Sports

Still the best in baseball

Everybody relax. Pigs still can’t fly, hell is not frozen over, and the New York Yankees will not finish third in the American League East.

With the Bombers off to their worst start in seven years, concern in the Big Apple has reached a fever pitch. The lineup that was expected to rank among the most powerful in baseball history has the lowest team batting average in the American League (.224).

Jason Giambi is batting .211. Alex Rodriguez has only six RBI. Gary Sheffield has just one home run in 21 games. Mike Mussina is 1-4 with an ERA over 6.5.

Most frightening of all, team captain Derek Jeter is hitless in his last 32 at-bats. Tension has risen to the point that fans actually booed Jeter in Yankee Stadium.

Even Joe Torre, the most patient man in New York, has expressed concern.

“To try to pretend nothing’s wrong is a pretty tough sell right now,” Torre told ESPN.

When the Yankees took the field against Oakland last night, the only player on the roster hitting over .300 was Miguel Cairo, and by the end of the night Cairo’s average had plummeted to .235.

Analysts across the nation have concocted various theories to explain the Yankees’ struggles, ranging from a lack of team chemistry to an inability to perform under the pressure of the national spotlight and the burden of tremendous expectations. The reality is quite simple: they’re in a slump.

Every player struggles at some point in the season, but rarely does an entire roster struggle at the same time. That is precisely what has happened to the 2004 Yankees. With the exception of Jorge Posada, the entire Yankee lineup is simultaneously slumping, and like any slump, this one will eventually end.

Don’t get too caught up in all of the drama surrounding the Bombers’ slow start. The Yankees are 10-11. At one time in the season, every championship team will have a 10-11 stretch. Unless it happens at the beginning of the year, no one will even notice. After all, what is the difference between 65-40 and 75-51 for a team that has already established a substantial lead in their division? However, when a team that is supposed to win the World Series opens the year 10-11, the entire baseball community demands an explanation.

At the moment, patience is truly a virtue for fans of the most celebrated franchise in sports. In a few weeks, everything will be back to normal and the Yankees will sit comfortably atop the AL East. This team is simply too good to finish anywhere else.

The Bombers have already begun to break out of their slump. In the past two games, the bats have finally come alive. New York has pounded 15 runs in two games and they have done it against two of the most dominant starters in baseball, Oakland’s Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.

After raising eyebrows with a 0-16 stretch against the Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak. Jason Giambi has four hits in his last seven at-bats after struggling through a 7-47 stretch that brought his average dangerously close to the Mendoza line.

Even the fans have started to come around. Last night, instead of booing the struggling team leader, Yankee fans gave Jeter a standing ovation when he came to the plate in the seventh inning and the beloved shortstop delivered with a lead-off walk.

As his teammates begin to snap out of the season-long lull, it is just a matter of time until Jeter does the same. A career .317 hitter, Jeter has hit over .295 in each of the past six seasons. Aside from the 1995 campaign, in which he played just 15 games, Jeter has never finished with a batting average lower than .290. Do you really think he’s going to bat .161 all season?

“Jeter’s going to be hitting .300 by the end of the year,” commentator Jeff Brantley said during ESPN’s telecast of last night’s game between the Yankees and the A’s. “It doesn’t matter if Jeter is 0-for-29, 0-for-whatever; he can put the bat on the ball.”

The fact is, it’s still April. The baseball season is only one month old. The Yankees have played just 21 games of a 165-game schedule. Eighty-seven percent of the season remains to be played. Besides, the Yanks are just four games out of first place.

So forget all of the “if the playoffs started tomorrow” talk and the myriad disaster scenarios that are swirling around the Big Apple. Come September, Jeter will be hitting .300, A-Rod will be in the running for his second consecutive MVP award, and the Yankees will be playing for their 40th pennant and 27th World Series title.