The Devil Rays are really bad

So yeah, the Yankees just outscored the Devil Rays 45-12 in the last three games of their four-game series. The bottom five team ERA's in the MLB now stand as follows:

26. Cinicinnati Reds: 4.81
27. St. Louis Cardinals: 4.83
28. Philadelphia Phillies: 4.87
29. Texas Rangers: 4.95
30. Tampa Bay Suck-Asses: 5.98

Wow. They give up over a run per game more than the next worst pitching team in the league. Their bullpen is essentially AAA quality, seeing as though Shawn Camp (who?) and Brian Stokes (WHO?!) lead the team in appearances. The worst bullpen in baseball facing what is probably the best starting lineup in baseball three times in under 28 hours results in, well, bloodshed. With one out in the sixth inning, the Yankees leading 16-3, and Alex Rodriguez up against Shawn Camp, who had already surrendered a home run and two doubles in the inning, I almost expected A-Rod to step out of the box, gaze into the owner's box, and see this:


Naturally, everyone in Yankee-land is on top of the world right now, but make no mistake, this Bronx beatdown should mostly be attributed to the level of competition. That being said, this series was a great confidence booster to guys like Robbie Cano, who fell just a double short of the cycle today and went 11 for 18 in the series, raising his BA from .275 to .291.

I believe there are two main factors explaining Cano's drop-off this year. First of all, there is the widely agreed-upon theory that his 2006 BABIP was far too high considering his lack of speed; he finished the season at .363, higher than the career BABIP's of guys like Ichiro Suzuki (.356) or Derek Jeter (.360). So far this season, his BABIP stands at .321.

While Cano has stood out this year as one of the big under-achievers on the team, the thing that really sets him apart from the rest of the club is that he is the only starter who is essentially a guess-hitter (A-Rod being the next closest). That being said, I think the dip in Cano's numbers this season can also be attributed to, ironically, his attempt to become a more patient hitter. Last season, he saw 3.22 pitches per plate appearance, but this year he's up to 3.43. While his isolated patience has accordingly increased from .023 in 2006 to .039, the rest of his numbers have suffered. SWING AWAY, ROBBIE!