Shot in the Arm
By lefty
After two losses in a row, the Yankees are in grave need of a shot in the arm — or shoulder as the case may be. Gary Sheffield was removed from last night's 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in the eighth inning because of bursitis in his left shoulder. Sheffield winced in pain almost every time he swung the bat and the problem got worse when he struck out reaching for a pitch in the sixth inning.
Is another shot of cortisone needed to keep this slugger in the lineup? "I have to think about it. The last shot didn't help. Maybe they have to up the dosage," he said in this story by AP Sports Writer Joel Anderson. The loss of Sheffield would be hard on the Yankees since he is having another strong year.
The Tuesday night loss highlighted some of the Yankees' other injury woes. Kevin Brown was brought back to reality with his first terrible outing since coming off the disabled list on July 30. Another outing or two like that and he may be challenging Esteban Loaiza, pronounced "Lose-Ah," for the rights to be taken out of the rotation when Mike Mussina returns. Brown, 9-2, said he felt terrible before the game, so the problem may be with his back injury or the intestinal parasite that has taken home inside the steroid-rich environment of the Yankee clubhouse. "I was drained. I never had any energy," Brown was quoted as saying in that same article. "It's not the first time I've felt cruddy and it probably won't be the last." But the burly right-hander didn’t strike out a batter in five innings while giving up five runs and eight hits. Both of Brown's losses this year have been to the Rangers.
On the positive side for Yankee Haters, ex-Yankee, Alfonso Soriano, had another strong game against his former club with two doubles, two walks, and three runs.
