WHATEVER YOU DO … D D D DON’T PANIC:
Going all the way back to before spring training started, I felt the Yankees were not put together
properly to compete for a Championship because of 2 weaknesses :
1) Starting Rotation had too many health concerns
2) The Offense was too dependent on the Home Run
I still feel the same way.
Having said that.. it is not the time to panic because the Blue Jays swept the
Yankees at the Stadium to move to within 1 1/2 games of 1st place ( 3 in loss column).
Because …
The Yankee formula to win REGULAR SEASON games … & the division is still the same :
* Get decent starting pitching
* Play solid defense
* Hit a bunch of Home Runs
* Hand a 7th inning lead over to the Bullpen
GOING BANANAS :
For better or for worse (worse in the post season), the Yankees are built to
score via the long ball, and not by manufacturing runs.
Home Runs are like bananas… they come in bunches.
Everyone knows Home Run hitting is streaky.
The Yanks have had ups / downs all season long because of it.
Their Offense truly has been Feast or Famine … and right now they are starving to score runs.
But they will get hot again. They will hit Homers and score runs again.
And when they have a lead after 7 innings … they are an astounding 52 – 2
thanks to the brilliance of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller.
UP IN ARMS :
Brian Cashman did not add an Arm at the trading dead-line.
So the big questions that will decide the regular season are:
*Can Tanaka stay off the DL ??
*Can Pineda come off the DL ??
Add to that :
*Can Eovaldi continue to throw his split/change-up effectively ??
*Can Nova continue to build arm strength after returning from TJ ??
*Can CC throw his Fast Ball at 94.7 mph for more than just one game ??
*Can Severino prove that his debut was not a fluke & can even be improved upon ??
Getting swept by the Jays took away any notion that the Yankees were going to run away with the division.
August will be interesting …. hopefully it’s a September to remember.
OCTOBER ?? That’s a long, long way off (and a different formula).
As always,
GO NYY !!
