Yankees-Rangers: Once Again, Joe Girardi Gives New York Little Chance to Win

When you hold the league's most powerful offense to just two runs, you should win.

When you put a Golden Sombrero on the head of the league's best hitter, you should win.

When you hold the league's third-best hitter to just a 1-5 night, you should win.

But the Yankees didn't win Monday night against the Texas Rangers. And it's largely because of the substandard lineup put together by manager Joe Girardi.

For the second straight game, the skipper failed to field his best team. And for the second straight game, the Yankees scored just one run on four hits.

Johnny Damon was batting .366 in the month of June, and he was healthy enough to pinch-hit and play left field late in the game, but he didn't start.  Instead, his leadoff spot went to Brett Gardner, a rookie making his major-league debut. Gardner went 0-3 with a strikeout.

For the second straight day, Jorge Posada was healthy enough to start, but he didn't catch. Instead, that position was filled once again by Jose Molina, who sports an anemic .228 average, thus keeping a better hitter like Wilson Betemit (.266) out of the lineup.

It's okay if Mike Mussina needs Molina to be his personal catcher, but if that's the case, don't start Molina on Sunday, too.

Like I said following Sunday's loss to the Mets, the Bombers' offense is already hampered by the loss of Hideki Matsui to injury. There is no reason to deplete it further by sitting Damon and Betemit in favor of Gardner and Molina.

Here are the grades from the Yankees' awful 2-1 loss to the Rangers.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (D) I will give Girardi some credit, because he was aggressive on the basepaths and he brought in Dan Giese, and not Kyle Farnsworth, to pitch the ninth with a one-run deficit.

Brett Gardner, LF: (D) I'll say this for the kid: he can run. Gardner hustled on every groundball and even stole a bag, but he went 0-3 with a K, and now is not the time to be trying this guy out at the leadoff spot.

Derek Jeter, SS: (F) The Captain was 0-4 with a strikeout and has appeared to lose some of his clutchness so far this season. I still believe he'll be a .300 hitter by the end of the year, though.

Bobby Abreu, RF: (D+) 0-3 with a walk and was caught stealing.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (A+) At least you can always count on A-Rod to produce.  His monster home run into Monument Park in the fourth inning was the only offense the Yanks could muster. He also walked and stole a base.

Jason Giambi, 1B: (A) Giambi went 1-3, picking up his first triple since I was a sophomore in college. He too drew a base on balls.

Jorge Posada, DH: (C) 1-4 with a double and a K. Posada left three men on base.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (F) Cano also stranded three runners, while going 0-3.

Melky Cabrera, CF: (F) Cabrera better watch out or Gardner will have his job soon. Melky's 0-3 night drops him to a woeful .244.

Jose Molina, C: (B) Molina has a great arm, which he once again displayed throwing out another baserunner, but his offense is too much of a liability to insert him in the lineup on back-to-back days. Molina struck out twice but was able to scratch out an infield single.

Johnny Damon, PH-LF: (INC) Damon grounded out to first for Gardner in the eighth.

Mike Mussina, SP: (B+) On paper, you would think the rotation is the Yankees' weakness right now, but that hasn't been the case of late. Mussina gave up just two runs on five hits, while striking out eight through six innings Monday night, for New York's fourth straight good start. Too bad he couldn't get any run support.

Edwar Ramirez, RP: (A) Ramirez worked out of a jam in the seventh.

Jose Veras, RP: (B-) Veras did the same in the eighth.

Dan Giese, RP: (A) For those of you who don't follow baseball closely, this is how a set-up man is made. When a guy struggles as a starter, he is given a chance as a reliever. Not when a guy is a dominant starter in the minors, you waste his talent as a reliever at the major-league level.

Yankees Overall Grade: (D+) Pitching good. Hitting bad. The Yankees began a big nine-game homestand Monday, during which they play three teams with winning records.

They need to go 5-4, taking two of three from Texas, two of four from Boston, and one of two from first-place Tampa Bay. 

New York had the advantage in the pitching matchup Monday, but blew their opportunity to win the first game of the series against the Rangers. Now Joba Chamberlain and Sidney Ponson will have to step-up in the final two contests.  Oh, and they'll also have to start hitting.