Why Isn't Bonds a Yankee Yet?

The New York Yankees, 14-16, are second-last in the AL East and have two key players on the disabled list, and just got swept by the Detroit Tigers.

That's right, the Tigers, the same team that was the joke of baseball in the first two weeks of the season.

And these three losses took place at Yankee Stadium, for crying out loud.

Only the Toronto Blue Jays (12-17) and their anemic offense are keeping the Yankees out of last place, for now anyway.

So, with all the struggles of the Bronx Bombers, why aren't they making a pitch for home run king Barry Bonds?

Both catcher Jorge Posada and third baseman Alex Rodriguez were placed on the 15-day DL within the last five days, and even second-year starter Phil Hughes has been placed on the DL too with a strained right oblique.

Hughes is supposedly going to be out until July, at the very minimum.

Not that Hughes would be missed, since he has stunk for the pinstripers thus far this season (0-4, 9.00 ERA).

And with Mike Mussina hot and cold (though he has turned in two decent starts in a row) and Andy Pettitte roughed up in back-to-back starts, the starting rotation seems to be a mess.

The offense? Well, the Yankees took first-inning leads on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and then completely fell apart, plating just one run total in the subsequent 16 innings combined.

And on Thursday, the Yanks were up three-zip after just three batters, thanks to Bobby Abreu's three-run bomb in the first.

But after that, say good night to the Yankees offense.

After the Tigers had just taken a 6-4 lead with a pair of runs in the sixth, Abreu had a chance to deliver with the bases juiced and two outs. But all Abreu could do was line out to center, and Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera salted things away in the very next inning with a two-run shot.

Game over.

The Yankees fell, 8-4. 

Again, how good would the Yankees be if they had Bonds hitting cleanup, especially with Posada and A-Rod out of the lineup?

Have the Yanks even tried contacting him?

It was embarrassing enough to lose three straight at home to the Tigers, but to also have ex-Yankees like Kenny Rogers and Gary Sheffield come back and stick it to them, was simply awful.

Rogers beat the Yankees on Tuesday in the opener, aided by Sheffield's second home run of the season, a two-run bomb.

And this was the same Rogers who had been 0-2 with an ERA approaching double-digits (9.82) in four appearances at Yankee Stadium since his disastrous stint with the Bombers (1996-97). In fact, prior to Tuesday, the lefty had been 0-7 with a 9.21 ERA in his last 11 regular-season starts versus New York.

But Tuesday, Rogers turned in a quality start: six innings, two runs. Who would have thunk it?

Oh yeah, and Sheffield was hitting a cool .159 before Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Sheffield was at it again with two hits, and Placido Polanco homered twice in the late innings (6th and 8th) as the Tigers overcame a 2-0 deficit and buried the Yanks 6-2.

Before Polanco's first home run, New York was only down 3-2.

So wouldn't Bonds' appearance in the Yanks lineup have made a difference?

Instead, the Yanks let the Tigers celebrate a three-game sweep in their own barn for the first time in 42 years.

Shame.