump or funk and we were facing one of the best teams in the league right now, I was really happy that I was able to contribute to the team’s win.”

In his first 11 starts, Tanaka held opponents to a .121 batting average, a .171 on-base percentage and a .152 slugging percentage with two strikes, typically using his trademark splitter to put them away.

Oakland’s two hits in the fourth inning both came on two-strike counts, and even though Tanaka fanned Jed Lowrie to escape the jam, he needed nine pitches to do so after the shortstop fouled off four straight 2-2 offerings.

“It was a tough game for me today,” Tanaka said. “I think the Athletics were really resilient and didn’t give in.”

Stephen Vogt started the fifth with a 10-pitch at-bat, fouling off four two-strike pitches before reaching on a single.

Coco Crisp drew a two-out walk on a full count later in the inning, the ninth time Tanaka was forced to throw six pitches to a hitter in his first five innings.

“He found a way to get out of those innings; they put some really long, tough at-bats,” Girardi said. “He never let up and kept going at them, going at them. He ended up getting the big outs he needed to get.”

He’s been doing it all season. Where would the Yankees be without him?

“That’s what a true ace is; a true ace stops losing streaks,” Mark Teixeira said. “There’s not another guy we want out there after losing a few in a row than Tanaka.”

[Yankee4Life]

I don't want to think about how bad this team would be without Tanaka.

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Chase Whitley goes seven innings, Brian McCann knocks in three runs as Yankees top Royals

The victory was the first of Whitley's brief career and he also set a career high in innings pitched in a game. It's a testament to how solid he's been in his five starts that his ERA rose a smidge - from 2.37 to 2.42 Friday.

Chase Whitley tosses a career-high seven innings while allowing just two runs and five hits.

KANSAS CITY – On his way off the mound after the seventh inning Friday night, Chase Whitley allowed himself a small celebration. It wasn’t much — he just tapped his pitching hand into his glove after striking out Salvador Perez to end the inning – and he certainly could’ve relished the moment much more considering how well he pitched.

Whitley, the surprise contributor who keeps giving the Yankees chances to win when he starts, was terrific in a 4-2 victory over the Royals in front of 23,418 at Kauffman Stadium. He allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings to earn his first big-league win.

Not bad for a guy whose bio is found all the way back on page 478 of the club’s media guide. And who said he “didn’t throw a strike” during his pregame bullpen warmup.

“I was all over the place,” Whitley said. “It was crazy.”

Brian McCann had the key hit, a three-run double in the third inning that snapped a 1-1 tie, helping the Yanks to their second straight victory, starting their 10-game road trip right.

Whitley said he got several baseballs from the win and planned to give at least one to his parents. He was going to keep one for himself, too.

Why not? He earned souvenirs, especially since he set a career-high for innings pitched – by two. Whitley said he considered it a milestone. “Definitely, definitely,” he said. “Getting that first out in the sixth inning was key, to say finally I got past that five.”

The Yanks closely watched his pitch counts in his previous four starts because he has not been a starter his whole career. But he was so economical Friday he was through six innings on only 72 pitches and then only threw 15 more in a 1-2-3 seventh.

Whitley struck out three, walked none and threw 51 of 87 pitches for strikes. He credited his improving slider with giving him another option to get outs.

Brian McCann lines a bases-loaded double down the left-field line, clearing the bases to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

“I’ve felt good about him ever since I saw him pitch the first game, that he was going to keep us in the game, just because he throws strikes, he locates, he doesn’t beat himself,” Joe Girardi said. “He does a lot of things right.

“It’s neat to see a kid get his first win, when he probably could have had a couple already.”

The Yankees are now 18-8 in games started by rookies – 4-1 in Whitley’s starts – and their starting pitching overall has been helping to keep them afloat with their offense mostly sputtering.

Since May 14, Yankee starters have a 2.91 ERA and they entered Friday with the lowest ERA in the majors over that span.

Brian Roberts (l.), Mark Teixeira (c.) and Brett Gardner (r.) all celebrate as they score on McCann's double and the Yankees win their second straight.

Dellin Betances and David Robertson each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Robertson notched his 14th save, but let the tying runs reach base after striking out the first two hitters he faced.

