Despite Ending Losing Streak, Yankees May Not Have Weathered The Storm
So, can we chalk the Yankees slump up to unseasonable weather?
June has been unusually cool and moist in the Northeast, and the Bronx Bombers’ bats were in an especially deep freeze during the past week. After completing a three-game sweep of the Royals on June 12, New York lost six straight contests, mostly in conditions more associated with Fall. In this period, the Yanks produced a measly total of six runs, which included a drought of 30 consecutive scoreless innings.
I happened to schedule my annual vigil to Yankee Stadium for Thursday’s series closer against the Angels, when the climate morphed into a hot and muggy day. The conditions made me uncomfortable; the Yankees found it—and Angels soft-tossing starting pitcher Tyler Anderson--refreshing.
The humid air sent baseballs flying. Though Los Angeles outhomered New York, 3-2, the Yankees strung together more quality at bats to outlast their opponent and two rain delays with a 7-3 decision. Centerfielder Trent Grisham doubled and homered from the No. 9 spot in the batting order; going into the game, the spot had generated a putrid .203/.285/.323 average/on base percentage/slugging percentage split through 73 games, per baseball-reference.com.
That level of impotence permeated the batting order 1-through-9 during the losing streak. In the six games, 27.8% of the plate appearances ended in strikeouts (sixth-worst in MLB over that span) and about a quarter of the balls they put in play were with soft contact (MLB worst), per FanGraphs. And it’s not like they were facing a gauntlet of live arms.
The weather angle makes for a cute narrative, but the Yankees’ issues probably go deeper than that. Besides, this is a franchise that expects to play deep into October every season, and you’re not advancing if you’re relying on hot nights that late in the calendar.
With designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton playing his third game since coming off the IL, Thursday’s Yankees lineup was pretty close to what one would see in a big game. Youngsters Ben Rice and Jasson Dominguez, both of whom had the day off, will sometimes work their way in, but other than third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, who is likely out for the season with a left ankle fracture, the team is otherwise healthy.
Sorry, but the length of that lineup does not scare anyone. If you thought last season’s squad was overly dependent on Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, this year it’s pretty much just Judge. (Note: First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, 37, had a heck of a start, but he was 10-for-his-last-65 before breaking out with a double and a homer on Thursday.) Judge’s OPS in Yankees wins is a Barry Bonds-ian 1.324, per Baseball Reference. He’s been on base for more than half his plate appearances in those 42 games. So it was no surprise that the Yankees’ offense struggled when he endured a meek week (2-for-23, 14 strikeouts and just two walks).
But to that degree? We’ll have to see what kind of juice Stanton can bring going forward—and for how long he can muster it before getting hurt again—but the lineup goes downhill rather steeply thereafter. What’s with all the love for Jazz Chisholm Jr.? I don’t get it. All that Soto-like swag with mediocre results. It seems like half his swings are waves, yet Manager Aaron Boone keeps batting him too high in the order. The perceived power is overstated—per Fangraphs, he has the highest percentage of soft contact (and soft-plus-medium contact) of all Yankees with at least 60 plate appearances this season while only Dominguez has K’d more frequently.
Catcher Austin Wells has had some clutch hits this season—he’s second on the team in RBIs—but the quality at bats are way too infrequent. Only seven of 31 MLB catchers with at least 150 plate appearances have an OBP lower than his .283.
I’d still rather have Wells hit in front of shortstop Anthony Volpe, though Boone has generally preferred alternating lefty/righty batters. My biggest complaint: How many times is Boone going to let Volpe make the last out of an inning? His numbers with two outs, particularly late in close games with or without men on base, are abysmal. Boone is so conscious of messing with the 24-year old’s confidence, but pinch hitting for him in certain situations seems warranted.
Normally, I’d end with a rant on DJ LeMahieu. Except the 36-year old second baseman has a fairly low bar and his performance this season has been around that area. Almost no power, but he’s batting over .300 in June despite the 1-for-15 stretch when few were making hard contact.
Those games had a Little League feel to them. They flew by—even the three Red Sox defeats at Fenway Park went 2:57, 2:36, and 2:30. That’s unheard of. Though New York pitched well, they committed costly gaffes in the field and on the bases.
But the most frustrating part was all the wasted at bats. Every team goes through these things over a marathon 162-game season and the poor quality of competition in general has allowed New York to maintain its spot as the American League’s second-best team while leading it in runs scored. That’s fine if the season’s mission is merely another postseason berth.
The Yankees, though, should have a World Series title-or-bust mentality. To get there, they need to take an honest look at whether they’re going have the ability to turn over the batting order, not go through it without a single well-struck ball like this team often does. No matter the weather.