Schadenfreude 207 (A Continuing Series)

George A. King III, Post:

One by one, the Yankees' hitters exited manager Joe Girardi's office at 4 p.m. on Friday after talking about the recent hitting woes that have plagued their bats. ...

"We just talked hitting," Girardi said before the Yankees' losing streak reached four games ...

Looking at the Yankees' numbers with runners in scoring position during the four-game losing streak, there wasn't much positive to rap about. During their skid, the Yankees are 3-for-26 (.115) with one hit in the past 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position. ...

The Yankees entered Friday with a .254 batting average with RISP, which was 18th among the 30 MLB clubs.

Mike Mazzeo, Daily News:

If the Yankees want to make the playoffs, they're going to have to hit and pitch at the same time.

But so far, the Bombers have found that nearly impossible.

In the first half (45-41), they averaged 5.4 runs per game but pitched to a 4.02 ERA. In the second half (12-9), they've pitched to an MLB-best 2.94 ERA but have averaged just 4.0 runs per game. ...

Over their last five games, the Yankees are 1-4 and have scored just 14 total runs while batting a collective .181 -- including .171 with runners in scoring position.

Ken Davidoff, Post:

Getting called out publicly by Joe Girardi is the equivalent of failing a "Music Appreciation" class in school. It requires months and months of incompetence, plus either apathy or a startling inability to execute direction. Or a mix of both.

Gary Sanchez hit that sky-high threshold Friday night at Progressive Field, as his major league-leading 12th passed ball and a pair of wild pitches pushed the Yankees toward a 7-2 loss to the Indians, their fourth straight and fifth in six games.

"He needs to improve," the Yankees' manager said of his catcher. ...

[T]he Yankees [are at] the two-thirds mark of their season. They own a 57-51 record, putting them on a pace to finish 86-76. They trail the Red Sox, victorious again Friday, by three games in the American League East. They could be out of a playoff spot altogether by the time they leave town. ...

In their past 48 games, nearly half of their season, the Yankees are 19-29. ...

Maybe Girardi's optimism will bear out and we're watching the tease before the takeoff ... Or, just as likely, their 8-2 run from July 20 to July 29 ... served as an island of good play amidst vast ineptitude. ...

Mike Mazzeo, Daily News:

Gary Sanchez has been a disaster defensively this season ...

The once-surging Bombers have now dropped four in a row, and trail the first-place Red Sox by three games in the AL East standings.

The 24-year-old catcher's struggles were on full display in Chicago in late June, when he received a stern lecture from Girardi after failing to block a third-strike splitter from Masahiro Tanaka that allowed the batter to reach first. ...

Sanchez has also committed 10 errors — second-most at the position. And remember, he missed 21 games earlier in the season due to a biceps injury.