SU has spoken. The Yankees performance to date is not as strong as their record would indicate. The difference is that they are winning a high percentage of the close games, and they come back late and often. The question is whether that is sustainable, and if you can actually do that consistently in a playoff run. Here is what SU sees:
- I am not in love with the hitting coaches. True, you have to say that Andujar and Torres have either overachieved or that they are both really, really good at a young age. But when you look at the prolonged slumps of Didi and Sanchez, something is not getting through. I know we are not in the George Steinbrenner Era when you fire coaches on a whim but there is something lacking here.
- Sanchez cannot get the ball in the air and refuses to hit to right field. Either he is taking his hitting woes on the field where he allows a ridiculous number of passed balls and wild pitches, or he is taking his fielding woes to the plate where he only sees off speed pitches away and fast balls up and in. His baseball card says he will get hot at some point but he is batting on the interstate right now around .195 and is almost an automatic out.
- Judge is slumping but has still been good with RISP. You feel he will get hot again. Gardner was terrible and has recently been much better. Hicks is expendable and if you are looking to trade for a pitcher, SU would keep Clint Frazier and send Hicks.
- Bird needs some more at bats to see what you have there but SU would move Didi back to 3rd and Bird to 6th or 7th to take the pressure off.
- Bullpen is solid but when you play so many close games, you risk burning out the top guys. Kahnle is still not right and Warren is injury prone. Of course, you still need another starter.
Bottom line: Yankee fans are ecstatic as is SU with the start this year but you can see where the weaknesses are. Did you realize that in the weekend series, every run for both teams scored on a home run? What is that? What happened to manufacturing runs, hitting away from the shifts? Quite frankly, it’s boring. SU says if you go into the playoffs with this line up, you will once again come up short against Houston.
The Mets are feeling pressure to move DeGrom – and maybe even to the Yankees. It could be a good trade for both teams and the Yankees would no doubt give up some top prospects. SU would not do it as I want to see how the youngsters develop but this could be interesting. On the other hand, the Mets were supposed to be a Wild Card team this year and they may wait to get some healthy bodies back first. Todd Frazier rules and is the face of the franchise – at least on ESPN. Btw, what was wrong with that telecast Sunday night? Too much A-Rod doing his Al Leiter imitation showing how to hide the ball on pitches. Too much Todd Frazier and we missed the pitch for his home run because of it. SU is an A-Rod fan but enough of the technical stuff.
We enter the summer doldrums of sports now. Sure, there are a few major golf and tennis tournaments and a non-US World Cup but until football gets going, time to enjoy the outdoors. You can get excited about the NBA draft and which international player the Knicks will draft this year. Or you can leave a light on for LeBron.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Agree with your assessment of the Yankees flaws and depending too much AGAINon the long ball and having the bullpen win the game…e Capt for Servino usually.
I do disagree with us not pursuing DeGrom. Look at what Verlander did for Houston Nd might do it again. We need to counter that. Furthermore all the teams in first or are in the Wild Card hunt have z better Starting pitcher staff than the Yanks. Now add Tanaka out and most likely CC will eventually end up there WE NEED 2 STRONG STARTERS….A #1 And a #2.
With the Knicks so irrelevant unless LaBron comes here I have no interest in the NBA.
I trust that Sanchez will get it together. At least offensively. His defense is poor. Long term, this guy is a DH. I don’t care how good his arm is. He has a hard time catching the ball. He has a hard time blocking the ball. He has a hard time making tags.
Greg Bird should be batting 7th, 8th or 9th in this lineup. Period. For two years I’ve been hearing things like “wait till Bird gets back into this lineup.” I’ve been skeptical. He doesn’t look like a top or middle of the order player. There is no evidence (outside of Spring Training 2017) that he is a major run producer. None. Despite this, nearly everyone (in and outside of the organization) seems to disagree with me. What am I missing? And I have no problem with Bird. He may be a solid player with some power. I just don’t see how he re-joins the team after a pedestrian minor league career, years of injuries and front-office criticisms of his commitment, and gets slotted directly in the 3 hole. What am I missing? Is this a joke? If he’s not the least accomplished hitter on the roster he’s close to it. Bird should be batting low in the order where whatever pop he can provide is a bonus. Again, I have no problem with him as a player. And I like him playing first base compared to the other guys who have played there this season. I just think there is a huge disconnect between expectations and reality when it comes to his hitting. I would put Did 3rd, no question. He was slumping but this doesn’t mean that Greg Bird is a better option.
