Nobody can hit good pitching. If the batters could hit good pitching, then the pitching wouldn't be good.

"Monday night’s loss to Justin Verlander and the Tigers highlighted a big issue for New York, that it cannot hit against first-rate pitching. Verlander baffled the Yankees’ bats over eight innings, allowing two runs (unearned) while striking out 14.

Verlander’s performance comes just two days after the Yankees were shutout by Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, who held the Yankees to two hits in a complete game on Saturday."

The Yankee offense has been bad the past two weeks or so against everybody.


"If you look at the Yankees’ record against those who I consider to be legitimate aces in the American League (Verlander, Hernandez, Jered Weaver, David Price), they are 3-6 and are hitting .287 against them, a number skewed by a .414 batting average against Jered Weaver."

I say the two-hitter is an outlier.

The Yankee hit .414 against Jered Weaver -- described later in the article as the "best pitcher in the American League, hands down" -- and the point of the article is that the Yankee lineup struggles against good pitchers.

"As the playoffs approach, the Yankees will not only be facing the best teams, but also the best pitching. The Yankees dodged Verlander once in the ALDS last year due to a rain delay, but still lost to the Tigers’ ace in Game 3 en route to an eventual series loss.

The Yankees may not be as lucky this time around and will need to figure out how to hit great pitching if they want to make a deep playoff run."

I know the Yankees pounded Verlander earlier in the year. They pounded Dickey. They pounded Santana.

There are other examples of the Yankees beating good pitchers. I thought they handled Price pretty well.

But, you know ... the Yankees might lose in the playoffs. They might lose to a Cy Young candidate and they might lose to an unheralded jerk who throws a bunch of changeups.