SU, as the official representative of Yankee fans globally, is bored with the team this year. Full disclosure: losses no longer bother me. I mean baseball is much better with all of the rules changes – games are shorter, play actually moves along, more stolen bases, etc. But… unless I am missing something, why are batting averages still so low?
SU was thinking back to the Yankee teams of the 2000s, and especially 2009 where players hit over .300 and had over 100 rbis. Was that all PEDs? Slower rotating pitches? Today? It feels like hitting .300 is what hitting .350 was in the past, and 100 rbis is a huge achievement. As of this morning, there are 10 batters above .300 – in all of MLB!
What you get, therefore, is more strikeouts (but faster!), players continuing to try and hit home runs and fewer runs. You follow players and wait, wait, wait for them to finally “get comfortable.” Giancarlo Stanton is that guy every season and of course, just as he finally gets there, he gets hurt and it’s rinse/repeat. Josh Donaldson? He is hitting home runs (of course, with no one on base) and will probably get to 55 rbis this year for $25 million. And people will say he had a solid year.
SU has come to the conclusion that Aaron Judge is likely underpaid at $40 million a year. For the Yankees, he allows all of the overpaid and underperforming players (read: entire roster) to not stress too much about their underwhelming numbers. But when he is hurt, well, they are so exposed.
I still care and will watch out of habit but it’s a struggle to stay awake. SU says play the youngsters and eat some more salaries please. At least they are really trying.
Am I an outlier?
Props to Novak Djokovic for winning the French Open and finally getting his due from the media. Winning at least 3 of each of the Grand Slams is a major achievement in this era of great players. While he is still on pace for a calendar year Grand Slam, you have to figure the motivation will take a dip now. But who knows?
SU was happy to see the Nuggets win it all this year. Any time a true team that passes the ball crisply and with purpose wins an NBA championship, that is a good thing as you know other teams will look to follow suit. The NBA is trending in the right direction and the days of the stand around offense are likely behind us now. We next need to see this style of play at the college level. It is painful to watch teams walk the ball up the court and have the coach call out the play each possession. Please. Push the ball and just have a pass first mentality. I mean is there anything more stupid than rolling the ball up the court to save time and then once you pick it up, you slow walk the offense anyway?
Enough ranting for today. The floor is open for your thoughts.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
You are truly a diehard nyy fan Agree re djoker
As a Mets fan, I’d be ecstatic to have a team like the Yankees to root for. A team that’s good and in contention every single year. The Mets have one decent season per decade, and then inevitably blow it in the post season. I find it very strange how Yankees fans manage to complain despite having a good team every single year.
At this point, I’ve come to accept that the Mets will probably never win another World Series in my lifetime. It makes me understand how jets fans feel.
Ezra, where is the positivity?? The Mets have an owner now who wants to win and will put the money behind it to make it happen. I like that they are bringing up the young guys now and they provide some energy. I feel like the Mets have a run in them this year and will get back in contention. But yes, Yankee fans are more demanding for sure. Keep your chin up!
They were entertaining games, even without the two brightest stars playing. Happy with a split given the Mets precarious situation of late.
The Mets have such a poorly constructed lineup given all the $ spent and prior levels of performance. Good teams are more than the sum of the parts. This team is the opposite. Very little mojo and aside from Nimmo’s Joy and Alverez’s youthful enthusiasm. The team is exhibiting none of the intangibles necessary to win. (Pete gets a pass, he is having a monster season but can’t help from the DL)
Buck seems at a loss to motivate this team. What a 180 from last year when everyone was extoling the virtues of attention to detail and expert knowledge of the rule book. The players and fans embraced it and it showed on the field almost every day. Something just is not right with this group. I blame the GM even more than Buck. He is playing the cards he is dealt and there just does not seem to be enough juice for him to squeeze out.
Speaking of batting averages. The Marlins (that’s the baseball team from Miami for those not paying attention) Luis Arraez is batting 378 and was above 400 just 10 days ago. Pretty amazing when the average batting average these days is below 250!
We will take the win and hope for a turn around. LFGM!
Good points, Jeff, on the team chemistry. There does seem to be something missing right now. I almost feel like Lindor needs to be hot to feel good and show his exuberance. Buck’s job is probably safe for this year but if the chemistry does not improve, as always, the manager takes the hit.