Aaron Judge does so many things well. I feel so lucky watching him play with my kids. He’s happy. He’s appropriate. He plays hard. He’s got to cover the biggest strike zone in the league and the umpires are making it even harder because they can’t adjust to his size. At some point in his career, umpires will start figuring out where his knees are and calling some of these low pitches balls…and he’s going to become an even scarier hitter.
Getting a starting pitcher is becoming more urgent. Assuming Tanaka will be back, the greatest need is right now and not at the trade deadline. For a variety of reasons the entire league has become deadline-oriented. Would be interesting to see if they can get something moving earlier than that.
I wish A-Rod would just disappear, can’t take him as an announcer, didn’t like him as a player (maybe because he wasted the opportunity to be the greatest of all time because he was an idiot) and as a person I wouldn’t want him as friend and wouldn’t want my kids to be his friend. Ah, that felt good. Agree with SUs assessment. I don’t think Sanchez is a good guy–not sure why, and once I get that feeling it is hard to root for him–just drop him in the line-up and get the pressure off. Give Bird some time, he has the talent. We are not giving up Andujar or Sanchez for any pitcher (even Kershaw who I love as much as Koufax). Trading everyday stars for a starting pitcher is madness. We will sign starters in off season. We will struggle in short series but if we are healthy, we have the same starting 4 as last year and almost made it–hitting disappeared in last game of Houston series so not a pitching issue. Last Mets games shows that as good as our offense is, it can be shutdown because we are all or nothing at the plate. I long for the single, stolen base, bunt, sac fly as a means for getting a run. I sound like my grandfather.
Over one third of the season is over. Yes there’s been a few disappointments along the way but there have also been some surprises as well. Every team has them. We have been fortunate to have for pluses than negatives. When u have a lineup where everyone up and down the batting order can influence a game that’s the difference. When you have 3-4 solid bullpen guys who you pretty much have confidence in….not Mo like, but does anyone. I will change my answer to NON I’M NOT SURPRISED OF OUR RECORD. dDo O expect to be on today’s track to win 112 games? No. But I remain confident on our winning 103 games. We need to go 61-40 the rest of the way…..very doable, especially with an easier schedule after the All Star game.
The Yankees are on pace for 111 wins. Sit back and enjoy your success. Do you realize that Neil Walker and Brandon Drurry would both be batting in the heart of the order if they were on the Mets!
Serious question regarding Gary Sanchez. Does he suffer from some degree of ADD? Catching and goal tending are probably the most demanding positions in sports when it comes to focus and concentration. (Throw in race car driver if you consider that a sport) I doubt any poor kid from the Dominican had the medical resources available to diagnose such a condition. Or is he just playing with a brand new catchers mitt that isn’t broken in? There is so much talent there. It is the coaching and medical staffs responsibility to help him realize it on a consistent basis. Maybe Girardi was the tough love father figure Sanchez needed to excel.
As a Mets fan, I would much rather build a team around Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndegaurd than trade them away. What can we get for Steven Matz , Zach Wheeler or Seth-Spin Rate-Lugo. Let’s try the old bait and switch strategy!
The Mets have built a team around DeGrom and Syndegaard. You’re looking at it. It has not worked out. These guys are worth so much more if they can be traded for quality everyday players plus some prospects than they are giving up a 1 or 2 runs and racking up no-decisions.
Interesting exercise. In response to this post and seeing that the Yankees are on pace for 111 wins, I immediately thought, well only a handful of teams have won 111+ games so of course the Yankees aren’t as good as their record. So then I went and looked at the 2001 Mariners (116 wins) and checked out the roster. You know what? It’s doesn’t look all that great either. Yes, they had Ichiro and Edgard Martinez and Fredy Garcia. But try answering these questions. (Answers below)
1) Who led the 2001 Mariners in HRs and RBI?
2) Who was second in HRs and RBI?
3) Who led them in Wins?
4) Who was their closer?
1) Brett Boone.
2) Mike Cameron
3) Jaime Moyer
4) Kazuhiro Sasaki
So are the 2018 Yankees as good as their record. Probably not. But I’m not sure the 2001 Mariners were as good as their record. And of the two, I’d pick the current Yankees roster every time. It’s just a question of getting enough players to meet or exceed their potential.
Another thing. I hate Bryce Harper and do not want to see him in pinstripes. But he handled getting hit twice yesterday about as well as could be expected. I felt bad for him and thought the boos were in bad taste.