Are The Yankees Done In May?
I have to admit that I am not a fan of the Yankees. For those who know me know that I am a die hard Red Sox fan but this article is going to be based on facts. The old adage of you can’t win the World Series in April and May but you can lose it. On paper this Yankee squad should be very competitive and win a ton of games but so far this season that hasn’t been the case. Between a lackluster offseason and injuries this team finds itself at the bottom of the AL East.
So let’s talk about how the front office handled this offseason. They had a huge signing of star outfielder Aaron Judge, which the ultimately had to, and added a starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. As you know Judge had his historic run last season and basically put the team on his back and got them to the post season. Here’s the thing…he was healthy last season. That is not the case so far this season. Rodon hasn’t pitched yet this season. He has had a back issue that hasn’t allowed him to pitch this season. Actually this back issue might be a chronic issue and he might not pitch again. Giancarlo Stanton has never been able to stay healthy so it isn’t a surprise that he is on the injured list yet again. Starting pitcher Luis Severino is banged up as well so this is basically a team full of the walking wounded. Aside from the injuries the front office decided to bring up star short stop prospect Anthony Volpe and he hasn’t gotten off to a stellar start to his career. In today’s game the short stop isn’t only looked to as being a defensive star but an offensive weapon. So as hard as they tried to put the best team on the field but as we are seeing that isn’t the case. I understand that no one can predict injuries but one thing that the Yankees have been known for is the depth in their farm system. It seemed like in the past when one star goes down they just plug and play but this season that hasn’t been the case. The younger players just have not been producing and that is a huge problem.
With all of that being said the major problem that the Yankees are looking at is just how good the rest of the AL East is. Tampa Bay has gotten off to a historic start, the Orioles are a young upstart team, the Blue Jays are off to a hot start as well and the Red Sox are one of the hottest teams going right now. Now I am not saying that all of these teams will continue this pace but I have a good feeling that with this Yankee team I don’t see them getting hot to catch any of the teams above them. Even if the make a huge splash at the trade deadline they might be too far out for it to even matter. Does it make me sad that the Yankees are struggling…No! But with most New York teams they garner a ton of eyeballs and they are judged game to game by not only fans but media as well.