Three weeks back, Larry wrote a contested posting about the Yanks’ favorable schedule (up until that point) and how they were about to run the gauntlet against some very tough and talented teams:
After the Yanks conclude their current series with Baltimore, they’ll enter what is argu ably the toughest portion of their 2010 schedule, against the Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Rays and Mets. These teams are currently a combined 24 games above .500. Of these teams, only the Red Sox currently have a losing record, and I’m sure that the Red Sox are a much better team than their record currently indicates.
So … I think we’re about to get a very good picture of what the 2010 Yanks are made of.
After 14 games against top teams in the league, the Yanks fared, well, poorly. The team has won just five times in the last 14 games:
- Lost 3-4 to Detroit
- Took 2-3 against Minnesota, though the loss was a rough one where Mo gave up the grand slam after Joba’s ineffectiveness
- Split a 2 gamer against Boston that had more than it’s fair share of drama, as required by law
- Got roasted in a 2 gamer against Tampa
- Lost 2-3 to the Mets where Javy was the lone bright spot, until he caught a bunt with his finger
Injuries happen. Panic need not apply here. There will be no excuse for this, but I’m not sure if anyone is more excited than me to see Granderson return to help restore some order to this lineup. He wasn’t doing much before he got hurt, but he’s a great deal more important to the lineup’s character than Marcus Thames or Randy Winn or, gasp, Kevin Russo. Nice players, all of them, but not what this team envisioned or needs going forward as a major piece of the puzzle.
Girardi has the right perspective, even if he lacks the horses to pull the sled right now:
Still, asked about mounting disappointment over a week’s worth of failure against divisional and geographical foes, Rodriguez acknowledged, “There’s no question there is a lot of frustration, because we know we’re capable of doing a lot more, but collectively we’re just not getting it done right now.”
Even before the game, Girardi had admitted “we’ve had better weeks, I think you could definitely say that.” He listed what he described as a “multitude of problems,” including a fallback in starting pitching, bullpen issues and an inability to hit in the clutch.
“If you push the panic button every time you have a bad week, you’d probably push it more than once,” Girardi said. “We just haven’t played particularly well. . . . Obviously we want to get back to winning series after series and playing better.”
But good news is on the way, sorta kinda.
(click below to read more)
May 25-27, @ MIN.jpg)
After the Twins, some “get well soon” games against Cleveland, Baltimore, @ Baltimore and Houston, sandwiched around a slugging and surprising Blue Jays team.
Having Granderson and Swisher back are a great relief. One of the problems the Yanks had was losing 4 of their starting 9 players. and having Cervilli hitting out of the six hole (not to mention Thames being allowed anywhere near grass).
However, these injuries do nothing to fix Tex and Jeter, or the horrid way the pitchers have performed. Relievers are relievers, and there's little to be done but mix and match and find the right combo of guys. That will take time. But with the starters? Everyone is entitled to an off start now and again, but it seems like this is the third trip we're making through through the rotation in which they've had trouble getting the job done.
I am not panicking. But Granderson is was only one of many warning flags flying the past 3 weeks. Let's hope the others are addressed soon.
The last 5 games have been a joke. We got our rear ends handed to us by a super scary Tampa Bay team and then eat the lies of the Mets and get food poisoning. Granderson will give a name to the line up, but until he can prove he belongs all I see is Winn staring me in the face.
A winning record is needed against Boston, Toronto and Tampa in order to win the division. I can't see us doing better than .500. Guys, it doesn't look good.
We can’t panic yet? With Wright getting blasted for his poor performance, yet Tex is doing far worse? With Mo, out of the blue, unable to pitch a clean 9th inning? And worst of all, CC doing a Javy imitation, while Javy does his best CC?
I’ll sit here and panic quietly. But I bet I have some company.
Here's the bottom line: The Yankees are .5 games behind the Phillies for the second best record in baseball DESPITE all the injuries, inconsistent play from Jeter, Tex, etc, and that terrible stretch of games. Come September the team will be right in the middle of the playoff hunt (leading the wild card race) and, within reach of the Rays (if they haven't caught up already). As long as the injury bug doesn't persist throughout the season everything will be more than fine. Perhaps we should spend more time thinking about how amazing it is the team still has one of the best records in the league.
Jon,
I am absolutely concerned and almost worried. But not panicked. The team is struggling, hurting, etc.
Teix, as you rightly note, thinks it’s April again.
However, we just ran the gauntlet and there’s an easier stretch about to start. If we’re playing this poorly come early June, then I will put on my panicked face. Not yet, though.
I am mildly panicked. The Mets are absolutely terrible and they just ate our lunch for an entire weekend. The lineup, injuries or not, cannot get a clutch hit to save their life. Given the start our starting pitchers had, a start that was clearly unsustainable, we now have a glimpse of what life is like if our starting pitchers revert to mere human performances.
This is the start of trouble.
I still think the offense is going to be a continuing issue. How are they going to get anywhere near the 915 runs scored last year? Last year they had Matsui, this year they have no DH. Last year Jeter had a great season at an advanced age, Damon ditto, Tex had a great season this year not so much, Posada etc. What is amazing to me at the moment is the team is on pace for 10 fewer runs than last season and people are mad. They should be thankful that Cervelli is playing way over his head, Gardner until very recently was, Thames is, Swisher is, Posada was before getting hurt, Cano. It could be a lot worse offensively in particular and Petitte and Hughes are starting to regress to their norms. I still think this is a 90 win team which may or may not mean playoffs.
Yeah, it's way too early to panic. Everybody plays 162 games and everybody loses 60. Both Sabathia and Tex are well-known for how poorly early in the year and how well they play late in the year. We've also had Swisher, Posada, Granderson and Johnson injured (and those are all regular starters) and a hole in the fifth spot in the rotation with Vasquez (although he pitched pretty well on Sunday). The Yankees will come around as a team.
Jason, thanks for remembering my post, from back in happier times. I agree with what you've said. The thing to do is to look back at this stretch, get rid of any idea that this team is going to roll over the rest of baseball based on its sheer talent, and try to get healthy and confident against a weaker group of baseball teams.
The Yanks are not as good as they looked in April, but using the same logic, they're probably a lot better than they've looked so far in May.