All aboard for the Subway Series

Wow, we face two of the best left handers in the game, kazmir and Santana back to back. And our response is..... Kennedy and Rasner?

I'm glad to see Girardi is concentrating on the things he should be concentrating on. For instance, in Bryan's article the majority of Girardi's comments have to do with the offense as opposed to Kennedy. Kennedy wasn't good again, but 1.) he didn't look anywhere near as bad as his other outings (1 walk, MUCH better than before) and 2.) if he had gone 8 innings and given up 3 runs he still would have lost. I thought Girardi's comments about how Kazmir "threw 50 fastballs in a row. We get one hit. That's not good," were right on the mark. It's almost like the other teams are now saying "look, just throw it down the middle and let them get themselves out."

I'm also a little worried because we keep hearing "we'll Arod back soon and Posada eventually." That will definitely help, but let's be honest. Arod will be battling that quad injury all year. BATTLING. That means he won't be 100% by any stretch. It's probably going to take the off-season for him to completely recover. Now an 80% Arod is head and shoulders above anything else the Yankees have, but he's not going to put up last year's numbers. Honestly, if he gets to 100 RBIs again this year I'll be completely impressed. So with that said, I'd like to see the offense start to pick it up BEFORE Arod and Jorge come back. That way they can just be good additions to an already good lineup. I don't really see that happening...

The offense needs some inspiration now. You wouldn't think that would be the case for a veteran lineup but that's how it is. We need something to give these guys a kick. I'm hoping our captain can get something going.

A Rod is worth more than just his numbers. He adds a right handed bat in the middle of the order, splitting our left handers so teams can't match up the pen as well. Whoever bats ahead of him will get better pitchers to hit.

Still, we can't wait for him to get things going. We have to get something going now.

Can somebody tell Cano to take some pitches?

I have some observations that I think may help put this mess in perspective.
1. This team doesn't need a youth movement. This team doesn't need 25 veterans, either. This team needs BOTH. We need CAPABLE veterans ( NOT 45 year old has-beens) mixed with TALENTED youngters (NOT Wilson Betamit).
2. Girardi is not the only reason why we are DEAD LAST, but he IS part of it. He's not brought that fire and intensity that we were promised, and while he's not the one swinging the bat, he's certainly the guy that could be calling for bunts, hit and run plays, stolen bases, anything that could help manufacture runs.
3. While I disagree that Kennedy is not ready to be in the show, I think he would be better off as a long reliever and spot starter until he settles in here in the big leagues. In AAA, he dominates and has nothing to prove. In the Yankee rotation, he flops. The "in-between" here is the bullpen. Further, he is the trade bait that we could use to find that replacement for Joba we so desperately need.
4. Johnny Damon needs to be dealt in a package for a good RIGHT HANDED bat. This lineup gets hammered by even marginal left handed starters. Damon has not even come close to giving us what we needed from him, and we have at least 3 other guys in the lineup that could hit leadoff. Having another dangerous rightie in the mix would certainly help balance the lineup.
5. Matsui is FINE right where he is. Trading him would be cutting off our nose to spite our face. If he's hitting the ball well, which he is (he's THE whole damn offense right now), then what is the logic in dealing him? Are we going to be able to market him as a position player? I don't think so, so why not have him at .300/25/100 for US as a DH?
6. It's time to get Joba ready to start. We can't get him into the game right now anyway, so why not get him into our terrible rotation? If I hear one more argument that he does more good in the bullpen, I am going to claw my own eyes out. We need to call up a temporary reliever, and use the resurgent Farny to get to MO.We can deal IPK to get a good setup guy anytime we want.
7. Cano needs to learn to be selective at the dish. I don't know if "coach" Long or Joe G. can see it, but we all see how utterly costly his free swinging approach kills us in the late innings. His first pitch swinging is keeping him from being the next AL MVP.
8. Wilson Betamit and Morgan Ensburg need to hit the bricks. No glove, no bat from either of these experiments. Gonzalez in a capable utiltiy man with speed, versatility, and glove. Frankly, he also is a better contact hitter than either of the 2. I don't know how they would look in a trade package, but they certainly don't look good in pinstripes
9. Phil Hughes will be fine when he gets back. His woes this early season seemed like a product of injury rather than ability. You don't win playoff games on the road if you are not ready mentally and physically to pitch in the big leagues. We will be able to count on Phil Hughes (if he's healthy) for several years to come.
10. Our first base situation could be FAR worse. Giambi is not doing near what he needs to be doing, but he does have 7 homers, and he is frequently putting the ball in play. Say what you like, but he is 2nd only to Abreu in working the count on this club, and THAT CREATES BASERUNNERS. Duncan is a good enough backup. We don't need Lou Gherig on the bench. We can use Giambi for 1 more year.
11. We will have almost 100 million dollars of our payroll off the books for next year. So, that 200 million dollar payroll everyone complains about is going to get alot leaner. We got to 200 million because for every free agent we signed that helped, we signed 2 more that didn't, and signed them to LONG and expensive deals. This has been my criticism of Cashman since day 1. Finally, he seems to understand that money does not solve all problems, but we still need to be aggressive on the market for 2009 when we have the big names out there like Mark Teixiera, CC, K-Rod, and others.

