Here is the big question about the Yankees, as they try to make this year better than last year, which would mean finally winning a World Series for the first time in 15 years:
Do you think this year’s team is better than last year’s, even without Juan Soto?
The Yankees finally stopped their losing streak around a couple of rain delays on Thursday. Paul Goldschmidt hit the way he did when the Yankees looked like the hands-down best team in the American League, Trent Grisham did the same, and Carlos Rodon pitched just well enough for his team to finally get a win off the Los Angeles Angels, whom the Yankees made look like the Los Angeles Dodges for three straight games.
There was no panic in that room,” Aaron Boone said afterward about his team finally getting a good win — and doing some good hitting — after those six losses in a row.
But even after a solid win like this, the Yankees did more chump stuff on the bases. They had first and second, two out, 3-2 count on DJ LeMahieu in the 6th inning, runners about to be in motion. But then Austin Wells, having a Jasson Dominguez moment, took off for second before Tyler Anderson delivered the ball to home plate, and the Angels ended up nailing Anthony Volpe on his way to third. Inning over.
The other night, Volpe got thrown out trying to steal third in a game the Yankees ended up losing by one run. After that, Boone was asked if he had a problem with Volpe trying to steal in that situation.
Boone looked surprised to even be asked the question.
“No,” he said. “Do you?”
Wait…..what? I like Boone a lot, but the only two people who didn’t have a problem with Volpe trying to steal third there were Volpe himself and his manager. And the Yankees still act offended that the Dodgers made fun of them for being weak on fundamentals after the last World Series.
A lot sure did happen to the Yankees after they had swept the Welcome Wagon Royals last week in Kansas City. They didn’t move runners and they didn’t get bunts down and Volpe booted a ball on Wednesday night that probably cost them another game. Maybe those things wouldn’t have been as glaring if Aaron Judge hadn’t stopped hitting. But he did. Not only is he not going to hit .400, he is still human. So the Yankees wasted a week of mostly terrific pitching, even wasting another terrific outing from their ace, Max Fried.
The reality of what we witnessed before Thursday afternoon is that the Yankees had themselves a real bad week in the middle of a real long season, and before the official first day of summer, and in the process opened the door back up wide in the American League East. They still don’t have the best record in the league, because the Tigers do and — stop me if you’ve heard this before — but right behind them now in the East are the alley fighters who play at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the Rays.
Oh, and by the way? After the Yankees did finally get a game off the Angels on Thursday, it meant their record was exactly as the same as their old friends, the Astros, who have been playing terrific ball for a while.
The Yankees did come as close as they did to winning it all last year, especially after being gifted with a dream path to the Series through patsies from the AL Central.
Even with that, there are smart Yankee fans I know who still think that if Brian Cashman had gotten them more pitching than he did at the last Trade Deadline, even one more strong bullpen arm, then maybe they wouldn’t have had to throw a rag-armed Nestor Cortes at Freddie Freeman in Game 1 of the Series.
Still: At their best this season, the Yankees have looked like a better and more complete team than they were a year ago. Goldschmidt hit a lot earlier in the season and Grisham produced better power numbers than Soto’s with the Mets and Cody Bellinger came around. All of them did that, of course, while Judge was doing his Ted Williams thing. The Yankees were outscoring the world and looked as if they might run away with the East. Just not lately. Even with the way they pitched during the losing streak, they looked like just another team when Judge doesn’t hit.
This all plays out in a season following one where Yankee fans did finally bring the Series back to the Stadium. But those fans no longer want to hear about how many winning seasons the team has had in a row. In a world where they’re constantly told that the pressures and responsibilities of being Yankees are somehow deeper and more profound than anybody else’s, the people in charge can’t turn around and sell them winning seasons instead of winning pennants and World Series.
The other day Gerrit Cole did a terrific turn in the YES booth, and at one point Michael Kay asked Cole if the expectations with the Yankees are different than they are with other teams.
Cole didn’t hesitate before answering in the affirmative. As always, though, it was as if he were still talking about Torre’s Yankees, not about the team that has won one World Series in the last quarter-century and played in just one in the last 15. You know who really have the kind of expectations Michael asked Cole about? The team that gave the Yankees a beatdown in the last World Series.
The Yankees have come back fine from that so far, the last week notwithstanding. They have dealt with the loss of Soto about as well as could have been expected. But are they better? Maybe we’ll know better by summer’s end.
