Playing with Fire

Well it's official: the Yankees have been swept by the Chicago White Sox. Chris Sale completely dominated the Yankee lineup from top to bottom with the exception of Derek Jeter who hit another home run tonight. Sale struck out thirteen Yankees in 7.2 innings and earned a win. Hughes did not pitch to the scoreboard. After Jeter tied the game with a solo shot, Hughes allowed a solo shot of his own to Alex Rios. Phil Hughes came into the night knowing the Yankees needed a great start for him. Unfortunately, seven innings of two run baseball did not cut it tonight. Hughes blows my mind sometimes. When the Yankees score four runs, Hughes gives up five, when the Yankees score zero runs, Hughes gives up one. This is probably just my frustration as a fan setting in, but the Yankees are in danger of losing the lead in their division. With the Rays winning again, the Yankees now lead the division by just three games. The Yankees have too good of a team to let that lead slip away to Evan Longoria. When Longoria plays, the Rays win. It's simple as that. He can go 0-5 with three strikeouts, but his mere presence gives the Rays an added spark.

I also give kudos to Chris Sale for dominating a slumping Yankee team right now. He took advantage of the Yankees weaknesses and rubbed it in their faces. The Yankees have an off-day tomorrow before going into Cleveland where CC Sabathia will make his first start off the DL. The Indians are a terrible team after going into a tail-spin after the All-Star break. If the Yankees struggle against the Indians, there is something much deeper within this organization that needs to be addressed. Jeter can not be the only man hitting in this lineup. Cano looks terrible, Hughes can never give you the performance you need from him, and most importantly, the Yankees don't play well in one-run games.