ESPN & Their Ridiculously Low Expectations for the New York Yankees

ESPN is not a publication I trust, I have to preface with that before I start this article. This is my opinion and I could be totally off track here but I feel that the sports channel seems to lean towards Boston and Red Sox Nation. They are bias, especially on their Sunday Night Baseball showcases, and they don’t attempt to hide it anymore. It’s blatant, it’s a slap in the face and 99 times out of 100 I don’t watch them unless I have to. Now that may change a bit this upcoming season with the removal of Curt Schilling and John Kruk from the booth and with the addition of Aaron Boone and non-bias Jessica Mendoza but while their Sunday night broadcasts will become bearable their preseason 2016 predictions still seem to be showing that bias just a tad.

Again, I may be off track here but last season ESPN had the Yankees winning 78 games and finishing in last place in the AL East Division. As we all know the Yankees finished with 87 victories last season and had it not been for a late season collapse they would have been a 90+ win team. This year the sports channel is once again down on New York and once again hovering around the .500 mark. ESPN has the Yankees ranked 17^th best in the league and has the team finishing with an even 81-81 record.

The common gripes about the team have been heard everywhere. Masahiro Tanaka can’t stay healthy, the team is old, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira cannot replicate their 2015 seasons and Aroldis Chapman has a potential suspension looming over his head. All this while ignoring the absolute plethora of minor league depth New York has in the farm system and also ignoring the depth and versatility placed on what should be one of the strongest benches the team has seen in ages. All this while ignoring the fact that the team has a shutdown bullpen with 11 or 12 potential pitchers all capable of locking down a spot while four spots, at most, are up for grabs which could shorten the games, keep the starting pitching healthy and boost production across the board.

But hey, ESPN, if you want to harp on all the negatives and completely ignore the positives that’s 100% okay. You’ve been doing it for years in my opinion and as a whole nobody likes change. I get that, I just won’t change the fact that I basically ignore your publications and channel on my DirecTV. Andrew Marchand and others are your one saving grace, appreciate them because apparently they don’t make them like that anymore.