If this was clinching the pennant, save your gas money

The past 2 games against the Royals featured less than spring training managerial interference with Yankee hitters- while asking numerous pitchers for their best 7th game of the World Series performance. Seeing the win, mostly on unearned luck (not counting a good clutch at bat in the bottom of the 13th), a Newsday reporter viewed the Yankees:

• "acting almost as if they just clinched the pennant.

• Wait, this was a game against the lowly Royals, right?"

By all means a celebration was merited. The pitching performed professionally but was forced to go extra innings with little or no hope of Yankee hitters scoring any runs. There is no sign this free for all or 'free-expression' treatment of the hitters will change.

• Phil Rogers was on WFAN today and said the Yankees have already
• scored 200 fewer runs than this time last year.
• "New York has scored fewer than three runs 39 times this season, the second most in the AL and the highest in a season for the Yankees since 2001." …

This approach isn't something that happens by accident, ie someone wants it this way for a reason. It may not be Girardi's idea, but he's 100% on board with it.

• Yankee runs scored as of 8/16/08: 586

• Yankee runs scored reg. season 2007: 968

Let them experiment on someone else's dime.

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