The Yankees, with today’s drubbing by the Mets, have hit rock bottom, but are we sure? Or, after tomorrow, will they just be another .500 team?
Yankees lone All-Star, Aaron Judge, was moved to call for a player’s only meeting after hearing Hal Steinbrenner blamed the team’s dismal performance this year squarely at the door of his players.
For a moment, let’s forget about the fact these are the same players he and Brian Cashman gave to Aaron Boone to manage this year, and instead, let’s listen to what Judge told the New York Post.
The right fielder said he was moved to call the meeting, which the Yankees would normally hold closer to the All-Star break because there were “some things on my mind, some things I was seeing over the course of the year.”
“Usually, around the All-Star break, we have a meeting where guys address stuff after the first half is over with. I felt like there were some things that couldn’t wait to get brought up.”
Summing up, Judge added that Steinbrenner’s comments “had a big impact on the team”.
Yankees: Is The Correct Word Impact Or Shock?
Three days later, you might need to ask what Judge meant by impact, a word defined in the dictionary as a shock.
Are we impacted or shocked by the fact the Yankees are now a full ten games removed from first place in the AL East standings and that it could be worse if Boston beat the A’s tonight in Oakland?
Or are we more “impacted” because the Yankees a bare game over .500 after watching the Mets disassemble the “Bombers” so easily this afternoon?
Or, is it that Aaron Judge himself is no longer looked upon as untouchable by the Yankees, and Steinbrenner’s words, despite the season he is having, could directly affect him if the Yankees decide they do not want to be laden with another long-term and expensive contract as he approaches free agency?
The Yankees believe they are better than they are showing, and they probably are. But as Joe Maddon likes to say, and I keep reminding everyone, you’re only as good as your record says you are.
Yankees Turning The Page For More?
Tomorrow, Gerrit Cole will pitch one of the two games in the split-doubleheader, and he’d better be prepared to toss a complete game because the Yankees’ bullpen was tapped out today, and that includes their potential game two starter, Michael King, who was called on to calm the Mets down today.
The Yankees can only hope that Cole got the worst out of his system in his last start against the Red Sox because if he turns in another bomb, the Yankees may very well be looking at a sweep again this weekend.
So, back to the original question? Is this it, and the Yankees have bottomed out, and somehow they’ll find a way to save their staus on the team before Steinbrenner and Cashman decide to conduct a fire-sale at the trade deadline?
Or, will everyone, from the front office hierarchy on down to the players’ cash in their chips for the year and decide to ride it out for the rest of the season, hoping to regroup during the offseason?
Options Have Dwindled To A Few
There are few options for the Yankees, who are saddled with “dead” contracts owed to Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, and now even with a decidedly aging and ineffective Brett Gardner.
Yankees fans, by and large, would love to see Steinbrenner bite the bullet on Stanton’s contract (that he signed off on), “convincing” him to waive his no-trade clause in a deal to a West Coast team, with the Yankees picking up the tab for most of the monies owed to Stanton – but Steinbrenner is a bottom-line guy. He would need a big push to do that.
What’s left – fire Aaron Boone? Yeah, that’s the easy one, and it would take the heat off for a week or so.
But what will those “Fire Boone” chants we hear now change to when the same Yankees team on the field continues to shoot themselves in the foot, failing to hit with RISP, hitting into double plays, and another error by Gleyber Torres as we saw today, his 12th of the year?
The Doctor Of Doom (Or Reality) Weighs In
Call me the Doctor Of Doom, but I don’t see a way out for the Yankees, short of being active sellers at the deadline with a look ahead at constructing a new team built to win in this era of major league baseball.
That means getting younger and putting together a balanced lineup, a la the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers, that is built on speed together with power and strong pitching.
When the hammer falls, and it can happen as soon as this weekend, or shortly thereafter when the Yankees play the surging Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros on the road before the All-Star break.
Only then will we know how “impacted” the Yankees really are by Hal Steinbrenner’s warning and Aaron Judge’s heart-to-heart with his teammates…
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Kevin Durocher I’d like to know what the hell Judge was supposed to be looking at after they got beat again today. Walking around in the dugout. Looking at the Mets celebrate their win. Was he trying to scare the Mets? Because nobody in the Major Leagues is scared of this team. For sure.
Jerry A Lewis Jr. I’m canceling my auto-renewal of MLB Extra Innings. Yankees used to give me a return on my investment, not anymore. It’s a damn shame.
Mark A. Johnson Cashman is overdue to be fired. Loading a team with RH bats in a stadium built for LH power is pure idiocy.
John W. Kovacs I’ve got it Steve! They have hit rock bottom and are now starting to dig. LOL
Bill Johnson No where near rock bottom,I wouldn’t be surprised if Cole is knocked out in the third inning and we get completely embarrassed on national tv later tomorrow night.
Rocco Colson Need another players only meeting.
Josh Peller At some point, we will have another win streak, but it needs to come soon
Barnes Richard There’s always tomorrow, but I don’t see it happening.
Henry Dorta You can throw them a beach ball and probably strike out.
Frank Kovach I really don’t think Hal cares about if they win or lose all he cares about the bottom line making money he should remember the fans made the Yankees great
Regretfully, Closing Comments And Final Thoughts
This is a hot one for fans but for practical reasons (article length) I must close off published comments. As time allows, though, all will be answered.
It’s virtually unanimous, if the Yankees haven’t reached rock bottom, their fans certainly have.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
