Evaluating the Reality of the Yankees
By Derek McAdam
June 15, 2021
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It almost seems surreal to say that the New York Yankees are only seven games above .500 since the start of the 2020 season, even though last season was a shortened season. But it is true.
Who would have thought that DJ LeMahieu, last year’s batting champion, would be batting .100 less than last season? Not many, although he has hit better over the past few games.
Gerrit Cole will be a talking point for a while after refusing to answer a question regarding his use of illegal substances on the mound. The coverage will only continue to garner negativity from the press and put the entire league on watch.
What many fans may have expected was the surplus of injuries and lack of fundamentals when it comes to fielding and base running, which the Yankees have had trouble with this season.
In simple terms, it has been a disastrous start to the Yankee season. The team currently sits at 33-32, one game above .500 and eight back in the loss column. While there are just under 100 games left in the season, there is a lot of concern for this team.
The Yankees continue to stay true to their nicknames, the “Bronx Bombers.” They seem to only be able to score runs via home run and struggle with RISP. A World Series team will never survive by just hitting home runs.
New York also struggles with hitting into double plays, averaging nearly one a game at 0.98. This cannot continue to be a trend if they want to have any sort of success. Their AL East rival, Tampa Bay, only averages 0.44 per game.
The sad reality is that the Yankees are not as good of a team as they are made out to be. It must be noted that it is an extremely talented group of players, but there are too many flaws that cannot be overlooked.
The team is full of streaky players, which leads to the entire team being streaky. While the Yankees could just be in one of its extended slumps, there seems to be something completely off about this team.
Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are both aware that their jobs could be in jeopardy. There may all of a sudden be an urge to get this team going. But we will have to see.