chaz,
About the only thing I disagree with you on right now is Joba. I maintain that he is right where we need him to be. Closing down the 8th (and occasionally an out in the 7th) inning. Our problem is NOT pitching (for once) as much as we'd like to think it is. With the exception of Pettitte's 7-1 debacle, our staff has kept us close enough to at least only lose by 1 run and CERTAINLY close enough to WIN a HECK of a lot more games than we have, had our offense actually shown up. We're not losing 9-1 and 12-2 blowouts. We're not even losing 9-8 and 12-11 games. We're losing 3-0, 2-1, 3-2, 5-2, etc.... We all agree that we WIN Wang's last two starts and we'd be at .500 now. And those weren't Wang/Kazmir or Wang/Beckett games either.

I say that because those are games we are supposed to be in the lead in. Games we SHOULD be in the lead in where a dominant setup man holds the lead and passes it to the closer. If our O continues to phone it in it wont make any difference who's pitching. It could be Bugs Bunny and it wouldn't matter.

I'm just saying we need to keep the pitching staff on their toes. Nothing will piss me off more than seeing this club finally score some runs, and a band-aid starter comes in and pitches us right out of the game. I stand behind moving Joba into the starting rotation. If they won't do that, then they need to make a trade and bring someone in to temporarily stabilize our 4 and 5 spots. Maybe Freddy Garcia could do us some good?

Don't discount Rasner yet. Let's not forget that after the 2006 season we were all counting him in the rotation and up until his injury early last year, he was in. I'm willing to give him the "Small credit" as our #4. And we do have other farm options to try once a 5-man rotation is necessary.

Fair enough. That still leaves the 5 spot.

