Watching the Yankees lose games for the same reasons gets tiresome after a while. A veteran pitcher losing his composure halfway through the game, shoddy outfield defense turning balls that could be caught into extra-base hits, inept short relief allowing games to get away, overeager hitters trying to pull outside pitches – you saw these things during yesterday’s 9-2 loss in Minnesota, during last week’s series sweep at the hands of the Royals, and whenever the Yankees have suffered through the long, miserable funks that have defined their 2005 campaign.

What has made this season unusual is not only that this kind of poor play has been the rule rather than the exception, but also that the team doesn’t really seem capable of doing better, although of course it is. It all seemed part of the natural order of things when Kevin Brown plunked the leadoff hitter in the sixth inning with a slim two-run lead yesterday, then proceeded to bark at him while a visibly embarrassed Jorge Posada escorted him down the first-base line. It also seemed perfectly normal for Brown to load the bases and hit another batter to drive in the game-tying run.

Nor did it stand out as unusual when Brown gave up a bases loaded hit to a shortstop in his 12th major league at-bat after the rookie had worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off several tough pitches.

Similarly, when Twins starter Carlos Silva, who’s struck out just 22 hitters in 74 innings, needed only 82 pitches to get through seven innings of two-run ball against the Yankees lineup, you probably thought to yourself, “At least they managed to score.” Most telling, the Yankees coughed up a lead and ended up on the wrong side of a laugher while facing a team whose two best hitters were out with injuries, and it wasn’t even one of the three most embarrassing losses they’ve had in the last week.

The problems with the Yankees run pretty deep. Aside from such obvious weaknesses as a stumblebum rotation, the presence of several designated hitters in the field, and Tanyon Sturtze being the team’s most reliable and effective middle reliever, the Yankees have played distressingly poor fundamental baseball. That problem was magnified against an excellent Twins team that thrives on its solid fundamentals.

Take the team’s approach against Silva, for instance. The Twins’ right-hander is an extreme sinkerballer against whom an enormous amount of balls go into play; thus the sound strategy is not to merely swing at strikes, but to wait for a strike you can drive. He simply doesn’t walk anybody – he’s given up only three free passes this year – so patience is a virtue, as eventually he’ll give every hitter a plum pitch in the zone.

So what did nos. 3 and 4 hitters Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui do in the first inning? Sheffield flied out on the second pitch he saw, Matsui on the first. When they came up again in the third, they saw a grand total of three pitches between them, granting that Sheffield cracked a double on the second pitch he saw. In their third at-bats, each saw two pitches.

In all, 15 Yankees in seven innings saw three or fewer pitches against Silva. There’s simply no excuse for that. It’s not winning baseball. Hitting is hard enough without doing much of the pitcher’s work for him.

The Twins’ fifth inning notably contrasted with the way the Yankees were playing. With a big chance to get back into the game and Brown throwing hard sinkers and sliders that were moving all over the place, the slap hitters at the bottom of the Twins’ lineup simply waited for something they could lay the bat on.

Matt LeCroy took a ball, swung through a sinker, and fouled another off before smacking a double. Michael Cuddyer took two balls that set up an intentional walk. Luis Rodriguez took two balls and fouled off three strikes before dropping a ball in the outfield. When Sturtze came on, Michael Ryan bunted on the first pitch, bringing in a run. And Brent Abernathy, a lifetime .246 hitter, worked the count full, fouling off five pitches before neatly placing a sacrifice fly and bringing in another run. It’s impossible to imagine the Yankees in their present state scoring five runs in a similar manner.

It’s easy to make a fetish of fundamentals, and those who do often overstate their case. It’s better to be talented than sound, and talent can overcome a bad game plan and bad execution. But of all teams, the Yankees should appreciate the fruits of a talented team that doesn’t give away outs in the field and at the plate. Avoiding doing so, making the most of every at-bat, is how the team won four World Series in five years.

As bad as things have been for the Yankees, there hasn’t been much speculation about Joe Torre. There probably should be. A team’s lack of talent or desire or luck can’t be held against a manager, but what can and should be is careless play and a failure to get the most out of the talent on hand. Never the greatest tactician, Torre’s strength for nearly a decade has been his ability to get the most out of veteran players. If he’s not doing that, what use is he?