http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/st/archives/2008/05/3_up_yanks_vs_l.html RUSHING A-ROD 'LEFT' TEAM VULNERABLE Posted by Joel Sherman New York Post May 8, 2008 -- PRIVATELY, the Yankees admit they incorrectly handled Alex Rodriguez's initial quad strain. He suffered the injury on April 20 in Baltimore and soon after left the team to be with his wife in Miami for the birth of their second child. Because the club was on the road in Cleveland and because Rodriguez has an iron man history, the Yanks allowed Rodriguez to talk his way back into the lineup without an MRI exam on April 25. Club officials have told The Post they regret that decision. They think it is possible they let an injured player to continue playing, turning a mild strain into a Grade 2 strain and a Disabled List stint. So that motivates extra caution now. They will delay another MRI until, at the earliest, Monday to allow fuller healing,and unless the club is satisfied Rodriguez is 100 percent, he will not be activated. No matter how desperately they need Rodriguez. And the need is quite desperate. "I got to tell you I am looking forward to [Rodriguez's return]," manager Joe Girardi said after the Indians beat his Yankees 3-0. "His bat is not replaceable." Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Phil Hughes are scheduled to fly today to Tampa to intensify workouts. A-Rod is the first due back, and the club hopes he is playing extended spring games no later than Wednesday and can rejoin the club no later than the Subway Series next weekend. Actually the Yanks need more than hope. They might try recalling the Pope to the Stadium to bless the quad or using their ample resources to purchase the first bionic quad. Because the offense is a D-minus without A-Rod, and an F-minus against lefties without Rodriguez and Posada. "We are dying right now without Posada and A-Rod against lefties," GM Brian Cashman said. "But we have to properly wait out the healing process and not let what is transpiring day to day impact the decision making." For now the Yanks are as exposed against southpaws as Britney Spears is by paparazzi. So it definitely was a bad time to run into Cliff Lee, who is having a season of breakout genius. The 29-year-old lefty authored seven shutout innings to drop his ERA to 0.81 and raise his record to 6-0. The Yanks managed seven hits against Lee and southpaw specialist Rafael Perez, who has three shutout innings in the past two days. However, none of the balls were hit particularly hard, and threats were limited (one runner to third). Without Rodriguez, Shelley Duncan batted cleanup yesterday, which is a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre thing, not a Bronx Bomber thing. Rodriguez and Posada (shoulder) have been out concurrently since April 29. In the eight games since, the Yanks are hitting .220 against lefties with a .282 on-base percentage and a .292 slugging percentage. The .620 OPS [on-base plus slugging percentages] they began the day with against southpaws was the third-worst in the majors, and the .310 slugging percentage was the worst. On the season, the Yanks have 15 extra-base hits off southpaws in 344 at-bats. The Yanks did not face a lefty starter until the 10th game (Kansas City's John Bale), the latest they had gone in a season since 1947. Now they have faced eight lefty starters in their past 17 games, and over their next nine games are scheduled to deal with Detroit's Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson, Tampa's Scott Kazmir and, in the Subway opener, Oliver PerezOliver Perez (2-0, 1.20 ERA last year vs. the Yanks). It appears the Yanks will miss Johan Santana, which will give them a break from an elite southpaw and all the obvious "you didn't acquire him" storylines. But for now, any lefty will do. Jason Giambi is hitless in 20 at-bats vs. lefties. Hideki Matsui is hitting .343, but with no extra-base hits in 35 at-bats. And Duncan and Morgan Ensberg are failing to provide the righty-on- lefty production envisioned. The Yanks are getting a Twilight Zone view of what life would have been like had they not re-signed A-Rod. Except for $275 million, they imagined they were buying their way out of ever finding out. 重點是 洋基對左投手戰績 全聯盟倒數第三, 對左投手長打率,全聯盟倒數第一. (344 打席 15 支長打也算是低到一個極致了)接下來九場比賽,排好的先發,將對 上四位左投手,還有一推牛棚的左投, 少了 A-Rod Posada, 令人憂心. --

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