It’s pretty early in the season but just after a series in
the books for the Yankees it looks like runs will once again come at a premium
in the Bronx. New York may once again finish without a 100 RBI guy or a .300
batter and the team may have to manufacture almost every run they score this
season. I’m not standing here telling you that the sky is falling or that I am
ready to jump off the bandwagon now, I’m not, that’s just how the team was
built. The team was built with speed, defense and were built for small ball.
Looking at the first Yankees victory of the season Wednesday night against the
Toronto Blue Jays it looks like as Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury goes, the
Yankees will go in 2015.
This theory makes sense on paper because Ellsbury and Gardner
hit #1 and #2 in the batting order and are considered to be the table setters
for the lineup. Mixing in a speedy guy like Didi Gregorius at the bottom of the
order only helps in the later innings when the Yankees turn the order over and
bring up these two with runners on base. Ellsbury and Gardner will both take
their walks and both have the on base numbers to be serviceable leadoff hitters
for this team. Gardner’s power surge of the past couple of seasons, his
strikeouts and his lack of trust in his own base stealing game (I assume anyway
by what I see on the field) has dropped him into the second slot replacing the
great Derek Jeter in the lineup. The fact of the matter is whoever is hitting
first and whoever is hitting second doesn’t matter, what matters is if they get
on base.
If these two get on base they can steal bases and create
havoc with their legs. The pitcher has to constantly keep a mindful eye on both
of these runners while on first and second base which may lead to a ball being
left up or a slider simply spinning over the plate. The fact that both of these
players can usually score from first on a double also adds to their importance
with the middle of the order coming up. None of Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira,
Chase Headley or Brian McCann are going to come anywhere near hitting .300 this
season but all of them can come reasonably close to 75-100 RBI each if Gardner
and Ellsbury are on base when they do connect or hit a home run.
As the top two hitters in the Yankees lineup go the Yankees will
go. If Ellsbury has a 0-4 night or Gardner strikes out swinging three times in
a night, and both will happen, then the Yankees will struggle to score unless
the big boppers hit home runs. That’s just baseball and that is how teams that
don’t want on the “too many damn home runs” play the game. So while you’re
watching the game watch these two closely and you just may know the outcome
before it happens and you too can become a Yankees Wizard just like I was
deemed in 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)