Perspectives: NOT GOOD

By Paul Semendinger

June 26, 2024

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When you do it with smoke and mirrors, eventually the smoke clears and the mirror breaks.

Let's just go down this list as we look at where the Yankees are right now:

First Base - Anthony Rizzo was having a poor season and now he's injured. Are either of these things a surprise? To me, they are not.

Ben Rice has been called up, but, like so many players the Yankees bring up, he isn't getting regular playing time. This is a problem. One can't learn to hit big league pitching by sitting on the bench.

Second Base - Gleyber Torres has become a huge concern. He isn't fielding well. He doesn't seem to have any positive energy. He isn't hitting. All of this is a surprise to me. Before the season began, I thought he'd have a big year. He hasn't. The bigger problem is the Yankees don't have any solution here save for playing Torres The solutions could have been Caleb Durbin or Jon Berti, but both are injured. D.J. LeMahieu is a shell of his former self.

Last night, Aaron Judge hit a big homer late. Torres came up next, hit a soft grounder and jogged, slowly to first. This is simply unacceptable. The manager must hold him accountable. Torres must be on the bench tomorrow. He should have been pulled from the game at that moment. Either he's injured or he's not trying. By both accounts, he shouldn't be in the game. This falls squarely on the manager who allows this - and has for years with numerous players including Torres himself.

When I criticize Aaron Boone, so many rush to his defense. They say he's so good with the players. I have to ask, is this an example of being good with the players? Sure, he has their backs But if there is no accountability, is that really having their backs or it is just that he doesn't have the skills to be the type of leader who demands accountability? When you allow this type of lack of effort, it spills over to other players. It brings a team down. It is the opposite of a winning approach. The fact that Gleyber was still in the game last night after the way he played is Exhibit A as to why so many feel that Aaron Boone is not a good manager. In that situation, he must sit the player. But he didn't. The manager looked weak. Inept. Unsure. He had no answer. This is (and has been) a huge problem.

Third Base - The Yankees have gotten very limited production here, and most of that came from Oswaldo Cabrera before D.J. LeMahieu returned from the Injured List. Since then, Cabrera's playing time has been erratic. Many people, myself included saw this as a position that needed to be addressed over the winter. It never was.

Shortstop - The Yankees need to jump start the offense, but their leadoff hitter isn't getting on base enough. Anthony Volpe just recently went 17 consecutive games without a walk. 17 games! That's bad. He's also the Yankee main stolen base threat and they run him rarely. He needs to get on base more and be running more.

Designated Hitter - Giancarlo Stanton was doing better than expected. No doubt. But, he wasn't as good as his home run numbers indicated, he was just better than 2022 and 2023. His homers were up, but his overall production just wan't as bad as his previous two seasons which was seen as him being good. Stanton was taking a step in the right direction, but now he's injured again. He misses time every year. This is a problem. And, we all saw this coming. The Yankees' back-up plan was Jasson Dominguez... who is injured.

Catcher - The Yankees don't have a catcher who is MLB quality right now. Neither hits. Trevino's defense is bad and he cannot throw.

The Bench - Is there anyone on the bench who inspires confidence? At all?

Starting Pitchers - it's mostly ugly of late. As great as they all were earlier in the year, they're not that great now. It seems Gerrit Cole was rushed back. He clearly isn't ready. He doesn't have the results nor the endurance. Imagine that, the Yankees rushing back a player too quickly from injury.

That, by the way, has also been the excuse for D.J. LeMahieu's poor play - "He is in Spring Training mode." Well, if he is, he shouldn't be getting MLB at bats. What am I missing here?

The Bullpen - Again, I am surprised by the bullpen. Until this year, the Yankees were always able to make this strength. This is the smoke and mirrors part. Somehow the Yankees have been getting it done with castoffs and no-names for years. The smoke finally cleared.

We keep hearing that some of the injured pitchers are coming back. Lou Trivino? Scott Effross? Do they really fill anyone with confidence?

Injuries - As noted, most of the replacements who could have helped are injured. I know players get hurt a lot, more than ever it seems, in today's game. It is concerning, though, that so many of the players the Yankees hoped to turn to are hurt.

Record - Since June 13, the Yankees are 3-8. I know so many say, "Slumps happen." And they do, but this, to me, looks like more than a slump. This is a team that, right now, has holes all over the diamond, up and down the lineup, and with most of the pitching staff. This isn't, "Yeah, he could be better, a slight improvement could help." These aren't small holes. They are gaping holes.

For those who see this turning around, please explain where the improvements will come and how they'll take place.

Trades? - When was the last time that Brian Cashman made deadline deals that helped the Yankees? The other day when the question was asked, readers said, "Bobby Abreu" and "David Justice." The Yankees acquired Bobby Abreu in 2006. David Justice came in 2000. Those deals were a generation ago. Joe Torre was still the manager. Abreu came before the Obama administration. Think about that. We've had three Presidents, one who served two full terms, since Bobby Abreu was acquired. Worse, when David Justice was acquired, Bill Clinton was still the President. We're talking a LONG time ago.

The Yankees don't have one or two small holes to fill, they have a bunch of gaping holes to fill.

I know some fans keep saying, "Well the Orioles lost." That does not fill me with confidence. It is actually obscuring the trouble the Yankees are having and allowing them to imagine that all is well. "We're still in first place." But measuring your own lack of success by someone else's failures is not the way to improve. It's the way to soon be failing yourself - even more.

This will be a close pennant race. Rather than looking at the Orioles losing and saying, "They are still in first," the more accurate way to look at this is that the Yankees have lost a golden opportunity to build a huge lead in the division.

I'm concerned. Big time.

Under Aaron Boone, we have seen this happen before. The Yankees start to slide and they have no answers.

Someting needs to be done to right the ship. One cannot rest on the laurels from April and May. In 2022, fans used the same logic. "They're still in first." "They won 99 games." As the Yankees' ship sunk in 2022, so many said, "The ship is strong." They then went to "They have great lifeboats." None of that was true.

The Future - I have said that this is THE year to go all-in, once and for all. In 2025, it is likely that the Yankees will not have nearly the same team. Anthony Rizzo, Alex Verdugo, Gleyber Torres, Clay Holmes, and others will most likely be wearingother uniforms. Who is taking their places?

It's also not likely that Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will be this good next year. I have said this before. Even the greatest players don't play this great year after year.

I'm seeing and hearing fans criticize Juan Soto who has been one of the only bright spots on the team. "He walks too much." Really? If Soto packs up and goes elsewhere, we will be looking at a team that struggles to stay out of the basement in 2025.

Things don't look good in Yankee Land. What can be done? What will be done?

I wonde if the Yankees have it in them to right the ship.

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