New York has Now Lost 6 of its Last 7, and it Seems as if Everything is Going Wrong
Another day, and unfortunately, another Yankees article. As a die-hard fan myself, it pains me to be sitting here trashing my team for how pathetic they are playing. Just a few days ago, I posed a question on if the Yankees are still the favorites in the AL East. Over the Memorial Day weekend, that question was answered.
It seems as if this Yankee front office sees something that the fans and the media don’t. For those that follow them closely, it’s obvious that something is wrong, especially with the hitting, and it isn’t only injuries. The pinstripes have absolutely no fire and motivation, and their best players (besides Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole) are consistently underperforming.
On paper, you’d think the Yanks were a bottom 10 team in the league. According to baseball-reference.com, they currently rank 21st in the league in batting average with RISP (runners in scoring position). They also rank 14th in home runs (usually their forte) and 24th in slugging percentage. Not even just their hitting has been atrocious, but both their baserunning and fielding have been awful as well. In fact, they are the number one team in the league in outs on base. This basically means that they’re the worst baserunning team in the league. They also rank below the league average in both fielding percentage AND errors. Now, what could possibly be causing this?
Where to Lay the Blame
Many people will come out and immediately blame Aaron Boone, but I believe that would be unfair. Listen, it’s not his fault he’s a shitty manager that can’t even motivate a 3rd grade softball team. The fact that this guy is now in his 4th go-around with essentially the same roster and still has yet to get anything out of his team is extremely telling.
It’s become clear that the Yankees have become increasingly more reliant on analytics. This means that it isn’t necessarily Aaron Boone who is deciding the lineups and the in-game maneuvers. However, he is still the guy who has the ability to get his guys to produce. The mindset in the locker room just isn’t cutting it, and I believe Boone’s time should come to an end if this continues.
Many Underwhelming Performances
The blame can’t only be placed on the front office and coaching staff. At the end of the day, it’s up to the players to go out and win games. Some players just have not been pulling their weight. Take Gleyber Torres, for example. The guy had 62 combined HRs in his first 2 years in the league. Since the end of the 2019 season, he’s had 5. 5 HOME RUNS IN 87 GAMES!! It’s absolutely inexcusable. Torres’ fielding has also been extremely subpar, as the guy just cannot play shortstop. He currently leads the team in errors with 9 and unsurprisingly has the worst fielding percentage as well.
One other guy whose performance is important to highlight is DJ LeMahieu. His re-signing was the most important move the Yankees made last offseason. His impressive batting over the 2019 and 2020 seasons set the tone at the top of the lineup. This has not been the case this season. As of today, LeMahieu has the same amount of at-bats as he did all season in 2020, and so far, he’s batting over .100 points lower, has 7 fewer HRs, and has struck out 18 more times.
I’m not saying he’s the biggest reason for the Yanks’ troubles. In fact, I actually think he has the best chance to figure his shit out before the end of the season. However, his lack of production is hurting a team that can’t hit, and like the guy at the top of the lineup, they need him to do well, or else everyone will follow in his footsteps, as they have up to this point.
What They Can do to Improve the Team
The front office has a few options at this point. The most obvious is to fire Boone, whose poor decisions have been hurting the team. They also need to trade for another outfielder, preferably a lefty, who can both hit and field every day. Additionally, they need to fire hitting coach Marcus Thames, whose time with the team has run out. He’s been with them since 2017, and it’s time for a change.
Hopefully the Yankees can figure out whatever the hell is going wrong. In the meantime, look for them to continue slipping in the AL East standings.
