This season has continued to get worse and worse. Yankees fans are becoming more frustrated as this team continues to play inconsistently. Dropping two out of three to the Mets at Yankee Stadium is a wake up call that this year’s team isn’t going to compete for a championship, possibly not even a playoff spot.
It’s not new information that this isn’t a good team, what is new information is that I don’t think this team has even hit rock bottom yet.
There is no question this team cares, there is no question this team is aware they are underachieving. Which may be part of the issue. The Yankees are pressing at the plate, trying to make up games in the standings with each swing. That mentality snowballs as the season presses on which is why we aren’t seeing good at bats. Why we aren’t seeing Yankee hitters work counts like they had in previous seasons.
I hear a lot of chatter on NY sports radio about who the Yankees can trade for. I don’t think a trade is really going to solve anything. The Yankees need a lefthanded bat, preferably a left handed bat that can play a solid centerfield. Who is that player? How much of an impact can that player make? How much do they need to give up for that player?
Questions two and three are easy to answer, very little and a lot. One single player isn’t going to make this line up consistent. One single player isn’t going to improve the atrocious baserunning we have seen.
Additionally, no team in MLB is going to do the Yankees any favors, they’ll be paying a premium for that player. Is it worth it to pay a premium for a player who may not be impact enough to help them reach the playoffs, let alone a World Series? I don’t think so. They would be better off retooling the team in the offseason.
We need to be practical about this, the Yankees can’t beat teams in the division this year. Tampa is still a tough team. The Blue Jays are improved. Boston still has Alex Cora as a manager.
The Yankees have struggled against the AL East while performing well outside the division. This approach isn’t going to get them into the playoffs, they aren’t going to be able to jump three teams in the standings when they can’t beat those teams. There is no reason to go all in on a season when they can’t compete within their own division.
Naturally Yankees fans want to see someone fired and rightfully so. I’ve heard a lot of chatter about firing Aaron Boone but what is that going to do? I listened to Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News on the Anita Marks show on ESPN NY. Kristie Ackert stated that Aaron Boone is well liked and respected within that clubhouse.
Since I can read deeper into this, I see what is going on. The players like Aaron Boone but they are very much aware of his limited power. They know the Front Office/Brian Cashman and his baseball nerds are the ones really managing the team. As I’ve said before, this is a massive mistake. You need a baseball person managing a team, with the authority to run the team as he sees fit.
It seems that Brian Cashman isn’t going anywhere. Hal Steinbrenner isn’t firing Cashman over one lost season. If Cashman isn’t going anywhere then the baseball nerds need to go. There has never been a team, run solely on analytics, that has won a World Series. Just looking back over the past few years
2020* – Dodgers win in a season with 60 games. Dodgers roster is absolutely stacked. Analytics driven but a very well rounded team
2019* – Altuve gets the buzz that Chapman is throwing an offspeed pitch sending the Astros to the World Series. Astros do not, I repeat, DO NOT rip off Altuve’s jersey as he crosses home plate per his instructions
2018*- Alex Cora, the mastermind of Houston’s sign stealing scandal, takes over the Red Sox. In his first year as a manager the Red Sox set a franchise record for wins in a season. Multiple hitters have their best season with strikeout rates dropping across the team.
2017* – Alex Cora and the Asterisks begin their stretch of tainting 3 seasons worth of baseball.
Now that we’ve gotten past the four most recent, asterisk-laden seasons, we can dig a little deeper.
2016 – Cubs use analytics but still manage to build a stacked, well rounded team.
2015 – Royals ride a red hot bullpen through the playoffs. Something that has not been done since
2010, 2012, 2014 – San Francisco Giants take a old school, scouting based approach to the game, legitimately (wink wink Alex Cora) winning three World Series while keeping analytics to a minimum.
Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, the creators of analytics, have never made it to a World Series while relying on analytics.
Do you see the trend here? I’m not asking you the reader, I’m asking Brian Cashman. Cash, do you see the trend. You’ve gone too far in one direction and need to start moving back the other way.
One little nugget I heard from Kristie Ackert on Anita Marks, Phil Plantier, the hitting coach credited with improving the hitting ability of Gio Urshela as well as other players, has moved on to the Marlins. Other scouting based coaches have moved on to other teams over the past few seasons as well. The Yankees are becoming more and more analytical but what have these analytics done for us lately?
I feel sorry for Aaron Boone, it appears he is going to be the scapegoat in this situation when in reality, this team is moving in the wrong direction with personnel and I am seriously concerned if they have any self-awareness to what the real problem is.