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3398927&name=olney_buster

Yankees and Redsox looking at Freddy Garcia

I have some observations that I think may help put this mess in perspective.
1. This team doesn't need a youth movement. This team doesn't need 25 veterans, either. This team needs BOTH. We need CAPABLE veterans ( NOT 45 year old has-beens) mixed with TALENTED youngters (NOT Wilson Betamit).
2. Girardi is not the only reason why we are DEAD LAST, but he IS part of it. He's not brought that fire and intensity that we were promised, and while he's not the one swinging the bat, he's certainly the guy that could be calling for bunts, hit and run plays, stolen bases, anything that could help manufacture runs. FIRE HER
3. While I disagree that Kennedy is not ready to be in the show, I think he would be better off as a long reliever and spot starter until he settles in here in the big leagues. In AAA, he dominates and has nothing to prove. In the Yankee rotation, he flops. The "in-between" here is the bullpen. Further, he is the trade bait that we could use to find that replacement for Joba we so desperately need. OPTION HER
4. Johnny Damon needs to be dealt in a package for a good RIGHT HANDED bat. This lineup gets hammered by even marginal left handed starters. Damon has not even come close to giving us what we needed from him, and we have at least 3 other guys in the lineup that could hit leadoff. Having another dangerous rightie in the mix would certainly help balance the lineup. DEAL SUI INSTEAD
5. Matsui is FINE right where he is. Trading him would be cutting off our nose to spite our face. If he's hitting the ball well, which he is (he's THE whole damn offense right now), then what is the logic in dealing him? Are we going to be able to market him as a position player? I don't think so, so why not have him at .300/25/100 for US as a DH?
6. It's time to get Joba ready to start. We can't get him into the game right now anyway, so why not get him into our terrible rotation? If I hear one more argument that he does more good in the bullpen, I am going to claw my own eyes out. We need to call up a temporary reliever, and use the resurgent Farny to get to MO.We can deal IPK to get a good setup guy anytime we want. IT WILL HAPPEN AT THE BREAK.
7. Cano needs to learn to be selective at the dish. I don't know if "coach" Long or Joe G. can see it, but we all see how utterly costly his free swinging approach kills us in the late innings. His first pitch swinging is keeping him from being the next AL MVP. SHEFF PART 2 DELMON YOUNG
8. Wilson Betamit and Morgan Ensburg need to hit the bricks. No glove, no bat from either of these experiments. Gonzalez in a capable utiltiy man with speed, versatility, and glove. Frankly, he also is a better contact hitter than either of the 2. I don't know how they would look in a trade package, but they certainly don't look good in pinstripes AGREED
9. Phil Hughes will be fine when he gets back. His woes this early season seemed like a product of injury rather than ability. You don't win playoff games on the road if you are not ready mentally and physically to pitch in the big leagues. We will be able to count on Phil Hughes (if he's healthy) for several years to come. AGREED
10. Our first base situation could be FAR worse. Giambi is not doing near what he needs to be doing, but he does have 7 homers, and he is frequently putting the ball in play. Say what you like, but he is 2nd only to Abreu in working the count on this club, and THAT CREATES BASERUNNERS. Duncan is a good enough backup. We don't need Lou Gherig on the bench. We can use Giambi for 1 more year. AGREED PLUS HE IS WALKING A TON
11. We will have almost 100 million dollars of our payroll off the books for next year. So, that 200 million dollar payroll everyone complains about is going to get alot leaner. We got to 200 million because for every free agent we signed that helped, we signed 2 more that didn't, and signed them to LONG and expensive deals. This has been my criticism of Cashman since day 1. Finally, he seems to understand that money does not solve all problems, but we still need to be aggressive on the market for 2009 when we have the big names out there like Mark Teixiera, CC, K-Rod, and others.

By chazbedlam@gmail.com on May 16, 2008 11:25 AM

Rasner could be a long reliever.

Cano won't take pitches, he ain't made that way.

Thanks for posting a link that only a few (with "Insider" access) can get to BPark.
Dammit! Who turned of the BPark filter! >:(

Roger Clemens is not retired yet
Roger Clemens | Yankees | Interested: Astros? Yankees?
Despite mounting legal troubles Roger Clemens has yet to officially retire from baseball, as Drayton McClane, the chairman and chief executive of the Astros, told the team's official website: "I think if he was ready to retire, and that was clear, he would have already said that to us. But that has not happened."

McLane also did not dismiss the possibility of the Astros resigning the shamed superstar, but he thought the Yankees remained the favorites and was adamant that nothing will be done until Clemens sorts out his current legal troubles.

First of all, I agree this team needs a good balance of vets, and younger ballplayers, that's the best way of developing this team's future without having this team go down the toilet. It doesn't need, no talents like Betapuke or Ensberg or broken down wrecks like "The Savior", "The Beer Guzzler" or Pedro Martinez, all have past their prime, and all a waste of roster space, despite what bpark says. This organization had its chance this past offseason to improve itself, but chose rather to sit on its hands and watch as FA who could have helped this team go elsewhere. I'm sick of seeing these mistakes made time, and time again and trying to make up for it with mediocrity. Like I said before , if this team is going to change directions, it's going to have to start at the top with Cashman. Once again, he has shown that he is again incapable of putting a quality team together, and making bad decisions.

Without a doubt Kennedy is ready to pitch in the majors. His problem is all mental, and he has to stop being intimidated, and scared at the prospect of pitching in the majors. He's not going to learn how to deal with that by pitching in the minors. He's shown he can pitch in the minors, and can dominate so it doesn't make any sense whatsoever to leave him down there. I don't think the Yanks did him any favors by the way they handled the situation by being so quick on the trigger to send him down, and then being too quick on recalling him. What's the sense in sending him down just for one start? What good did that do him? I wasn't sure that sending him down would have done him any good in the first place, Eiland should have tried working with him on the side, but since they did they should have sent him down for at least three starts just to make sure he had things were ironed out just in case his problems were more than mental ones.

