Bottom 1: Matt Joyce struck out swinging against Freddy Garcia

Bottom 4: Joyce struck out swinging against Garcia

Bottom 6: Joyce struck out swinging against Garcia

Bottom 8: Joyce called out on strikes against David Robertson

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: It was a tough night for the (first-half) All-Star Joyce, who fanned in all four at-bats in Wednesday’s loss against the Yankees.  The reason for his first three strikeouts is simple: Sweaty Freddy simply throws too damn slow.  And for the final strikeout, well, Robertson is just good at his job.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 72

Recently we received a comment from a reader regarding our predictions, and I think the topic he brought up is probably worth its own piece.  The reader felt like I unfairly predicted that the Yankees would finish the year third in the AL East behind Boston and Tampa, who I predicted would both finish 2011 in the playoffs.  Before I continue, I would like to mention that I think the AL East will be a very tight division, particularly in the battle for second place.  The Yankees are one of the best offensive teams in baseball, and they certainly deserve a great deal of respect for that, but everything else they do is far from representative of a playoff-caliber team.

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On Wednesday night, David Ortiz thought he was being sneaky when he attempted to bunt for hit against Freddy Garcia and the Chicago White Sox.  With the shift on like usual against the lefthanded slugger, Ortiz dropped down a bunt that landed next to Garcia, who fielded the ball cleanly and easily threw out Big Papi at first base.  While Garcia chuckled after the play, manager Ozzie Guillen simply could not contain himself: