This Week in the Bronx - Week 16
A Blog By Brett
Well, I am back in the saddle. I have been bad about covering the Yankees the last two and a half weeks, but then again, the Yankees have been worse. Since my last article on the Yankees, they have played six series of baseball and lost five of those six.
Series 1: Toronto Blue Jays (Away) → Lost 2-1
Series 2: Philadelphia Phillies (Home) → Lost 2-1
Series 3: Tampa Bay Rays (Home) → Won 3-1
Series 4: Miami Marlins (Away) → Lost 3-0
Series 5: Texas Rangers (Away) → Lost 2-1
Series 6: Houston Astros (Home) → Lost 2-1
It is ugly in New York right now. Aaron Boone seems lost. The moves Brian Cashman has made do not seem to be working out. Mariano Rivera tore his Achilles Tendon at Old Timer’s Day! Nothing is going right in the Bronx. The Yankees are 26-34 in their last sixty games, and a turnaround does not seem imminent.
The pitching seems to have come to a complete stop. They are a bottom-half team across the last month, sporting a 5.03 ERA.
Starting Rotation:
Carlos Rodón LHP (3.35 ERA)
Max Fried LHP (2.94 ERA)
Will Warren RHP (4.44 ERA)
Luis Gil RHP (7.27 ERA)
Cam Schlittler RHP (4.38 ERA)
The Yankees’ team design is flawed. You cannot just keep paying older players to come to New York, who have minimal time left in their playing career, and expect them to find their “old selves” and continue to dominate in their mid and upper thirties.
Cashman needs to invest more time, money, and energy into the farm system moving forward if he ever plans to win another World Series. The Yankees are not built to be self-sustaining whatsoever. The organization almost completely relies on acquiring talent via trade or free agency.
Not to mention that this team completely lacks defensive fundamentals. According to Baseball Reference, the Yankees are a bottom-ten team in the league in the team fielding percentage department.
Arms to Highlight Across the Past Month:
David Bednar —> 14 IP | 18 K | 1.93 ERA | 1 HLD | 6 SV | 1.14 WHIP
Luke Weaver —> 13 IP | 12 K | 2.08 ERA | 3 HLD | 1 W | 0.77 WHIP
Brent Headrick —> 8.2 IP | 13 K | 1.04 ERA | 1 HLD | 0.69 WHIP
Notable Team Cumulative Pitching Statistics Thru 8/10:
+ 5th in H (911)
+ 5th in SO (1,047)
- 19th in QS (38)
- 17th in ERA (4.06)
The pitching has been bad, and one could argue the hitting has been worse. The Yankees currently have the WORST team batting average in baseball across the last month. Let that sink in. THE WORST IN BASEBALL!
Notice that two of the three bats that I am “highlighting” for solid play are both hitting sub .230 at the plate. It is not a good situation in New York right now. They need Aaron Judge back ASAP.
Bats to Highlight Across The Past Month:
Giancarlo Stanton —> 7 HR | 17 RBI | .294 BA | 12 R | 8 BB | .995 OPS
Anthony Volpe —> 7 HR | 13 RBI | .226 BA | 11 R | 5 SB | 4 BB | .791 OPS
Trent Grisham —> 5 HR | 11 R | .211 BA | 1 SB | .760 OPS
Notable Team Cumulative Hitting Statistics Thru 8/10:
- 15th in AVG (.249)
+ 1st in BB (445)
+ 3rd in R (596)
- 21st in SO (1,025)
The Yankees have a chance to rebound a bit this week, taking on the Minnesota Twins at home, and then heading to St. Louis to take on a beatable Cardinals team. Let’s see if New York can take advantage of the schedule or continue to drown this upcoming week.
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