The Magnified Lows of a Long MLB Season...

 

Oswald Peraza, Luis Rengifo, and Anthony Volpe (Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

After sweeping the Royals, the Yanks have lost six straight…

Just when you thought the Yankees were getting a good mix of pitching, hitting, and defense, they forgot how. The team's hitting slump has been a primary culprit, but Friday night’s error by Anthony Volpe in the eighth inning that botched a potential inning-ending double play, allowing the winning run to score for the Los Angeles Angels, was the poster child of what ails this team. It is blowing the key moments of games. It seems like baseball always comes down to a few key plays and how you perform during the game’s most intense moments.

Anthony Volpe is what he is. He is a decent player on a team with championship aspirations. He is not a superstar and will never be. Being a good player on a great team is not a terrible thing. Great teams need good complementary players to support the elite guys on the roster. My only request is for Volpe, or anyone on the team, to make the routine plays.

Losing six straight games is certainly not solely Volpe’s fault. This has been a team effort, or lack thereof.

Every season has its highs and lows, and this losing streak will end. Will the Yankees be in first place in the AL East when they start winning again? Maybe, maybe not, but there are still more than three months left in the season. In other words, there is time to turn the ship around and point it in the right direction despite the recent lackluster play.

The sting of the losing streak is playing so pathetically against the team’s most hated rival, especially since the Boston Red Sox had been playing so poorly until they ran into the Yankees (or rather, ran over the Yankees). Then, an inferior baseball organization like the Angels has taken advantage of every mistake, every gift handed to them by the Yankees. These are two teams the Yankees should easily beat, and they would have earlier in the season. When the season ends, the Yankees will have a better record than either the Red Sox or the Angels. It is time for the team to wake up and start playing baseball to the best of their abilities. Hopefully, it starts today.

My biggest frustration with the Yankees in recent years is how they always leave a hole or two in the roster construction. For the longest time, it was left field after Brett Gardner’s career had ended. This past offseason, third base was such a glaring and obvious hole to even the most novice fans, yet the Yankees did nothing but try to patch it with converted in-house second basemen. There was a time that I loved DJ LeMahieu, but he is not helping this roster, and while Jazz Chisholm may have the heart to play third base, his highest and best use is his work at second base. Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez is the current name most often mentioned for the Yankees. The Diamondbacks are currently 36-37, nine games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and three games out of the Wild Card chase. It is the distance to the Wild Card that will determine if the D-Backs are buyers or sellers at the deadline, and whether Suarez will be available. I do not care if the Yankees acquire Suarez or another experienced third baseman; I just want a good third baseman to manage the position. Getting an elite player is unlikely, but the Yankees would be improved by putting people at their best positions…not asking them to play out of position.

If the Yankees were contemplating designating LeMahieu for assignment last year, it is something they need to consider in the coming weeks, especially if they can get Chisholm back to his natural second base. Oswald Peraza is another guy who needs to go. His spot on the roster can be upgraded. The former top prospect, who turned twenty-five last week, is not going to be a star, and the Yankees would be better served by getting a better infielder who can provide stronger support for Volpe at shortstop. No doubt if the Yankees dropped Peraza, he would get picked up by Boston and become a star. That is how it works these days as the Red Sox continue their rebuilding through the effective play of multiple former Yankees. Oh well, I have seen enough of Peraza, and I am ready for other options.

I am always amazed at how Boston can get itself out from under heavy contracts, and the Yankees never can. Boston stunned the baseball world following their recent sweep of the Yankees when they sent their best hitter, Rafael Devers, to the San Francisco Giants in a surprising trade. When I first saw the trade reports, I thought it was just another one of those hypothetical trades with a clickbait title. The Red Sox had strained their relationship with Devers, and regardless of whether it was Devers’ fault or the team’s fault, it was starting to look like an irreparable situation. The Red Sox made their bed when they signed former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, pushing Devers off third base. The breakdown was how poorly the situation was handled. Better communication with Devers would have helped ease the transition, but there was probably much behind the scenes that we may never know. Still, shipping Devers away when the Red Sox had just started to build some momentum after a slow start does not seem like the best move for October aspirations. I would not say the Red Sox only got a bag of balls for Devers. There is talent in the young players they acquired. One (James Tibbs III) was a first-round pick in last year’s draft. The worst aspect of it is the talent acquired is not ready for the Major Leagues, outside of Jordan Hicks. Boston may get some value this year, but more than likely, the incoming players (most notably Tibbs and Kyle Harrison) will help in future years, not this year unless the Red Sox can reignite the hard-throwing Hicks to the potential he once held. Boston seems to get more out of their young players than the Yankees, and I expect the Red Sox will do more with their recent acquisitions in time. However, in any way you slice it, losing Devers from their lineup hurts this year.

