Yankees Middle of the Order is the Issue

When you look down the Yankees batting order, the batting averages aren't the huge issue.

Brett Gardner is hitting .300, setting the tone at the top of the lineup and getting on base. Even the much-maligned Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting .255, serviceable enough for mid-April. Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius are hitting .273 and .261, respectively, and that's more than OK from the lower third of your order.

Carlos Beltran is hitting .296 and Brian McCann comes in at .275.

So why can't the Yankees score runs? Why can't they hit with men on base? The middle of the order.

Alex Rodriguez is hitting .156 and Mark Teixeira is hitting .170. If you want to know why the Yankees can't score, it's directly related to the guys you pay to drive in runs not doing that.

The pair has 13 RBIs between them, and that's just three more than Castro has himself. The Yankees season is not over with the team sitting at 5-9, but these middle of the order guys need to turn it around.