Joe Katzman at Winds of Change rather enjoyed the Astros no-hitter last night. Meanwhile, Rob Neyer points out that we shouldn't be suprised by the Yankees getting no-hit, since they have a relatively low batting average. That's how this team has changed. During the peak from 1996 to 2001, the Yankees were a high BA, high OBA, high HR team. The BA has dropped this year. It's been a theory of mine for a while that low BA, high OBA teams don't do well in the playoffs because other teams in the playoffs have usually have good pitching. And good pitching means few walks and few HR. So you reduce a high OBA team to a low batting average team, and they tank. The 1990 Oakland A's are a great example of this, but I suspect the Orioles of the late 60's early 70's were like this also. What made the Yankees teams of the late '90's so good was that the offense was so multi-faceted that it was hard to shut them down.

Part of the problem this year is injuries; Johnson and Williams are out for an extended period, Jeter was out for an extended period. Part of it is slumps, especially by Giambi. But the depth is not there to make up for these losses, although I suspect the Yankees will try to acquire that depth soon.

Update: Michele wants to know who gets the game ball?