Rafael Devers (Photo Credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)

It is funny that Boston will immediately find out what life is like watching Devers from the opposing dugout when they travel to San Francisco this weekend. I hope Devers gives Boston the taste of some of those clutch late-inning home runs. Let them feel the pain and aggravation that we have suffered over the years. Devers was the biggest Red Sox thorn on the Yankees’ side since David Ortiz. I am glad the Yankees will rarely see him now that he resides in the Bay Area. He is the Dodgers’ problem now.

My biggest fear with Boston’s salary relief is that they will become a major player for Kyle Tucker when he hits free agency after the season. I know Tucker would be great in Yankee Stadium, but my preference is for him to wear the famed Pinstripes, not the Boston Road Gray uniform. It is hard to get excited about a potential superstar free agent signing, considering the Yankees have rarely been the winning bidder for the game’s best players in recent years. Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge, plus the brilliant signing of Max Fried, are the notable exceptions, but the Yankees have generally lost out on the game’s best talent. I assumed the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tucker’s current team, the Chicago Cubs, would be major bidders for his services later this year, but we can now add the Red Sox to the list of teams with stupid money to burn. Well, the Dodgers might be out with the news that their owner is purchasing a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for ten billion dollars. Well, not out, but enough to give some pause about adding another high-dollar contract.

For all the negative comments on social media about Yankees manager Aaron Boone, I thought it was a class move on his part to add Joe Torre as an honorary coach for the American League squad during next month's All-Star Game in Atlanta. 

Joe Torre (Photo Credit: Corey Sipkin/New York Post)

Torre, as a former Braves player and manager, will be well received by local fans, and his presence next to Boone brings back so many warm feelings about those great Yankees teams under Torre.  Boone also added Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt to his All-Star coaching staff.

The trade deadline is a little more than a month away. It is time for Brian Cashman and company to start cooking. Fix what ails the team. I am not overly optimistic they will, but we can always hope. Go ahead, Brian, make our day.

Today is a good day for the start of a winning streak.

As always, Go Yankees! 

Just When It Was Safe To Feel Good Again...

 

Will Warren and Austin Wells (Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Yankees make the best of a bad weekend…

A series loss is a series loss; any way you slice it. I am trying to find the positives in the weekend thrashing by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who took two of three games from their World Series rival and our beloved men in Pinstripes. Winning the getaway game on Sunday at least gave the team some sliver of hope after Saturday’s massacre and Friday’s loss despite an ace on the mound. It is not enough to make up for losing two of three games, but it is something. The downside is the injury news related to Luke Weaver and his hamstring, which could potentially land him on the Injured List, and the contusion on the left thumb of Jasson Dominguez.

The Yankees cannot afford to lose Luke Weaver for an extended period. The severity of the injury will obviously dictate the length of his absence so we can only hope and pray for the best. His absence would put Devin Williams back in line for his original Closing role. Williams has much to prove to give us any optimism that he can be the great Airbender he was in Milwaukee. I would like to see him succeed, but I am not confident he can. Some guys are not made for New York, and so far, Williams seems to be one of those guys who shy away from the brightest lights. I would like to be wrong, and maybe his Pinstriped start was just a product of learning life on America’s greatest stage. I want him to succeed, but it seems to me that he will exit the stage for a new and smaller city as soon as his contract expires this Fall, and free agency opens. Nevertheless, he gets another opportunity to prove he can finish what he starts.

Devin Williams (Photo Credit: SI.com)

I am concerned about losing Dominquez, but not as much as Weaver. To back up Dominguez, the Yankees could call up Everson Pereira, who certainly deserves another opportunity. Now twenty-four, Pereira is batting .275/.355/.504 with .859 OPS. He has nine home runs and twenty-three RBIs. He has swiped five bags while getting caught stealing only once. If Dominguez misses any time, I will have no qualms about bringing up Pereira to replace him. Pereira is one of those guys. He has nothing left to prove in the minors.

I was feeling good about the Yankees until the Dodgers series. Losing two games in early June is not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but after all the trash-talking the Dodgers did about the Yankees after the World Series, I did want a better outcome. At least the Yankees took the last game to prevent a sweep. I like challenges such as that series because it helps the Front Office identify clear and present needs (as if they do not already know). It shakes the belief to just stand pat with the present hand. The Yankees do need reinforcements and effective ones at that. Too often, GM Brian Cashman’s deadline acquisitions underwhelm. They proved they were not worth the cost. Every now and then, he hits a winner, but he errs more than he succeeds.