Also, I'm all for putting Chamberlain in the rotation, I have been since before ST he is being wasted where he is right now. Doesn't matter who you have in the pen if your offense is so pathetic, and the rotation is so bad it can't even get a lead for the setup man to hold which is exactly what is happening. IT could be that's what may happen fairly soon as this team set itself up for that eventuality by promoting J.B. Cox and Melancon in the system. If they are going to do it, they will have to do it fairly soon, and not wait until after the All-Star break. Right now this rotation is short a starter, and Rasner is still an unknown and moving a shut down pitcher like Chamberlain into the rotation rather than call up another young inexperienced prospect would be preferable, but it will at least take a month in the minors for him to get ready and this team will need to find a replacement for him.

YANKEES MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 15,2008

Scranton/WB POSTPONED
Louisville (Reds)
---------------------------------
Portland (Red Sox) 2
Trenton 7 (Yours truly in attendance!!!)
W: J. Jones (6-0, 2.20); L: J. Masterson (1-3, 4.23)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_15_prtaax_treaax_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Tampa 5
Fort Myers (Twins) 6 (10)
W: F. Mata (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Valdez (5-2, 2.14)
HR: TAM: T. Battle (5).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_15_tbyafa_ftmafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Greenville (Red Sox) 1
Charleston 2
W: Z. McAllister (5-2, 2.20); L: C. Province (3-1, 2.27); SV: J. Ortiz (11)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_15_capafx_crdafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb
You may also see http://www.yankeesdaily.com for details.

YANKEES MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 16, 2008

Scranton/WB
Louisville (Reds) 6:35p (2)
---------------------------------
New Hampshire (Blue Jays) 7:05p
Trenton
---------------------------------
Tampa
Fort Myers (Twins) 10:35a
---------------------------------
Asheville (Rockies) 7:35p
Charleston
---------------------------------
You may also see http://www.yankeesdaily.com for details.

The fact that this team is losing those close low scoring games just proves that this team doesn't need Chamberlain as the setup man. Rasner has never gone 3/4 of a season let alone a whole season without getting hurt, he's still an unknown.

"The Savior" can stay in Texas for all I care. Good luck to the Astros if they are going to be suckers and sign "The Savior". IF the US Olympic team doesn't want anything to do with him , why would any team sign him?

Gals and Guys,

I saw Melancon's debut last night in Trenton. He looks like the real deal. And I suspect Cox at SWB to be also. Help is coming but it is still a couple of months away!

And I thought Kennedy looked so much better yesterday. You all know my feelings on Betemit. When he gets regular playing time, I expect he will change your minds also.

Matt,
I also saw Jason Jones go to 6-0. He looks like a solid prospect. Kontos may be too, but both are at least a year or two away.

I agree, they both are solid prospects, I like Kontos a little more. I think one or both could part of trade packages down the road though.

I'd rather not trade and wait a little longer. But, if one piece can result in a major upgrade, July will be the time!

FOR GOD'S SAKE, when is Betemit EVER going to get "playing time"? Are you going to start him over A-Rod? That's a great idea. Let's bench the best player in the history of the game for a f-ing SCRUB, because he won't produce without "playing time". Good bench players are guys that can keep their heads in the game DESPITE sitting the bench. Robert, I wouldn't dare question your overall knowledge of this game, you're obviously are an adept obeserver, but you are WAY OFF about this gigantic turdbrick. Frankly, all this whining about bench players is completely irrelevant anyway. This isn't basketball, we don't even need a good player off the bench. So, F it, keep Betamit on the team, but don't expect me to think he's the next big thing on this roster. I don't need a bench player to come in and rake. I need a bench player that won't embarass himself defensively, and won't strike out in over half of his at-bats. THAT'S "IT", and Wilson Betamit can't even do "IT".

Chaz,

A week or so ago, I said he probably won't see regular time until 2009 at 1B. And I never said he was a good bench player!

