YESNetwork: Goldman: The Yankees exit April with a slew of problems

Goldman, with his latest Pinstriped Bible (brought to you by Jeep, not Gillette)

Catcher is another kettle o’ fish. After Posada, the deluge. Jose Molina’s .245 on-base percentage is not out of line for his skill set, and the Yankees did a major disservice to Hughes on Tuesday by saddling him with Chris Stewart, who seemed as if he’d never caught a Major League pitcher before. When you see more of the catcher’s number than you do the pitcher’s, something has gone terribly wrong.

Now, for a flashback to some good old days that weren’t always that good: we have long since passed the point of the season when the Boss would have reassigned the hitting coach to the Yankees’ Q-level farm team in Burma. The team’s approach at the plate has, on the whole, been abysmal. The Yankees are ninth in the league in walks and 10th in OBP. Players who we would expect to take a walk — Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bobby Abreu, Ensberg, A-Rod — have been hacking, or were, in some cases, as some of them are temporarily indisposed.

Batting average comes and goes. Players slump and get hot. There are offensive years and pitching years and sometimes it rains. Even comedians rise, peak, and have third acts like Robin Williams. Selectivity persists. Selectivity abides. And then there’s Robinson Cano, who is an indictment himself.

April is almost over. Something’s gotta give. Will it happen on May 14 at Tampa Bay, or May 19 on the off day after the Mets?