Yankees-Red Sox: A-Rod and Giambi Choke Again

It's been the same story all year. Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, and Bobby Abreu get on base, only to be stranded there by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.

It happened again Tuesday night, in a must-win game against the Boston Red Sox. The top three hitters in the Yankees' order got on base eight times and scored just twice, both of which came on solo homers by Damon.

A-Rod went 0-for-5, striking out twice and leaving an astounding seven runners on base. Giambi, meanwhile, had a pretty good game by his standards: He only went 0-for-4 and left two men on.

The two highest-paid players in baseball are hitting .250 and .205 with runners in scoring position, respectively. In those situations, with two outs, A-Rod hits .245 and the Giamzero clubs a paltry .211. 

With the bases loaded, they are a combined 3-for-28. I'll say it again, for it deserves repeating: 3-for-28.

And yet they continue to bat in the heart of the lineup, serial killing rallies one at a time.

With all the different lineups Joe Girardi has thrown out there this season, two things have remained a relative constant: Rodriguez fourth and Giambi fifth.

With six guys in the lineup hitting .294 or better, you'd think the Yankees would be higher than seventh in the league in runs scored. 

But they're not, largely because the black hole of A-Rod and Giambi separates the consistent hitters at the top of the order (Damon, Jeter and Abreu) from those at the bottom (Xavier Nady and Hideki Matsui).

Why not try moving Nady, who's hitting .379 with runners in scoring position since joining the Yankees, up to the cleanup spot for a few games?  It can't hurt, right?  It would be impossible to make this offense any worse.

And while, we're at it, move Matsui, who's a .333 hitter with runners in scoring position, up to the five spot in the order, and drop A-Rod and Giambi to six and seven. Giambi is hitting .323 in the seven hole this year, by the way, as opposed to his .207 when he bats fifth.

In fact, why not just sit Giambi in favor of Cody Ransom. Even if Ransom's current 4.000 slugging percentage doesn't continue, I'm sure he won't ignore runners heading home while he's holding the ball at first base.

Now, I'm not one of those psychopaths that think the Yankees would be better off without Rodriguez. At least he gets hits in non-pressure situations, which is more than I can say for Giambi. And A-Rod was super clutch last year, hitting .357 in close and late situations.

Giambi, on the other hand, has been pretty much useless since signing the worst contract in franchise history—a seven-year, $120 million deal— that began in 2002 and will mercifully come to end after this season.

Maybe then the Yankees will start winning championships again.

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man" is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com. Jordan can be reached at [e-mail]