The Yankees Might Suck Again
Well, it was fun while it lasted. But the Yankees might suck again. After a 13 game winning streak where I became convinced the Yankees are winning the World Series, they've now lost 7 of their last 9 games, including the last three in a row (two to the pathetic joke Baltimore Orioles). They're barely clinging on to the first wild card spot and if they stay this cold, the playoffs at all will once again be in jeopardy.
There's a lot of problems right now, but it starts with the offense. That's been the main problem all year in my mind. People who don't watch this team every day will tell you "Oh the Yankees mash the ball but have no pitching" but that's just simply not the case. Gerrit Cole is pitching better than anyone in baseball right now. Jordan Montgomery has become incredibly reliable. Nestor Cortes is a straight up good pitcher. Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber have been either inconsistent or hurt but both have shown flashes of brilliance. If the Yankees fail again in the playoffs, it will once again be because the bats went dormant and couldn't get the big hit when it mattered most. Let's go down the hit list.
I want to like Joey Gallo because he's Italian, seems like a good guy, and bought our Italian Stallions t-shirt. But he has been horrible. He does have 6 home runs and some of them have come in big moments, like Saturday, but overall he's slashing just .130/.291/.325 in pinstripes. He has also struck out SIXTY ONE (61!) times in 35 games. He has basically been exactly what we thought he was going to be. A low-average hitter who strikes out a lot, hits some home runs, and walks. He's a good fielder and is a needed lefty bat, but he's a three true outcome player who exemplifies all the Yankees offensive problems: home run or nothing, a lot of strikeouts, low average. They need to get him out of the two-hole, where he doesn't want to be hitting anyway, and see if he can break out of this funk.
Luke Voit also needs to be getting more consistent at bats. After winning AL Player of the week a few weeks ago when he finally was playing every day, Boone and the rest of the geniuses decided he needed to be sitting more, making it impossible for him to get in a groove. The Yankees best possible lineup is when Giancarlo plays the outfield and Voit DHs. Giancarlo himself has said he prefers to play the outfield and his offensive numbers when he does back that up. It is literally mind boggling that the Yankees refuse to consistently throw out their best lineup.
Next up - Gleyber Torres. He sucks now huh? This is no longer a small sample size. He hasn't been good since 2019. And defensively, he is a disaster. Outside of figuring out Aaron Judge's extension, the other big story of this offseason is going to be figuring out what the hell they should do with Gleyber Torres. He went from an untouchable cornerstone of the future to a huge question mark.
And the biggest disaster of all is Andrew Heaney and Brooks Kriske. I said that Luke Voit not playing every day with Giancarlo in the outfield is mind boggling. Well, Andrew Heaney and Brooks Kriske being on the 40 AND 28 men rosters is the most indefensible thing of all. There's a lot of decisions the Yankees make I might not agree with but I can at least sort of get their logic. This is not one of this instances. This makes ZERO sense. It is inexcusable. Luis Gil has not allowed a run as a Major League pitcher. Clarke Schmidt is a top prospect. Adam Warren has at least shown he's capable of being an effective Major League pitcher. Look at the numbers of the guys the Yankees have rotting away in Triple-A.
Meanwhile Andrew Heaney is human batting practice and Kriske is one of the worst pitchers I've ever seen. Kriske can definitely be DFA'd but the Yankees will probably never cut Heaney because Cashman has too much pride and wants to look like a genius for buying low on him at the deadline. But the Yankees are in a playoff race and every game matters. They need guys in the bullpen who can get outs, even more so now with Loaisaga to the IL.
Okay that's it for all my rants. Listen to the newest Short Porch episode to hear us vent and get out all our frustrations. We have no Hubbs today so it's just me and Mush being irrational, making fun of Hubbs and talking about selling feet pics.