Most fans can agree that the Yankees have underperformed this season. The Bombers sit at 46-43 as the All Star break arrives, which puts them in fourth place in the AL east. They're eight games back of the Boston Red Sox who have had a magnificent first half of the season, going 55-36.
Many questions can be brought up in terms of the direction and future of the team. Some people say blow it all up, others think the Yanks are one piece away from turning it around and should make a trade, and then there are the people like me who think they need to just power through it. There's a lot of baseball left to play, and while it may be tough to take the division from Boston, a wildcard spot is certainly a possibility for this team if they can work a few things out.
Consistency is the obvious answer, but every team needs to work on that. However, the Yankees have had an inexcusable number of games where the pitching fails to show up, or the offense can't produce. Take this past week for example. The Yankees beat the Mariners 12-1, where the offense exploded for 18 hits, including a career high 5 hits from Luke Voit. Two games later the Yanks proceeded to get shut out, only managing a single hit through the entire ballgame. Consistency and a balanced attack is what the Yankees have struggled to find thus far, so hopefully the break will allow them to regroup and find that balance.
The second problem with this Yankees squad this year is blowing leads. Take another example from earlier today. The offense explodes for seven runs against the Houston Astros, one of the leagues best teams this year, just to lose 8-7 on a walk off in the ninth. What was the Yankee lead going into the bottom of the ninth? 5 runs. What could have been a much needed series sweep ended in a tragic finish to the first half of the year.
There's no denying the talent that's in this organization. They have one of the most imposing offensive lineups in the league and a few of the best pitchers in the game at their respective roles. but baseball is a team game. The Yanks haven't had a sense of fluidity or a strong run of W's to put together some momentum around the team. Losses like the one they took today are a major clubhouse mood killer that has shown to hurt the team.
If you asked me what the Yankees record would be at the midway point of the season I would have said at least ten games above .500. Three games above just isn't gonna cut it, and I think it's about time the guys on the squad have realized that too. If the Yankees can use this break to reset and refuel to come out hot right away their playoff hopes are alive and well. If they slump or continue to play inconsistent ball, the future of the ball club may have to be re-evaluated.
Most fans can agree that the Yankees have underperformed this season. The Bombers sit at 46-43 as the All Star break arrives, which puts them in fourth place in the AL east. They're eight games back of the Boston Red Sox who have had a magnificent first half of the season, going 55-36.
Many questions can be brought up in terms of the direction and future of the team. Some people say blow it all up, others think the Yanks are one piece away from turning it around and should make a trade, and then there are the people like me who think they need to just power through it. There's a lot of baseball left to play, and while it may be tough to take the division from Boston, a wildcard spot is certainly a possibility for this team if they can work a few things out.
Consistency is the obvious answer, but every team needs to work on that. However, the Yankees have had an inexcusable number of games where the pitching fails to show up, or the offense can't produce. Take this past week for example. The Yankees beat the Mariners 12-1, where the offense exploded for 18 hits, including a career high 5 hits from Luke Voit. Two games later the Yanks proceeded to get shut out, only managing a single hit through the entire ballgame. Consistency and a balanced attack is what the Yankees have struggled to find thus far, so hopefully the break will allow them to regroup and find that balance.
The second problem with this Yankees squad this year is blowing leads. Take another example from earlier today. The offense explodes for seven runs against the Houston Astros, one of the leagues best teams this year, just to lose 8-7 on a walk off in the ninth. What was the Yankee lead going into the bottom of the ninth? 5 runs. What could have been a much needed series sweep ended in a tragic finish to the first half of the year.
There's no denying the talent that's in this organization. They have one of the most imposing offensive lineups in the league and a few of the best pitchers in the game at their respective roles. but baseball is a team game. The Yanks haven't had a sense of fluidity or a strong run of W's to put together some momentum around the team. Losses like the one they took today are a major clubhouse mood killer that has shown to hurt the team.
If you asked me what the Yankees record would be at the midway point of the season I would have said at least ten games above .500. Three games above just isn't gonna cut it, and I think it's about time the guys on the squad have realized that too. If the Yankees can use this break to reset and refuel to come out hot right away their playoff hopes are alive and well. If they slump or continue to play inconsistent ball, the future of the ball club may have to be re-evaluated.
The Robot to the rescue!
Use our prop cheat sheet and win.