With bases full, Yanks coming up empty lately
With bases full, Yanks coming up empty lately
The Yankees entered Wednesday hitless in their last 15 at-bats with the bases loaded, including two Robinson Cano strikeouts on Tuesday, and only four big league teams have had less success this season with the bags full.
"I think overall our at-bats haven't been really quality," Rodriguez said. "The one thing is, [pitchers are] the ones that have the pressure. You've got to swing at strikes and take your 'A' swing.
"After that, you do exactly kind of what [Nick] Swisher did last night, and if they make great plays then you tip your cap. But up to that point, we have to do what we do."
Rodriguez said that he didn't know the numbers, but he guessed the Yankees were having more success this year with the bases empty than any other situation.
"I can't speak for everyone and I don't have the stats in my head," Rodriguez said. "But it just seems that if you take a summary of our season, it seems like we've been better with nobody on base. But I may be totally wrong."
He isn't. The Yankees are hitting .151 (8-for-53) with the bases loaded this year; they're batting .280 with no one on, .248 with runners on base and just .223 with runners in scoring position.
"I am somewhat [surprised]," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "At times, we've hit the ball good. We've run into a little bit of everything -- some guys not swinging the bat very well with the bases loaded, guys hitting the ball hard with the bases loaded and making outs.
"It's unfortunate, but we're still OK. Obviously we'd like to be in a little better position than we are right now, but we're OK. We've just got to turn it around."
Referencing a 2009 team meeting in Atlanta that turned the season around toward the World Series, Rodriguez said the Yankees' lineup needs to improve at working as a unit.
"[Getting] on base, I think that's also contagious," Rodriguez said. "One of the things that we talked about in our meeting in '09, we were so good at passing the baton and trusting our teammates. When we do that, we're a much different team."