I think I’ve decided that this is it. This is the team we have.
In the three weeks since I last opined in this space, the team has changed and changed back again, teasing us into optimism with flashes of quality play but then falling back into their old ways, cruelly reminding us that we should’ve known better.
Aaron Judge continues to have a fine season. He’s been the one truly consistent Yankee in the lineup, but in a season which needs 2017 Judge, his consistency has been hardly noticeable. Giancarlo Stanton will have a week here or there during which it’s hard to imagine why anyone would ever pitch to him, but then he’ll spend the next week flailing at sliders six inches off the plate. Gleyber Torres has seemed so lost that I’ve caught myself wondering if a week or two in Scranton might do him some good.
Oh, but there’s been good news. Although D.J. LeMaheiu spent the first sixty games hitting a hundred points less than he did in last year’s sixty-game season, he’s been showing some signs of life recently, hitting closer to .300 in June. And if I had told you a month ago that Gary Sánchez would be the team’s best hitter at this point, would you ever have believed me? The Kracken has been slashing at .300/.372/.686 this month, featuring six doubles and seven homers; he had three doubles and six homers in April and May combined.
So as we heard several times this weekend from the YES broadcast crew, it’s been two steps forward and two steps back for the Yankees for a while now. That’s works fine for salsa dancing, but when you’re trying to make up ground in the suddenly-deep-again American League East, not so much.
All of this made this weekend’s series with the Red Sox even more critical than such games usually are. Winning two of three or — dare to dream — a sweep would have erased an awful lot of the frustration of the past few months, but when the Yankees dropped close ones on Friday (5-3) and Saturday (4-2), Sunday suddenly felt like a must-win game. Thankfully, Gerrit Cole was on the mound.
But if you’re reading this, you know what happened. Making his first Fenway start in pinstripes, Cole did not deliver. His first pitch was rocketed over the Green Monster by Kiké Hernández, Alex Verdugo doubled a few pitches after that, and two batters later Rafael Devers launched an 0-2 pitch 470 feet into the seats. There were still eight innings to go, but the game was over.
And you know the strangest part of the whole afternoon? I sat there and watched the whole thing. When Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-2, I found myself getting hopeful. When the Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and LeMahieu and Judge due up, I started thinking about what a big win this could be.
But when my optimism was repaid with a 9-2 loss and I was forced to look back over an abysmal nine innings, I finally allowed myself to answer the question I posed in this space three weeks ago.
Yes. This is the team we have.
I’ve never really subscribed to the theory that teams built around power can’t win in the postseason, so the structure of this team never bothered me. After all, if you have the major league leaders in batting (LeMahieu) and home runs (Luke Voit), and then you add Judge, Stanton, and Sánchez, you’re obviously going to score a lot of runs. Yet only two teams in the American League, the Tigers and Orioles, have scored fewer runs than the Bronx Bombers, and if you watched the three Fenway games, it isn’t hard to see why.
The Red Sox outscored the Yankees 18-7, but the hit and walk totals were much closer — 38-35. The Yankees had plenty of opportunities to score runs, but they weren’t able to. We’ve been told that runs batted in is a meaningless stat in this era of statistical enlightenment, but here’s something that is enlightening. Aaron Judge leads the Yankees with 42 RBIs. Heading into Sunday’s game his then forty RBIs ranked 54th in baseball. I have neither the time nor the inclination to research this, but I’d guess it’s been decades since the Yankees’ leading RBI man ranked that low. (For comparison’s sake, Rafael Devers and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., are tied for the lead with 68.)
If we were to rewind the season back to April and play it again, I’m not sure what would happen. If we were to simulate the season a few thousand times, exactly how many times would we see a team this talented look so similar to the Orioles or the Tigers or the Royals? (For the record, the number crunchers over at fivethirtyeight.com haven’t lost faith in our Yankees. Their statistical models see the Bombers as the fifth best team in baseball, but the same model also projects them to 87-75 and gives them only a 36% chance to make the playoffs, which feels about right.)
But we aren’t living in a simulation, and we can’t turn back the clock. Today the Yankees lost in embarrassing fashion, their sixth straight loss to the Red Sox, and they sit in fourth place at 40-37, six and a half games behind Boston. It doesn’t get much more real than that.
This team is playing exactly how Cashman has built it. If the pitching staff was a car garage, Cashman filled it with two lambos (Cole, Chapman), a couple of daily drivers (Britton, Loasiga) while the other ten are basically junkyard finds, most of which aren't drivable.
