New York Yankees: The first verdict of the season

Some thoughts after the first 10 games, taking advantage of the short break. This is my opinion, so feel free to discuss, I would like to avoid any kind of fights or “fan-o-meter” .

1. Apparently there is an important issue concerning the hits. Our players seem to be very uncomfortable and without self confidence at bat. Best example, Giancarlo Stanton, who seems to be “out of the water” in the pinstripes. Comparing to other teams, who manage to hit more easily I can think two main reasons for this:
   1. Yankee stadium puts a lot of pressure to the players of a team who is supposed to be champion again, after 9 years. It’s a long time for Yankees without a WS win and the games in home will be tough for the players. I don’t find it strange, the Yankees are a team “condemn to be protagonist” and everyone who accepts the offer to be part of it should know that the great challenge comes with an enormous pressure. I hope that they will get used to it and learn better how to manage the psychological part as the season evolves.
   2. I suppose that NY climate conditions in this period do not favorise the teams who count on good HR hits, on the other hand this is a good chance for a “win base after base” tactics, as errors of defense can happen more often in the wet turf and cold weather. Comparing the performance of teams playing in better weather conditions, I think that there is a straight coherence of their performance with the climate into which they play. So, I would like to be positive and think that when the spring finally decides to arrive in New York we will see better results of our batters.
2. The bullpen is a problem, we should admit it. Of course, the 4th, 5th, 6th guy who pitches isn’t supposed to be as good as a starter, so, consequently, the performance during the last innings cannot be so stable, see good. These guys lack of confidence as well and the most representative example of it, in my opinion, was the performance of Holder, during a catastrophic inning against the O’s. This is a problem of management. I cannot know what is going on inside the team and the organisation, but these guys should get confidence firstly by their manager, then by their team and finally by the fans. The reaction of Aaron Boone for the Grand Slam of Smoak at the Blue Jays, by transferring the responsibility of the intentional walk to Robertson, isn’t a good sign. A pitcher should feel confortable in the mound and the staff should work on this.
3. There is a huge problem in the fan base and on this, as a family, we should criticize ourselves. The fans are part of the organisation, in Europe we have an expression: “Players make the team, Fans make the Club”. It’s totally out of my mind how can somebody boo a player of his/her favorite team during a match, even if he is supposed to be MVP and has consecutive 5Ks. Of course, fans should be demanding for a team who wants to win the WS, but instead of looking just to the scoreboard we should also think about the game, what is happening in the park. The problem is that in every game, as innings pass, the momentum is flying away from our team and our opponents seem to manage better any situation. The fans should be this 11th player, who will push the team to a better performance. If you want an example, I would say that we should do with every player what we’re doing with Didi. Even in his bad day, this guy is making some hits and it is because when he’s at bat the Stadium is cheering “Di-Di Di-Di”.On the other hand, we should stop to exaggerate. One good game by Didi, we compare him with Derek Jeter, one bad performance of Stanton, we wonder why we signed him. Really, if anybody thinks that he/she would be better in a position at the HOF or the Managerial Staff, please, don’t hesitate, apply and we will be thrilled if the results are better. Who would say “NO” to the assignment of Stanton in the off-season? Who said “NO” to sign Machado, even if it obviously puts Didi’s confidence in doubt? These are issues to resolve and the discussion in the fans’ base can help on it.
4. We’re not yet in good shape, but this has nothing to do with the outcome of October. A baseball season is a marathon and even physically a team should be in better shape at the most critical moment. It serves at nothing to have a 120W record and then lose the first playoff’s series. On the other hand, for those who know a little bit of physical shape, a team cannot be in permanent equal performance during the year. There is a peak and the managerial staff should make decisions for the best result. This peak should permit to compete at the playoffs and be in the best shape in October, simple to say, difficult to do, more difficult to convince the fans who want to win every single game.

For the next 10 games:

Now, we start the pack of the next 10 games with a visit at Boston and Detroit and then hosting Miami and Toronto. Detroit, with equal bad weather conditions, is a struggling team now and Miami will probable have problems to come over their 20R loss at Philly. Both teams will benefit a lot by any positive result against a competitive team, as the Yankees and so these games are very important for them. For obvious reasons, the division games against Boston and Toronto (who has a good momentum against our team at the moment), are very important as well.

Since we’re not in our best shape, there will be damage in these games. The staff should make choices, where to win and where to lose. It’s not an easy decision, it seems a bit as a bet. The outcome will show if they did well or not. In any case, as fans, we should focus on pushing this team with a lot of talent forward, it’s the only way we could get something good at the end of the race.

Feel free to discuss!! Kisses and hugs fellow Yankees!!