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It’s time to play the blame game. And there’s plenty to go around the New York Yankees after their weekend sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.
Surely, the Yankees haven’t deployed a $ 200 million payroll this year to sit in fourth place in the American League East. Yet that’s where they are, 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.
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So The Athletics Ken Rosenthal identifies the biggest culprits in what he calls an organization-wide failure.
Hal steinbrenner
Rosenthal acknowledges that the Yankees were hit hard financially by the coronavirus pandemic last year. But he also notes that the Yankees are the most valuable MLB franchise, according to Forbes ($ 5 billion).
The root of the Yankees’ apparent lack of urgency lies in their almost slavish adherence to staying below the $ 210 million threshold, a guiding force that has informed everything from the extension of DJ LeMahieu’s free agent contract to six. years from even a minor exchange for Rougned Odeur. … The Yankees are hovering about $ 4 million below the threshold, treating the $ 210 million figure as if it were an impenetrable wall.
Brian cashman
Rosenthal accuses Cashman of a series of mistakes: trading against often-injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton; have a heavy unbalanced and right handed alignment; bring back Gary Sanchez; not suing JT Realmuto, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien or Andrelton Simmons.
Baseball is increasingly a young man’s game, full of explosive athletes. Who are the Yankees Fernando Tatis Jr.? Their Ronald Acua Jr.? Their Randy Arozarena? … As always, it’s up to the players. It’s also the job of general managers to put the right parts together and make sure they’re in the right positions for success.
Aaron Boone
Rosenthal says the perception is that Boone is more of a middleman for an analysis-driven front office than a senior strategist. But he also says Boone can’t be judged by his apparent indifference on Sunday when the Yankees were hosed down by home plate umpire Gabe Morales, who called out Odor.
It was an odd look on Sunday night when two of Boones’ coaches were kicked out for a horrific shot called three and he didn’t, but does anyone seriously think he’s losing his competitive edge? Last Thursday, he was sent off from a game against the Rays. … The most damning reflection of Boones’ leadership is the sloppy way his players play. … There is no excuse for the poor Yankees in base run (they lead the majors in outings on bases) and inattentive defense (they rank 18th in Statcasts outings above the average). … Another thing: a lot of young Yankees players fail to improve and, in some cases, back down.
So how are the Yankees faring from this organization-wide flop? Rosenthal has one idea Yankees fans might not want to hear: repeat the team’s strategy from 2016, when they traded relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman to quickly revamp the roster and organizational depth.
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