I know the Yankees will soon see the return of Giancarlo Stanton. It will be good to have him back, but it is hard not to wonder how the roster will be constructed when they must make room for him on the active roster. I am worried that the loser will be Ben Rice, who has proven he is a Major League baseball player. Long term, I would rather have Rice over Stanton,  so I do not want to see Rice suffer because of Stanton’s return. We are within the last few years of Stanton’s Yankees career. He is getting older…it happens…and he is not suddenly going to become an injury-free player. Stanton will get hurt and he will miss time (lots of it). I love the guy’s home runs, but with all sincerity, I would rather have a younger player (Rice) who has played consistently since the start of the season.

Ben Rice (Photo Credit: Newsbreak.com)

When the Yankees signed Ryan Yarbrough in the offseason, I thought it was just another scrap heap move. Of course, I thought the same when the Yankees signed Luke Weaver, but it is nice when Cashman and his cast of cronies catch lightning in a bottle with one of their low-risk signings. I hated it when Yarbrough pitched against the Yankees. I did not look back at the stats, but it seemed like he was always keeping the Yankees away from reaching home plate with his soft pitches. The guy who looks like he should be hittable but is not. There is no scenario I had pictured Yarbrough in the starting rotation, and yet, I do not want him to lose his current spot. He cannot sustain his effectiveness, but I am not sure the Yankees can do better at the deadline. It is not like frontline aces will be available for hire. Credit to Max Fried and Carlos Rodon for easing early concerns about the starting rotation. Fried, despite his disappointing start against the Dodgers a few days ago, has been a Godsend. Gerrit Cole is irreplaceable, yet Fried has held the door. Fried is, by far, my favorite free agent signing of the past few years, and the most unexpected.

I like Yankees manager Aaron Boone despite frustrations with him at times. I continue to see posts on social media that say the Yankees cannot win with Boone as the manager. I am not sure that I agree. I think, surrounded by the right players, Boone can lead the Yankees to the promised land. When people bash him, I always think, who is out there who could do better? I am sure Buck Showalter would get a few votes, but if he were so good, why is he not currently managing? Same with Joe Girardi. I like Joe, but I do not feel he is better than Boone. Rob Thomson has proven to be a better manager than Girardi in Philadelphia. If anything, the Yankees should have given Thomson a stronger chance for the Yankees' post before he left after Boone was hired.

Ironically, I feel better about the coaching staff on my favorite NFL team, a team that has NEVER won a championship, the Minnesota Vikings, than the Yankees. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is an offensive genius, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores is an elite defensive mind. I wish I had that confidence with the Yankees coaching staff. Outside of pitching coach Matt Blake, there is not really anyone who stands out. I temper it with who is out there (available) that can do better? I cannot find the answer to the question.

DJ LeMahieu had a nice game on Sunday. Thank you. But I am not buying into the belief that he will be a difference-maker. His age and his recent challenge with injuries place him in a high-risk category, and I do not want to pin any hopes on his health and ability to succeed. It sucks because I really liked LeMahieu when he was younger, but sadly, age happens. It does not help when a recent history of injuries accompanies it. It only gets worse from here. The talk is that Jazz Chisholm will be the third baseman upon his return, which would keep LeMahieu at second base. I do think second base is the best place to maximize LeMahieu’s talents, but for no other reason than age, I would prefer Jorbit Vivas. If the market dictates the availability of a better second baseman than third baseman who can help at the trade deadline, I think the Yankees should move on from David John LeMahieu. Heck, even if they did land a third baseman who can be a difference-maker, pushing Jazz to second, I would move on from DJ.

Why do people still talk about Juan Soto? He is a Met and will be for an exceedingly long time. I have moved on from him, and I do not care what he does (or does not do) with the Mets. Soto is not a Yankee, and he does not deserve any discussion in the Yankees Universe. That ship has sailed. It was Soto’s decision to leave. I have read people saying Hal Steinbrenner failed to keep him. Hal made an incredibly competitive offer, and Soto would have been a very wealthy man by staying with the Yankees and putting his name among the game’s all-time greats. It was his choice to leave. C’est La Vie.

I am a little annoyed that the Yankees keep giving the Boston Red Sox valuable pieces for their roster. Catcher Carlos Narvaez is obviously the latest example. I like JC Escarra, but I would have stayed with Narvaez as the backup for Austin Wells. I am old enough to remember when the Yankees would send talented catchers to the Pittsburgh Pirates. I wish they had done that with Narvaez (or just kept him). The Red Sox have benefited more from Yankees-developed talent than the Yankees have from Red Sox natives.

Hopefully, the Yankees can shake off their Dodgers series and return to their winning ways. The last thing the Yankees should do is let the Red Sox reignite hope in their lost season. Hopefully, every Yankee can bring their A game this weekend when the Yanks face their dreaded rival.

As always, Go Yankees!