Remember he was brought in with Giambi hurt last year and Torre never played him. If he was out of shape, and I think he was, he came to ST slimmed down but could not win a starting job.

One bad game in the field does not make him a poor fielder either. And, hey, I'm not the one whining!

OK, so getting Mark Teixeira isn't on your list of priorities for 1B? Wilson Betamit is a viable alternative to one of the best 1B's in the game for 2009? Atlanta isn't going to be a contender this season, and they won't be in a hurry to re-sign Mark. I'll bet we may even have a shot at getting Mark Tex by the deadline, in fact. Screw Wilson Betamit getting a sniff of starting for this team. We need to improve our offense, not flush it completely down the toilet.

If we can intelligently acquire Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia either by trade, or free agency, we will be virtual shoe-ins for a World Series birth.

I'm glad I'm not planning on going tonight. It's raining like hell. I haven't been properly dry in this city for a while. There is a chance this game might not be played. At this point the one thing that can for sure boost morale is a series win against the Mets (a sweep would be pushing it).

Tex batting 5th in our lineup? That would be SICK! I hate getting my hopes like this though. And if Atlanta wants to deal him at the deadline, everybody is going to be interested. The price could be sky high.

Alright, I need to vent….as a person who wanted Girardi to manage the Yankees, I have been so disappointed with him. Sure the Yankees are built to slug the hell out of the ball blah, blah, blah but damn they aren’t consentingly hitting, yo! Try something different for Christ’s sake, steal some damn bases, sacrifice bunts, suicide squeezes, WTF, Joe! Are the Yankees too good to resort to national league small ball every once in a while? Mix it up, it could light a spark and get the bats going. Now on to the players, I can’t tell you how much I HATE Jason Giambi, I HATE HIM, he’s good for a home run or a single every once in a while, but that’s it, he makes me ill. Johnny Damon blows, I despise Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano. Betemit bites and sucks, the players on the bench are a disgrace to the Yankee uniform. I still like Philly Hughes and Ian, they both have tremendous potential, but having potential doesn’t win you games. I HATE Brian Cashman, Cash should not only be fired but tasered and arrested for being inept. I hate Randy Levine, I hate Kevin Long, and Dave Eiland. Hey Yankees front office, please be smarter when you sign free agents in the future, don’t just sign someone because they have or had a ‘big name’. Signing C.C. Sabathia makes me nervous only because of that bad body of his, I know 60 and 70 year olds who are in better shape than he is. The only reason his body is holding up, is because of his age, and you know he’s going to want a long freaking contract, if the Yankees sign him they should put him on a diet and on a treadmill asap, if it was up to me I’d have him running suicides all day and night. C.C. is a great pitcher obviously, I’m just worried about his body breaking down sooner than it should and I’m so sick of getting burned by these terrible free agent signings, I can’t stomach anymore failures. I might be engaging in a little too much hyperbole but the Yankees are driving me crazy and ripping them makes me feel better. With that being said, good luck against the Mutts this weekend.

Intelligently acquiring anyone is not a Yankee thing. What we do is acquire players and we find out afterwords that they suck...or can never play due to some myserious injuries that seem to last for months and come up only during the season....They should put Carl Pavona as a verb in the dictionary. I would translate it but it involves words I shouldn't say. A LOT of words I shouldn't say.

As much as I would like Tex I'm really thinking that the price would be crazy high, and I just have a feeling that we wouldn't get it.
But who knows...

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of seeing that advertisement for the All-Star game on the Yank's web-site w/ Ortiz on it? B. Hock, can you delete that?
This team doesn't need to fire Girardi. That won't help this lost season. The only way of acquiring talent is by trading for it. This farm system sucks. The answer is gutting this team. I'm not talking about the pitching staff either. Keep Jeter, Cabrera, & Godzilla. Dump the rest.

I'm thinking Mark Teixeira would be better suited to the 3 hole. A switch-hitting number 3 hitter........The Mick, Bernie, oh yeah!