As for the lineup, half of it are super cars (when running) but the other half is go carts. You can't win when you're so top heavy and the bottom half of the lineup that can't manufacture runs.
Oh yeah and there's the idiotic no left handed hitters in this lineup, Odor's ghost not withstanding. Yet we have every left handed reliever you can possibly have, nevermind that lefty/rights matchups should not be a thing in 2021.
Sorry for my terrible grammar. I totally Cashman'd that post.
BTW, I just want to put it out there that I expect Cashman to acquire Nelson Cruz. He's not a centerfielder, nor can he pitch but he's that no field but has power that Cashman loves.
It's a simple problem with an I have no idea how it gets fixed solution - the Yankees are hitting way too many ground balls, especially when runners are on base. An astounding number for a team built around power. It's like they all (except for Judge and Sanchez) turned into 2019 Vlad Guerrero, Jr.
I have no idea how it gets fixed but what I do know is that the longer they struggle, the worse it gets because most of them are clearly pressing and with each game of so many guys on base and so few runs, they press more. So now it's a mental thing and those are even harder to address.
That is the crazy thing. With as many runners on base as they have had, it's insane they aren't scoring bunches and bunches of runs. Nothing correlates better with run scoring than getting on base and yet... here we are. It sucks.
This is gonna seem like a petty thing to single out, but it feels microcosm-y to me:
Sunday in Boston, bottom of the third, one out, men on 1st and 3rd. Christian Vazquez lifts a can of corn toward Clint Frazier in right. Clearly deep enough Bogaerts will try to score; clearly shallow enough there will be a play.
Frazier has plenty of time to settle under the ball and plan his approach. Does he back up, get a little forward momentum going? No. He catches the ball back on his heels, like he's shagging BP.
Catching a fly ball is a pleasure, Tommy Henrich said. But knowing what to do with it is a business.
Is Frazier open for business? Nope. Instead of a throw to the plate, we get a panicky heave that bisects the third baseline. You could practically hear him make the Monica Seles noise.
Junior varsity players at Class C schools run laps for this sort of thing. Clint Frazier takes home $2 million for it. And are he and Aaron Boone out in right field right now, as I write this early Monday afternoon, working on that play? You know damn well they aren't.
Which circles back to my claim that I have a point: You'll never hear me complain "he shoulda caught up to that high cheese," or "he shoulda run down that liner in the gap," or "he shoulda snapped that curve more sharply." Because I can't do those things, and I know I can't.
But I can use my damned head and comprehend that I'm in a baseball game that I'm losing, and act like it, and when those failures go unaddressed, that isn't an athletic problem. It's an organizational one.
It's natural that many a modern outfielder will make me miss Jesse Barfield. Now they're making me miss Chad Curtis.
It was just one play. But it's the reason Frazier should be on the bus to Scranton, Boone should be on Sunday Night Baseball, and Cashman should have a phone glued to both ears.
In sum: Harrumph. Get off my lawn.
[4] To Shaun's point, it's kind of amazing what the Yankees are doing. They currently rank FOURTH in the league in on base percentage (.320) but a stunning THIRTEENTH in the league in runs, just four runs from the bottom. Given that, it's totally possible that this all turns around...
[6] Yep! And I really, really, REALLY hope it does, Hank, because it will be a LONG summer if it doesn't.
[5] Pretty sure the Yankees have a coach who handles the outfielders, Reggie Willets. And that unlike in the days of Billy Martin, the coaches actually do work with the players on things. I am also pretty sure that Aaron Boone, who - like both you and I - has never played a single game in the outfield in MLB, should not be showing Clint Frazier how to play the outfield. And that Reggie Willets is doing his job. Ditto Aaron Boone.
It sucks when the results aren't there, but it happens. Doesn't mean people aren't working hard or not doing their jobs. Sometimes it doesn't mean anything and is a sign of nothing other than "stuff happens".
As for me, I think that if Clint Frazier was actually the full time left fielder, and got consistent playing time commensurate with being the full time left fielder, and wasn't hitting 8th or 9th - particularly when I have seen Roughned Odor hit 3rd in third in this lineup - people would complain a lot less about Clint Frazier because he'd perform better. I am convinced the Yankees messed up his confidence.
[7] I remember the days when lineups tended to look pretty much the same from one day to the next. Sure, we've had platoons forever, and guys have always gotten days off here and there, but right now the only things we can predict about the lineup is that Voit will be playing first and hitting third or fourth, that Higgy will catch Cole, and that Sanchéz will catch the other days and hit third or fourth or fifth. Like Shaun says, there's an awful lot of uncertainty. I don't think LeMaheiu cares if he's playing first or second or third, I don't think Urshella cares if plays short once in a while, and I don't even think Judge cares if he's asked to play center, no matter how ridiculous that might be. But for guys like Frazier and Andújar and even Torres, some consistency would probably be helpful.
