Hello, Sunshine! Rays-Yanks Gamer XI

Enough of that saccharine. The Yankees are 5-5 on the season against the Tampa Bay Sunbeams of St. Petersburg, who happen to hold the best record in all of Major League ball. They've split the four games played at the Stadium as well as splitting the six at the Trop. Now it's a two-game series at The Stadium that may serve as the "whether" gauge regarding the Yankees' post-season aspirations, but I think it is still a bit early to call this anything like a "clinching moment". However, two frames against the AL East leaders before a quick scoot through Pittsburgh for the make-up against the Pirates and a set against the Jays before the ASG could paint a pretty clear picture if the Yankee bats choose not to show: the Yankees could find themselves in a very deep pit prior to the break.

In case you haven't heard, Scott Kazmir is still rilly rilly good even though he started the season on the DL, and the Yankees couldn't muster much of a threat against the lefty when they faced him in mid-May. It's a battle of southpaws as Andy Pettitte mans the mound for the Yankees. Both pitchers are coming off shaky outings against the Red Sox.

The incredibly anemic-looking Yankee lineup follows, comment away.

Lineups from PA

Rays

Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Navarro C
Aybar DH
Gomez RF
Zobrist SS

Kazmir LHP

Yankees

Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada DH
Betemit 1B
Cano 2B
Molina C
Gardner LF

Pettitte LHP