The Yankees, for a good reason, have not been without their critics this year. But what if, as they’ve been saying, Don’t worry, we got this…
The Yankees have been a target of their fans and zealous Yankee haters across the country all season. With no one to blame but themselves, the hole they’ve dug is deep, but the walls have not as yet caved in.
All along, the mantra from the Yankees, whether from Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman, or the players, has been “we’re better than this” -“wait and see, we’ll get going”…you bet.
Okay, like when will this happen, many of us have asked, and when are the Yankees going to take the blinders off about what’s really happened to them?
- The experiment with Clint Frazier as a regular in left field has been a dismal failure. He has not played a game there since June 5. A point for the Yankees, though, is that Miguel Andujar has picked up the pace there, giving credence to the Yankee’s mantra that “we’re gonna be okay.”
- The slow start by DJ LeMahieu has hurt the team immensely without their table-setter. A point for the Yankees though is that LeMahieu is turning the corner with line drives for outs that soon will turn into base hits.
- The gamble taken on Jameson Taillon by Brian Cashman has been a bust. In 12 starts, Taillon has managed to get beyond the fifth inning only once, and in his last start against the Phillies, he lasted only seven batters, surrendering four runs on five hits. A point for the Yankees though is that one way or another, Cashman will find a serviceable starter (or even two) before or at the trade deadline – because he knows the Yankees season hinges on it.
- The Yankees have the worse stats of any team in baseball at first base. The experiment with Mike Ford was a bomb, and because of a roster crunch, the Yankees traded Ford to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash and a player to be named later. A point for the Yankees though is that Luke Voit is working his way through rehab games and will return to the team soon, giving the Yankees some more punch in the middle of their lineup.
The recent awakening of Gary Sanchez is a plus, and if people like me can stay off his back, the surge may continue. Meanwhile, no one can deny the All-Star Game from Gio Urshela and Aaron Judge.
Yankees Inching Up And Forward
The completed sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, who were right on the tail of the Yankees before the series, now finds the Yanks picking up three games on the Rays while they were losing three in a row, closing the gap to six games.
It’s nothing to write about yet, but given the Yankees record against +.500 teams (10-15) before the Toronto series, together with the ho-hum spirit in the dugout, a reversal of fortune in Buffalo would not have been a surprise.
With all that, the Yankees are still 5-5 in their last ten, with a series against the amazing (yes, they are) Oakland A’s, a team arriving at Yankee Stadium on the heels of a six-game win streak while holding a two-game lead in the AL West over a powerhouse Houston Astros team.
A Rockin’ Yankee Stadium
The Stadium should be rockin’ tonight as all restrictions have been lifted on attendance, and except for those fancy cushioned blue seats behind home plate, the ballpark is expected to be packed with fans.
Beating the Blue Jays and A’s back to back will settle some barroom arguments about the Yankees this year, but more significantly, it will give the players the boost in confidence they need in proving that, yes – “We got this.”
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Emil E. Hernandez Well, They Better Not Wait Around.. Rays Are Slumping and They Need To Recover Some lost Ground… Let’s See How They Play Oakland this Weekend…
Lawrence Mercado About 90 games left, 5 back in the L column… of course they can turn it around 
Matt Canty The telling signs will be if they can continue to improve, and win games and series’ against teams ahead of them in the standings. The series with the A’s, ( who have a better record), will be a good barometer of the team’s ability to play solid baseball against good teams, or if they revert to the team we saw get swept by the Red Sox and Phillies. For Yankee fans, we hope that grabbing that sweep, and coming from behind in all 3 games is a sign they have started putting it together. On to the games!
Reddy Martinez I guess some of us can be called armchair experts. We’re fans and we want our team to be successful all the time and when they’re not, we can’t vent to the players or management so we vent to social media. Some of the fans’ anger or suggestions seem to be out there in left field, though. Lol !
Tony Butrimas Unfortunately, the team has been poorly built. It lacks the fundamentals prior championship teams have had. While I sorely want to believe, I’m not optimistic.
Sean Rivera I’d love to be wrong in my criticism this year, but they’ve got to show me more. A good showing against a solid Oakland team will go a long way towards that…
Walter Sylvia Seeing is believing I wanna believe 
Author’s Note
The exchange has been good, but it’s time to close down published posts with the game about to get underway. Thanks to all for your thoughts and also for the read. (Steve Contursi)
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.