This team reminds me of the 1979 Yankees. Another talented team that had a string of bad luck, aside from Thurman.
Sometime luck doesn’t even out over the course of a season.
And sometimes you run out a crappy starter.
[7] You’re right of course about the coaching; I was being over-simplistic.
The point is I want to stop hearing about good efforts that just, shucks, keep coming up short. They’re bad efforts. Stuff they could address but don’t.
Sure, neither Boone nor Willets actually dragged Frazier out by the ear for extra FP today. What galls me is it doesn’t feel right now like a team where anyone even said a word to him about it.
Ugh, heat sickness? I get that too.
Good chat above guys, I'm actually ready to clean house. Cashman, overall, has been great but 20+ years is enough for anyone to lead a team. Boone seems to contribute nothing, 4 seasons of him more than enough.
That Sox series was an abomination..
[12] Is that what happened? I missed it.
Hoy F#CK I just saw Ohtani's homer..what a beast..
Don't understand how the Angels can be so bad with Ohtani, Trout & Rendon. Do they just have zero pitching?
Another DP, lovely.
[13] Bundy puked behind the mound.
[17] Ugh..seems heat wave on the Pacific side too. We're in the rainy season here so muggy as hell.
Ohtani down looking! Love hearing O'Neil and Cone rave about his swing :)
There are a lot of things I don't like about the Angels, but one is definitely that because of MLB's ridiculous blackout rules, here in Southern California I'm forced to listen to their broadcast when they play the Yankees. In the forty years I've been here, I don't think the Angels have ever had decent announcers.
Oh, here's another thing. Remember during the off season when there was talk about the Yankees going after Kyle Schwarber? How do you think THAT left-handed bat would've helped this lineup?
[20] Three years later and I STILL wish they'd have signed Harper..
Not the best night in the field for LeMahieu...
[22] Switched over to Suns- Clippers. This Yankee team is just..boring.
[23] I was thinking the same. There's nothing fun about this team. And what bothers me the most is how much fun there seems to be everywhere else in the game right now. But Jasson Dominguez made his debut tonight, so maybe fun is on the way...
[24] It's striking, isn't it? The Astros have their evil villain thing, the Padres have young brashness, Dodgers are confident champs (and with Mookie Betts they will always have his joy and energy). Is there any player on the Yankees other than Judge that you really want to watch? Maybe Cole? And Judge is of the Jeter 'say nothing interesting, ever' school of media management..
[25] A big part of it is that they aren't winning. If they were playing .700 ball and hitting the ball all over the park, there'd be energy in the dugout and the games would be fun to watch. It really only takes one or two hits a night with runners in scoring position, and maybe a big inning or two.
But that doesn't seem to happen. As Shaun said up above, all the hitters are clearly aware of what's going on. At this point I think the only thing we can hope for is that a few guys get some hits with runners on, maybe a grand slam or two, and people inside and outside the dugout start to relax. It's possible, I suppose.
I've come to accept that the Yankees are not going to fire Boone, despite my hopes to the contrary. They could lose 10 in a row and we'll still hear support from Cashman. As much as I want Boone gone, I now also want Cashman gone because he put this team together.
I do see opportunities though -- not for this season -- but for next. The Yankees would be smart to find a trade partner with postseason aspirations and dump Stanton's salary on them and get nothing but salary relief in return. The one thing I'm positive about is that there's a GM out there that's short-sighted enough to do it.
I'd also try moving Chapman, DJ, Cole, and Judge because it's time to hit the reset button like Boston did in 2012.
Judge should actually bring back prospects since he's still got value based on his age and current deal that's approaching arbitration. We need to remember that he's 29, is going to command a lot of money in 2 years, and is unlikely to age well.
I'm just here for the Ohtani.
Kraken!
Andujar and Frazier. Just not good outfielders.
That was a short lead.
[29] Man, you are way ahead of me. When you posted that I was still watching the Angels bat.
[31] You're killing me. We are in CM break. ;>)
RBJ, Please let me know if I should watch the 3rd inning. ;>)
Bottom of second is decent
And even better
Ohtani strikes again.
Wow.
It's weird to see the Yanks scoring a few runs early in a game....or any time in a game, for that matter.