McCann has had problems hitting the ball into the teeth of the right-side shifts defenses play against him, but this time he rapped a liner the opposite way, toward the left-field line, with the bases loaded.

All three runners scored, giving McCann 27 RBI, tied for tops on the Yanks with Mark Teixeira.

“That’s a huge hit,” Girardi said. “It’s a tough at-bat, he fouls off a lot of tough pitches – he fouls off a changeup, a curveball, a real slow curveball, then he got a ball up in the zone, and it’s a big double.”

But the night – and the souvenirs and celebrating – really belonged to Whitley.

“He’s been impressive,” Girardi said.

[fenway389]

I don't want to think about how bad this team would be without Tanaka.

Still not as bad as the Red Sox.

[Yankee4Life]

Still not as bad as the Red Sox.

Hello! It's nice to see you around here again. Please don't be a stranger.

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Joe Girardi says he won't shake up struggling Yankees lineup

The Yankees, who these days seem a nightly threat to waste more good pitching, were 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position in Sunday’s 2-1 loss and they’ve scored just 25 runs in their recent stretch of losing seven of 10 games.

Joe Girardi plans to keep his patience with the current lineup despite its recent struggles.

KANSAS CITY — The Yankees didn’t hit again Monday, but it wasn’t another frustrating night at the ballpark — the finale of their series against the Royals was rained out.

While the unplanned off-day might give Joe Girardi time to consider drastic alterations to his struggling lineup, it seems unlikely much will change when the Yanks start a series in Seattle Tuesday. The manager describes himself as “patient” when it comes to lineup shakeups.

“The one thing you can’t do is, you can’t just start changing everything,” Girardi said. “You look at what guys have done in the past, you look at what guys have done this year and you try to put what you feel is the best lineup together every day. It’s been two months. We’ve struggled the last three or four weeks scoring runs. Obviously, we know we need to score more, but guys are going through a tough time and sometimes you’ve just got to ride it out.”

The Yankees, who these days seem a nightly threat to waste more good pitching, were 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position in Sunday’s 2-1 loss and they’ve scored just 25 runs in their recent stretch of losing seven of 10 games. They are 21st in the majors in runs scored (249), 18th in slugging (.382), 20th in OPS (.697) and 26th in extra-base hits (161).

With runners in scoring position, the numbers are worse. They are 26th in both OPS (.662) and slugging (.344) in such situations. The big-league average in those categories is .709 OPS and .382 slugging. “It seems like when guys are scuffling, sometimes they scuffle in bunches,” Derek Jeter said. “Right now, we’re going through tough times, and I know we’re much better than this,” Girardi added.

You’d think a club with the nickname Bronx Bombers would be more powerful, too. The Yankees are 20th in homers and are on pace to hit 132 home runs, 12 fewer than last year’s team. Girardi, known more for his catching than his hitting during his career, says he knows “what it’s like to struggle as a hitter. I know when I would watch games or broadcast games, I would say, ‘Man, that looks easy to hit’ because it’s slow and it’s on TV and it looks big. And then you get to the plate and it’s not easy. I understand it. I don’t ever want to forget how hard it is to play this game.”

And, Girardi says, he considers players reactions to potential lineup changes “because their mind is a part of this, too, not (just) the physical skills.”

Jeter is among the struggling Yankees. Since his four-hit game in Chicago last month, he’s just 8-for-46 (.174), which has knocked his average down to .254. “He’s just like everyone else — he’s going through the ups and downs,” Girardi said.

[Yankee4Life]

Sure they may be going through a tough time now but these son of a ______'s are overrated.

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New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, left, makes the catch in time to force Seattle Mariners' Brad Miller (5) at first base in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Seattle.

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New York Yankees' Ichiro Suzuki reacts to an inside pitch in the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Seattle. Suzuki later lined out to left field in the at-bat.

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SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 10: Starting pitcher Vidal Nuno of the New York Yankees pitches in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on June 10, 2014 in Seattle, Washington.

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New York Yankees' Jacoby Ellsbury hits a go-ahead single that scored Yankees' Derek Jeter in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Seattle.

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New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira hits a three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game on Wednesday, June 11, 2014, in Seattle.

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New York Yankees' Derek Jeter, left, singles in the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, June 11, 2014, in Seattle.