Can't hit in sunshine? Got the blues?

Once again, the Yankees knocked the daylights out of the ball Saturday, picking up 15 hits in an 8-3 pounding of the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium. That improved their major league-best record in day games to 21-4, another lights-out performance in natural light.

How come? "Hey, man, I got no idea,'' said catcher Francisco Cervelli, who contributed two hits and raised his average a touch closer to the so-called Mendoza Line at .197. "You gotta play whenever they say.''

Alex Rodriguez, too, would not offer any theory after going 2-for-3, driving in three runs and reaching the .300 mark. "Not at all,'' he said. "I'm not a theory guy.''

Just a couple of days ago, 2010 American League Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers told a Dallas radio station that he hits better at night because "guys with blue eyes have a tough time'' hitting in bright sunlight. In fact, there have been studies concluding that the darker a person's eyes, the more light absorbed as light waves pass through the eye -- thereby cutting down on glare and aiding contrast discernment.

Two studies at the University of Louisville in the 1990s specifically found that dark-eyed individuals generally perform better at reactive-type tasks such as boxing and hitting a ball. And Chuck Berry famously sang, a half-century ago, about the abilities of a "Brown Eyed Handsome Man.''

One chorus:

Two, three count with nobody on/

He hit a high fly into the stand/

Rounding third he was headed for home/

It was a brown eyed handsome man/

That won the game; it was a brown eyed handsome man.

Yankees rightfielder Nick Swisher, who has brown eyes, got two hits in three at-bats Saturday and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. But he didn't buy the Hamilton argument for a second.

"Brett Gardner's got blue eyes,'' Swisher said. And with a 1-for-3 day, Gardner helped improve the average for Yankees leadoff hitters -- which he has shared with Swisher since Derek Jeter was placed on the disabled list 12 days ago -- to .317 (13-for-41) in Jeter's absence.

Swisher's rods and cones don't come into play in the afternoon as much as his overall comfort. "I hate day games!'' he said. "I can't sleep in.''

He had heard about Hamilton's contention -- which was backed up by blue-eyed Mets outfielder Jason Bay -- but "it just made me smile,'' Swisher said. "I know guys around the league with blue eyes, and you're talking about the reigning MVP [Hamilton]. I just wear the eye black to help in the outfield, to cut down the glare off my chunky cheeks.''

Curtis Granderson (brown eyes) had two hits. Cervelli and Rodriguez, also with two hits each, have lighter eyes (hazel). This apparently would preclude the need, in ballplayers' bios, to add "eye color'' to the usual "bats: right/throws: left'' detail. Take it from Swisher, a brown eyed handsome man.