So far the Yankees have done a lot better than many, including me expected. Most fans and experts expected the team to finish near last place. But much to my surprise, the team was a contender for the biggest part of the season.
The Yankees have been a streaking team this year. Long winning streaks followed by long losing streaks. Perhaps the latest number of lost games is also part of such a streakish period. But to be honest, I think that the team is slowly imploding.
The loss of Mark Teixeira and Nathan Eovaldi for the season hurts the team, but I won’t bring that up as an excuse for the poor performance of late; every team has to deal with injuries. Several players are underperforming. Brett Gardner, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Chase Headly and C.C. Sabathia. The latter is bothered by a sore knee once again, so maybe you cannot blame him. On the other hand, the weight that slams on his knee when landing after a windup, must be killing him. Losing some weight would do him well I guess.
I had higher hopes for this team when Ivan Nova returned from the DL, but so far, except for some flashes of brlilliance, he doesn’t live up to the expectations. The same with Michael Pineda. In my opinion he needs to become stronger mentally. If things aren’t going his way, when he is giving up a homerun or if a team mate is making an error, his body language is revealing this. Chase Headly is doing a lot better at the plate than he did last year, but his defense is abysmal. Twenty errors so far as a third baseman.
With Brian Cashman and the brass of the Yankees refusing to go after big names before the trading deadline,
the prospects were kept aboard. But withhout real improvements, the collapse of this Yankee team was an accident waiting to happen.
I do not understand why certain Yankee fans are asking for Girardi’s release. He has done a fine job with the material that he was handed. He has kept this team, with a lot of old players, in contention for the biggest part of the season. Sure he should be more active with asking for small ball instead of waiting for the big hit.
There is only one thing that I blame this Yankee club for. Why do the Yankees keep bringing back Chris Capuano? Last night he showed once again that he is a bust. In 3.2 innings, giving up four earned runs.
There have been some very pleasant surprises too. Nathan Eovaldi turned into a reliable pitcher with some fine control. Luis Serverino lived up to the expectations (okay, let’s forget his performance of last Friday). The kind has some pinpoint control. And of course Didi Gregorius.after a rough start, he is doing a great job, defensively and at the plate. Most play-by-play announcers are very positive about him. I love to see him proving all the nay sayers wrong.
I think that the Yankee fans should be thankful for a fine season. Sure it is not nice that they are losing touch with first place. And sure it won’t be nice if they squander the lead in the Wild Card race. But so far this season has been a great ride with a team that was projected to be the doormat of the AL East.
Just think about that.
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