Bronx, N.Y., May 14, 2011 – The Yankees dropped another precious home game to the Red Sox, 6-0, on Saturday, and could hardly have looked worse doing so. The numbers, sports websites, commentators, talk radio and the newspaper in full chorus will tell you, bear out that Josh Beckett outdueled CC Sabathia badly, but don’t you believe it. Sabathia proved his mettle early, and had he received any kind of support from his team, I might be writing a very different column.

CC was in trouble from the outset, once Jacoby Ellsbury was hit by an 0-2 pitch leading off the game, and Dustin Pedroia sent the speedy center fielder around to third when he battled Sabathia for an eight-pitch base hit to left field, putting runners on the corners with no one out. Thirteen pitches later, CC strode off the mound to an ovation after having struck out Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz in succession, all of them swinging. In doing so, CC made it clear to his teammates that he was ready to play ball. It appeared that what he got in reply was a group shrug.

Boston’s Josh Beckett allowed back-to-back hits in the bottom of the inning, but Josh was throwing a strange game, one that seemed to mesmerize the Yankees. One wonders if they have awoken from the spell yet. To start with, a guy rightfully proud of his heater basically kept it in his back pocket early, retiring the home team batters at first on a successsion of slow curve balls, broken up by the occasional mid-nineties fast ball and a cutter a few mph slower. Beckett would throw some more cheese as the game went by, and mix in a change of pace too, but what he did more than anything was psych out a Yankee offense amazingly too stressed (or calm?) to realize that the Boston starter was controlling virtually every at bat with the extremely irregular pace of his deliveries.

In a pattern immediately established, Beckett struck out Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Alex Rodriguez swinging early, in each case once he had worked a two-strike count holding the ball, with a blank stare forward, for 20, 25 or even 30 seconds before coming set and throwing a pitch. Cano finally stepped out during one of these staring sessions in the fourth, but to little effect, as he went down swinging again. Through at bat after at bat, the Yankees held their bats on their shoulders and waited until the guy on the mound felt comfortable enough to eventually throw a pitch, then flailed and missed badly long after their attention had peaked, then lagged.

Meanwhile, Sabathia was throwing blanks, pitching in the more usual fashion, making pitches shortly after his catcher returned the ball. But when Jed Lowrie broke through and singled leading off the fifth, the Yankee southpaw was abandoned by his defense. Following a flyout, Lowrie broke for second, the kind of move made perhaps in hopes of shaking the Yankee defense, as surely either Robinson Cano from second or Derek Jeter from short would be breaking for the second base bag to take the potential throw. In an identical move Friday, Pedroia had singled through a vacated second base hole, but the Sox were not so fortunate this time, or so it seemed. Because the struggling Carl Crawford did not direct a ball toward the second base or shortstop hole, but rather hit a 10-hopper right up the middle, directly toward where either Jeter or Cano would be on their way to cover second. Only this tailor-made double play did not take place because neither Yankee infielder broke for second. Rather than a quick dp to close the frame, the ball trickled through into the outfield, putting runners on the corners. Clearly shook by his vanishing infield, Sabathia walked aging Jason Varitek, and Ellsbury doubled to left for two runs that, given the quality of the Yankee at bats, largely settled the game.

Things got considerably worse two innings later. Mike Cameron walked, was wild pitched to second and one out later Varitek singled to right, where Nick Swisher failed to catch a shoulder-high first hop as Crawford appeared to be slowing coming around third. But with the ball on the ground he scored, with Swisher assessed an error that inexplicably was removed from the totals one out later. Whatever it was called, abandoned by his “D” yet again, one out later CC gave up a single and then a home run to right by Adrian Gonzalez. Suddenly the game southpaw was on the losing end of a blowout 6-0 shutout.

The sudden bulge took both Sabathia and Beckett out of the game, with the latter’s strike out total thankfully halted at nine. The usually hard-throwing Boston righty did pitch well, though strangely without much heat early, and his fastball following on all the curves, mixed with some cutters and a few changes, dominated the Yanks until he left. And by that time, all of their fight seemed gone. But why not one batter stepped out to disturb the crazy pace the Boston starter established, patiently standing stock still until he was ready to throw a pitch, is hard to understand in such a big game. Do the batters talk to each other, and to the coaches? Was any contructive conversation taking place in the Yankee dugout at all?

Of course the night did begin strangely, with Yankee DH Jorge Posada taking himself out of the lineup, apparently upset that he had been dropped to ninth in the order. We’ll learn more of how that transpired going forward. But whatever the circumstance, the veteran lineup the Yankees post daily should have been able to work around this distraction, just as it’s shocking that they would allow themselves to be played by Beckett through 24 at bats in six innings. Perhaps his stuff was that good. This does nothing toward explaining why veteran hitters would allow the nonpace he used without protesting or stepping out through six innings. Perhaps they are cooler than their fans, and see nothing to be concerned about two weeks into May.

History shares a bizarre moment with us that occurred on May 13, date of Friday night’s series opener, as it was on this day in 1846 that the United States declared war on Mexico, a confrontation that may have gotten this country Texas without any bloodshed. The timing of the declaration was bizarre, because hostilities between the forces of the two nations had already been ongoing for several weeks.

The 2011 baseball campaign got underway in late March. With a progression of mindless at bats allowing the opponent to set the schedule with no aggressive response on the one hand, and a field alignment that defends against a stolen base attempt one night, then lets another slide 24 hours later, it’s time the Yankees wake up to reality. The season started six weeks ago. It’s time to play for real. Or not at all.

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!