"Throwing off of flat ground" is "the check is in the mail" of Yankee baseball these days.
Miggy jr.!
The Yankees look OK when they're playing shitty teams.
So we got that going for us, which is nice.
We’ve secretly replaced the 2021 Yankees with some good hitters. Let’s see if the fans notice.
He might be 38, but friggin' Gardner can still run!
Double digits!
DOUBLE DIGITS!!
Just walk Ohtani
[46] It feels like it's the first time they reached DD this year. Sure it's not, but it feels like it.
This is fun, we get to see Ohtani in all his glory, but the Yanks are still cruising.
Power? Check.
Hitting a lefty? Check.
Lots of guys on base leading to more runs scoring? Check.
This another 60 games or so, please.
[49] The question tomorrow night when Ohtani pitches will be, does he walk a bunch of guys and do the Yanks capitalize, or is it another one of those nights? I am hoping for the former.
[51] He shuts them out for 5 innings, but the Yanks jump all over the bullpen and win.
I look at our offensive lineup, and I definitely think World Series. On paper, this is a great team. But we are experiencing a team wide slump. When players RADICALLY under perform, I'm not sure how you can blame Cashman or Boone. I don't like the way Boone fucks around with the batting order, but that shouldn't cause the horrendous ABs we are seeing.
No Judge or Gio vs. Shohei. Fucking Bollocks!
Ohtani leading off. So it’ll be a solo home run.
Mickey Mouse play.
Sigh
First tw guys walk, bet the team doesn’t score.
Especially after he clearly swung on his check. Ugh.
Wait, a RISP hit? Is that legal for the Yankees?
Singles? Twice? With the bases loaded? Be still my heart.
Ohtani is getting squeezed.
Well Hell's Bells!
7 off of Ohtani?? Wow! What is this 'O' and where has it been all year?
Oh, I go to grandmas a drink. More runs.
Gonna need more than seven runs.
[65] 'to grandma a drink'..curious what that could be, add a splash of vodka to a lemonade? :)
[67] autocorrect
Ah, DP. That’s more like it.
Phew
And rain delay.
Official Announcement: Ohtani is not Superman.
Work and sleep caused me to miss all the action, and yet, and yet, the game is still going.
Gardy Party!
8-4. It's Chapman proof now.
[73] Sigh.
...or not.
I gotta say -- never in my life have I been less surprised to see a ninth-inning game-tying grand slam by a left-handed hitter off one of the most dominant left-handed relievers in the history of the game.
So is it just a coincidence that Chapman has no control ever since the talk of sticky substances?
I know that Boone was probably thinking two things:
1. Gotta get Chapman right.
2. Gotta slam the door so we can go home and get to bed.
But I think it would've made a lot more sense to have brought in Luetge or someone else with that four-run lead. This is now a potential disaster.
Another fine mess you're gotten us into, Chappie.
Jesus.
[78] I agree with your thought process, but no way you can fault Boone here, IMHO.
If a relief pitcher can't hold a 4 run lead he doesn't belong on the mound. I mean, Chapman has been off lately, but this had to have been considered a safe lead.
Although, some would argue that closers sometimes have trouble in non-save situations.
Well, I think one thing is certain. They are not coming back from this.
(Last time I made a prediction it was wrong...so maybe some reverse ju-ju)
So here's where we stand right now.
Six hours ago the Yankees scored seven runs in the first inning, chasing the Angels' ace pitcher (and best hitter) before the inning was out. With a 7-2 lead and the Angels' bullpen needing to get 25 outs, it was not just a sure win, it was a possible joyous win for a team that hasn't seen a lot of joy.
After yielding seven runs in the ninth, they're now headed to the bottom of the ninth trailing 11-8.
An absolute embarrassment. In a disappointing season, this is the absolute worst loss of the year. The type of loss that could change the trajectory of some careers. Disgusting.
Fuck this game.
[81] I agree in general, but knowing that Chapman can't throw strikes right now and knowing that closers sometimes struggle in non-save situations as you mention, I don't think Chapman was the choice there. I can't think of another regular season loss that has pissed me off like this one.
I just heard that Hal is meeting the media by Zoom (I guess today in NY?) That ought to be fun.
Yes, that'll certainly be interesting. Because I lived through the embarrassment of the revolving door in the managerial office in the 1980s, I've really enjoyed having three managers over the past 25 years, but I won't be sad if Aaron Boone is fired tomorrow.
One final note before I try to forget about this.
When he woke up on June 10, Chapman had an ERA of 0.39 and WHIP of 0.78.
