Embarrassing inning

The bottom of the fourth inning this afternoon pretty much epitomized the 2008 Yankees thus far.

Here's the scene:

Trailing 5-0, Derek Jeter lead off with a walk. Bobby Abreu then scolded a single to right-center, allowing Jeter to take third. Alex Rodriguez was up next. He smacked the first pitch down the left field line, but it twisted foul. He eventually struck out swinging on three pitches.

After that, Jason Giambi walked on four pitches to load the bases with one out. Xavier Nady hit a deep enough fly ball to left fielder Garret Anderson. Jeter tagged, and while he was about to score, Abreu inexplicably tried to take third and was tagged out before Jeter could score.

Let me go back to the Rodriguez at-bat first. The announcers were saying how Rodriguez should look small in his situation, and just try to keep the line moving. Instead, he looked for the three-run home run and struck out to end a quick at-bat. It's time like these where it's hard to embrace Rodriguez. His numbers with runners in scoring position have been awful this season, especially when compared to last year's efforts.

Abreu's blunder is huge given the score and how the Yankees have played over their last eight games.