What Ails the Yankees

What's wrong with the Yankees?  It's both obvious and hard to answer.  Because it isn't just one thing!  They can't hit, they can't beat teams in their own division, and their bullpen blows way too many leads.  Worst of all, they have absolutely no swagger!  This is a team that many experts thought would be a World Series contender, but right now I'm not even sure would hold their own in the College World Series.  

Two years ago, when they had all the injuries to deal with, they didn't miss a beat.  It was "Next Man Up," and the next man up consistently did the job.  That most certainly has not been the case in 2021, though.  Each guy they call up is worse than the last, and it doesn't help that they have to give regular playing time to multiple guys who aren't producing.

Their most glaring problem has been a glaring problem for a while, but is even more glaring these ways.  They're way too right-handed!  They play in freakin' Yankee Stadium, which is 314 feet down the right field line and has always been a haven for lefty power hitters!  Yet they have only two quasi-regular starters who are left-handed, and nobody would call either Brett Gardner or Rougned Odor a power hitter!

That was actually one of the main reasons why they signed Jay Bruce in Spring Training.  (Does anyone even remember that anymore?  It seems so long ago!)  Then Luke Voit got hurt right around the time they had to make a decision on Bruce, so he didn't just make the team, he became the starting first baseman...until he couldn't hit, got benched, and ultimately decided to retire.  Guys not hitting will be a recurring theme here.

During Spring Training, it looked like it would come down to a choice between Bruce and Mike Tauchman for a roster spot.  When Voit got hurt, they both ended up on the team.  That only lasted a few weeks before Tauchman was traded to the Giants.  The trade made some sense at the time.  Tauchman wasn't getting much playing time as a fifth outfielder, which made him expendable, and Wandy Peralta gave them another lefty reliever.

Well, yeah, about that...there's obviously no way they could've known it at the time, but as it turns out, they would've been smart to wait before pulling the trigger on that one.  Because how much could they use Mike Tauchman now?  Aaron Hicks hurt his wrist and is out for the year.  So, the only center fielder on the team is Brett Gardner, who's 37 years old and having the worst season of his career.  In games where they have to pinch hit for Gardner, it's Tyler Wade who ends up going out there.  Meanwhile, Tauchman is tearing it up for first-place San Francisco...as their starting center fielder!  Oh, and he's left-handed, too!

Meanwhile, Clint Frazier, who has been anointed a full-time starter, is one of the many Yankees not hitting.  Miguel Andujar is.  At least more than Frazier and Gardner.  Which is why he's getting more and more playing time in left field (a position he's still learning).  Throw in the fact that Giancarlo Stanton has struggled since coming off the IL, and that's one of the five Yankee outfielders--Aaron Judge--who contributes anything that resembles offensive production.

For me, the most obvious thing they need to do is something that needs to be done as soon as possible.  Trade Frazier or Andujar for a left-handed hitting center fielder, preferably one with enough of a power bat to put in the middle of the lineup!  Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks has been mentioned.  He's a switch-hitter, which is fine, too.  (Or how about talking to their favorite trade partner--the Rockies--about Raimel Tapia?)

It's somewhat understandable that they've been hesitant to pull the trigger on a move thus far.  All season, the thought has been that they'll come around.  After all, these are the same guys who went to Game 7 of the ALCS in 2019 and Game 5 of the Division Series last season.  They haven't come around, though.  And you're running out of time to wait for them to and still hope to turn it around.  Also, it's everybody.  It would be one thing if it's one guy, but no one on the team is hitting!  So you've got to do something!

Depending on what's up with Voit, I'd also consider a left-handed first baseman.  Because none of the non-Voit options have worked.  Bruce couldn't hit and retired.  Mike Ford couldn't hit and got sent down.  Chris Gittens hasn't hit yet.  DJ LeMahieu is your second baseman.  Putting him at first at the end of games is fine, but he shouldn't be starting there a few times a week like he has been.

And, sorry, but I think hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pillettere deserve a lot of the blame here.  Some personnel changes among the players are definitely necessary, but Thames and Pillettere may need to take the fall.  Because it's not like this is a new issue.  And, beyond that, whatever adjustments they've tried to make aren't working.  So, this might seem fairly obvious, but when the entire team isn't hitting, maybe it's the hitting coaches' fault!

Over the past few years, the Yankees have built themselves on hitting the three-run homer, which is something they haven't done this season.  What they have done well is strikeout and ground into double plays.  The lack of clutch non-home run hitting has always been a problem, but it was hidden by the number of homers they hit.  But when they're not hitting homers, that weakness is exposed.

The bullpen is a concern, but less of an issue.  Chapman has been as dominant as ever.  It's they guys in front of him that are the problem.  However, Darren O'Day and Zack Britton are both on the IL, so it's basically just Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga right now.  Once everybody else is back and the Minor League guys are in Scranton instead of New York, the bullpen will be OK.  (I'd even consider using somebody like Nick Nelson or Michael King as a trade chip.)  I also can't place too much blame on them for the blown saves when the offense gives them absolutely no margin for error every night!

This year seems a bit like bizarro world.  It's usually the offense covering up terrible starting pitching, but this year, it's been the exact opposite!  They're above .500 with a nonexistent offense because of their starting pitching!

I actually feel bad for Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German.  Because, for the most part, they've been excellent.  And the rotation only figures to get stronger when Luis Severino and Corey Kluber return from their injuries.  There's only so much the pitchers can do, though.  They have to be perfect if they want any chance of winning.  How many games have they had a quality start and lost because the offense didn't score any runs?  Or came out of the game with a lead and ended up with a no-decision because the bullpen gave it up?  (Is this what it's like for Jacob deGrom?)

As bad as the offense and bullpen have been, the biggest problem is how they've been utterly dominated by their own division.  It's a combination of the familiarity and the fact that they have really good hitters, but Toronto and Tampa Bay especially have owned the Yankees over the past two seasons.  (If you look back, whenever they've gone into a bad stretch, it usually started against one of those two...or both.)  So, they've gotta figure out how to beat the Blue Jays and Rays or nothing else they do will even matter!

Worst of all, the other AL East teams are entirely too comfortable playing against the Yankees.  That's something I've noticed every time they've played Toronto, Tampa Bay and Boston.  The Blue Jays, Rays and Red Sox walk into Yankee Stadium like they own the place.  They're confident.  They play with swagger.  But, instead of punching back, the Yankees let them.  They're defeated before the game even starts.  So, yeah, the attitude needs to change, too!  Big time!  Don't let your rivals walk all over you!  Fight back!

Keep in mind, the Yankees also had a few bad stretches last season (they were 5-15 at one point!).  But this is different.  Because they were never a BAD baseball team in 2020!  In 2021, however, they have been for most of the season.  And they won't turn it around unless and until they do something about it!