That night he entered with a two-run lead and faced four batters: hit, home run, hit, home run.
Since then (including that night), he has appeared in eight games and posted an ERA of 17.46 and a WHIP of 3.70.
He's faced 36 batters, and 21 of them have reached base.
He appears to be broken -- but they keep sending him out there.
[27] I guess I'll continue talking to myself and say that I hope Hal Steinbrenner announces Boone's termination and introduces the new manager. But my guess is he'll come out and express disappointment, but state that he has confidence in Cashman and Boone and talk about turning it around and believing in the team yada yada.
And we'll continue sucking right into 2022 and miss the opportunity to hit the reset button by unloading contacts.
I still hope Boone gets fired. He's ruining my 2021 baseball season.
And now they get a whole rainout day to stare at the wall and wallow in it.
That was my first thought, also. The best thing for them was that they had a day game coming and a chance to flush the system rather quickly. Now things will fester. We'll see how things look twenty-four hours from now.
So the solution to a bunch of previously good players who are struggling this season is to trade for a previously good player who is struggling this season.
If they were going to trade for a struggling center fielder, you'd think he'd at least be a left-handed struggling center fielder.
Clinto to the DL for “vertigo” Locastro up.
Another ppd.
Locastro isn't struggling. He's never been able to hit at all. He's all wheels...and apparently his leather ain't that good.
That makes him a perfect fit for this team and seems to be the only kind of player Cashman will sign anymore.
Phew!
grumble, another PB
Gumby!
Rats walking the terrorists did not have the intended effect
Insurmountable
So essentially every single player on this team, with the possible exception of Judge, sucks.
It looks like 1965 all over again.
Now Cole sucks? And Chapman sucks too? This is surreal.
I'm glad there's a Mythbusters marathon on.
Will the Mets sweeping us with Aaron Boone coming out and talking about "good at bats" and "battling" be enough to get him fired?
Losing to the Mets on the boss’s birthday would get you fired between games back in the day.
Back in the day, the boss cared about winning
How will the team blow this lead?
And that’s why they don’t steal bases.
[109]I'd rather see a caught stealing than GIDP.
Too little too late, but at least they are trying some different stuff today.
Generous strike.
I suppose Chappie is unavailable for this game. ;>)
Why does Alex call everyone "Papi"? It's starting to sound weird to me, although not my place to say.
BTW, I liked hearing Alex's insight on the team architecture being unsound. Not something you'd ever hear the YES bunch say.
Gift run. Thank you.
Finally, a win.
Regarding that final gifted run on Sunday... I was going to mention this in the above piece, but I'm curious about something. Does it seem to anyone else that the Yankees have scored an inordinate number of runs this year via wild pitch and passed ball?
[116] Yes. I felt that too.
Hey, is anyone having trouble getting a feed on today's game? My MLB says "no available game feeds". No radio. That's not only weird and it doesn't jive with my MLB contract.
[117] Nevermind. Day Light Savings time. Doh!
The other day they showed Hal Steinbrenner who sounded a lot like the Seinfeld Steinbrenner, IMO. Anybody else notice this?
[119] That's funny. I didn't really watch. Maybe I should check it out.
The great Katie Sharp confirms what we expected. According to Ms. Sharp...
Most runs scored on wild pitches/passed balls (entering 7/6):
Twins 13
White Sox 12
Yankees 10
Reds 9
Too bad the Bombers can't bank these runs and hits.
I think it's possible that they see a return on these hits and runs down the line. At this point they need some positive baseball memories. If that means scoring some unnecessary runs with a huge lead, just so they can have some fun and relax a bit, I say rack up those runs.
Also, with this huge lead, tonight feels like a good time to give an inning to Chapman. Someone has to get these outs.
[124] Do you think the lead is big enough? ;>)
You called it. Chappie's comin' in.
Jay-sus. He's toast.
I can't watch this.
Chapman for the "save"!
Jeez, a game I didn’t even attempt to watch.I guess. Shouldn’t watch the rest of the season.
Wait, Gleyber singles and drives in runs? I thought he was injured. Off to bed.
Like these West Coast games, and the Yanks always seem to play well at SafeCo Field (obviously because the Mariners are garbaaaage..)
Jeez... that pitch to Stanton was a ball(Low) out of the pitchers hand. Stanton has some of the worst Ks I have ever seen.
[132] I remember in the late 1970s - 1980s when the Yankees sucked at the Kingdome. A truly horrible stadium, not much better than a warehouse.
Well that's what I get for watching today's game.
Pathetic.