WHY THE YANKEES NEED TO SOLVE THE RAYS' SHIFT

I remember when Jason Giambi was on the Yankees and teams used to to just move all the way over to the right side leaving a gigantic hole on the left side of the field. So many times commentators and fans alike we’re screaming at the television saying “Just hit it to the left side!!” Easier said than done.

For Jason Giambi whose job it was the just mash the ball over the right field wall, it wasn’t exactly easy to slap the ball down the third base line with that big body of his, he was never accused of being agile. There had been a few times that he did, very few, to make a point, but as a major league baseball player, it’s almost strange, meaning, batters want a solid at bat, not a wimpy cheap hit...at least that probably goes through their minds, that's what I think anyway.

When the Tampa Ray Rays pulled the shift for 2 games against the Yankees this season, it worked wonders, almost too easy, especially if you have a team’s number, like the Rays do against the Yankees lately. It was aggravating because once again, we were all screaming at the TV as to where guys like Mark Teixeira needed to hit the ball. Look, the Yankees are a solid hitting ball club, but they left the Rays the first time around with their tails between their legs. Joe Maddon looked like a God and Joe Girardi looked like a chump, but not just Joe, our team did.

One thing the Yankees can’t seem the do is re-adjust, well maybe this time they will.  Sometimes I feel like the Yankees the executives who walk into the park in suits and know our goal cold. We study the handbook and anticipate exactly what we need to accomplish. Then, sometimes the plan changes, and we're not fast enough to change with it. Hence, the dramatic shift the Rays pull on us, or, maybe it's the new starting pitcher that we’ve never see before. You know what I mean?  We still walk up to the plate with the same approach, but nothing changes. 

That’s what made Johnny Damon’s dramatic stolen second base and then stealing third in the 2009 World Series so special…it was away from the corporate mold. Normally, it’s one base at a time, but Damon saw the opening and went for it and it worked.

Sometimes I feel like the Yankees need alittle of that. Take ten minutes in a batting practice, learn the basics of slapping the ball to the left side if you'll never use that tool. Why? Because, a base runner is a base runner, and if there's a man on and they shift...there’s nothing cheap about slapping the ball to the left side to advance the runner, especially if it helps the ball club. 

Look, I’m rambling, but it’s clear to me that sometimes when guys like Mark Teixeira walk up lefty to the plate and the shift takes affect, slapping it down the left field line, or even a dribbler, could be the difference in the game. Sure, Yankee fans want the dramatics, but we want the wins too and every base runner counts. That’s what I think anyway.

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