Johnny Damon tweaked something in his final AB in last night's 15-11 loss to the Mariners. The lack of innings from the starting pitchers and the need to use three, four, five relievers every night has forced the Yankees to struggle on offense when an injury has occurred. As a result, the Yankees are caught in a cycle of remaining weak in hitting depth due to the need for so many relievers.
Actually, there is no hitting depth in the upper levels of the Yankees organization even if the Yankees wanted to carry an extra outfielder. Or as it used to be called - a typical complement of five outfielders.
Last July, the Yankees were not able to consumate some deals because the organization lacked pitching depth. Yankees GM Brian Cashman addressed that this off-season by acquiring arms to the near exclsuion of hitters. Now I wonder if this off-season will focus on building hitting depth.
How long has it been since Jorge Posada had a clear-cut catcher of the future coming up the organizational ladder? Seems the presence of Chris Widger, John Flaherty, Kelly Stinnett, Sal Fasano, and Wil Nieves over the past five seasons say too long.