Yankees Absolutely Cannot Trust Masahiro Tanaka in October at This Point

The New York Yankees might be tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for baseball's best winning percentage, but even the most stubborn of Bombers buffs will admit they are concerned about their beloved club's erratic pitching staff.

At the front and center of those problems, however, is longtime ace Masahiro Tanaka, who had another contaminated outing Monday night against the woeful Orioles.

The two-time All-Star lasted just 5 1/3 innings and conceded five runs on 10 hits. Face it Yankees fans, at this rate you just can't trust Masahiro once October rolls around.

It really makes you wonder: what on earth happened to Tanaka? Changing the grip on his signature split-finger fastball hasn't even alleviated any of his struggles...which started as far back as mid-June.

In eight starts since an imposing outing against the Rays on June 17, Tanaka has logged an inflated 9.08 ERA, while coughing up 56 hits (10 of which are home runs) and 14 walks in 37.2 innings.

Perhaps the craziest component of this narrative is that Tanaka is 2-1 over that appalling stretch. It's impossible to presume he will continue to be bailed out by Aaron Boone's formidable lineup in the postseason, where the pitching is significantly more daunting.

When you couple his prevalent struggles (that don't look like ending anytime soon) with the sheer significance of each game in October, the Yanks shouldn't even think about throwing the right-hander out there in a big game -- a pressurized scenario he used to thrive in.