Gutting a team playing near .500 is a bit excessive. Even with all of Cash's blunders we are only 1 or 2 (5? lol) peices from bringing the whole thing together. I understand that you're pissed, Digidee, but damn! What do we need? Once Hughes is back, we need 1 starter (Rasner? IPK? Joba?), We need a solid 1B, A pure leadoff hitter, A setup guy to replace Joba, and the damn lineup to play like they can. With Jeter, Posada, Moose, Pettite, A-Rod, Mo, Matsui, Giambi, and Damon getting older every day, we will have this team "gutted" by father time soon enough.

If I hear, "we're coming up against some tough pitching." from a Yankee player or coach after tonight's game, I'm going to need about 50 Zolofts to come out of my psychotic rage. Stop giving the opposition a tip of your cap, and then using that as an excuse to suck.

Guys, for those of that think the Braves are going to dangle Mark at the July deadline, here are two reasons why it's very unlikely:

1. Boras would immediately step in and demand a super contract extension ( 8 Year, $100 MM sounds about right )

2. The Braves are going to want a boatload of prospects.

So no, it's not happening, simply because it will be easier to acquire Tex on the open market, minus having to give up your farm system.

Joba-

He needs to be moved into the rotation but some say he is more valuable to us as a Holder.

Question for you smart alecks:

What's the sense in having him rot in the 'pen and have him throw for one inning, when we he could help us out in our " r o t a t i o n"? We obviously have Farnsworth V-Chip 2.0 to Hold and Hawkins to set up the Hold. And I forgot about Ohlendorf, Veras and co.

Common sense would tell you that 6-7 innings of Joba is better than 6-7 innings of anyone of these idiots who thik they can pitch and one inning of Joba.

Sign Sabathia

Sheets seems intriguing, but he needs to prove his health to command any big bucks out on the market. Chances of him doing that this year are slim. So, he would come ALOT cheapr than Sabathia, but "money ain't a thing wit the Yanks".

What wrong with O?

I don't know...? Maybe teams have picked up a videotape and found an equalizer to our boring plate approach. Maybe we ned o do the same and... adjust. How bout it Long!?

Believe me, South, I would MMMMMUUUUUUUCCCHHHHH rather catch Mark Teixeira on the open Market!

We really need a good lefty though, so I am not as big on Sheets (even a healthy Sheets) as I am Sabathia, even if Sabathia is a chunk.

golf, we used to agree on everything.

Kramer, is Aussie B in severe depression following his return to Australia mate?

Sabithia is a priority with Pettitte done. Giambi can still play, no need for the Braves player.

No need right now, MAYBE. But we certainly wouldn't be STUPID enough to renew Giambi's contract would we? Thanks for playing, Giambi, we'll be going with a gold glove winning, .300/30/100 hitting, 26 year-old, switch hitter playing in Atlanta for 2009.

I am shocked to see that no Red Sox honks have come onto the blog to kick us while we are down. I would have figured that Jasper would have been on here stirring the poop that is already in our corn flakes.

They've probably been too busy with other blogs kicking everyone else.... I mean you know thats what they do best. Kick everyone else, while they are down... lets see what happens to them once we get the lead back!

I hope that happens soon. But first we definitely need some adjustments.

Sabithia is the priority, pitching wins championships.

It would be great if the Yanks could get Teixeira, but I just get the feeling the Braves will be able to re-sign him, they'd be crazy to let him go. Other than Chipper Jones, who is old, and beat up he is their one offensive catalyst on the roster, besides the Braves didn't trade two excellent prospects in Elvis Andrus, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia just to lose him after only one year.

Also, there's no chance at all Betapuke will get a chance to start at 1B. He's less than a mediocre player. The reason he hasn't gotten more chances or more consistent chances is because he flat out just sucks. Professional athletes like Betapuke need to take full advantage of what chances they do get, that's what determines how much opportunity they get to be a starter. In Betapuke's case, since he is a no-talent he will never get a chance to start. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets cut since he has no value whatsoever.

Braves will re-sign Texiera I think also.

jeterstar,
I understand your disappointment on Girardi right now, but there's really not much he can do. You talk about stealing, sacrifice bunts, and suicide squeezes. The problem with all of those is you need guys on base. They can't get anyone on base! So I just think these guys gotta wake up.

Or drive in runs when we do get walks from likes of Giambi.

It's hard to drive in runs when the guy on base is one who takes TWO hits to score him from second.

Yeah Molina and Giambi have trouble rounding 3rd.