Have The Yankees become a shell of themselves?
Photo Credit: Sarah Stier/Getty Images/ and Zachary D. Rymer/Bleacher Report/
By: Trevor Keyes
They might be called the Bronx Bombers, but recently they have become more like the "Bronx Yawners" after getting swept by their arch rival the Boston Red Sox. Losers of 8 of the last 11 games has many fans wondering......what has happened in the Bronx?
Let's turn the clocks back to 2017, and the new-look Yankees were one game away from a World Series appearence in a year to which many believed was a "rebuilding year", had many believing the Yanks were back and were not going anywhere for a long time. Move the timeline to right now, and it has been anything but that since then.
After being outscored 25-8 in Boston makes you wonder, what is next for the Yankees? With their MVP on the shelf, how do the Yankees get it going as a team overall? Their big bats have been nowhere to be found...The bats that the Yankees need to rely on the most have all gone cold at the worst time. Giancarlo Stanton is 5-for-41 (.122) since coming off the IL. DJ LeMahieu is 15-for-90 (.167) over his last 24 games. Add in Anthony Rizzo who is 4-for-48 (.083) since missing three games with a stiff neck and Josh Donaldson is 4-for-33 (.121) with three home runs since coming off the IL.
Most fans would see the Yanks at 6 games over 500 (39-33), and say "they'll be fine", but in an AL East where every team is currently over 500, begs to ask the question... With such a great divsion, and their best player out for the possible forseeable future, can the Yanks survive with their big name players playing so poorly currently? The short and long term answer is simply no. Currently, the Yanks have 3 players who have played over 40 games (Judge, Torres, and Rizzo) who are batting over .250. that just will not cut it for a Franchise who is desperately looking for another World Series championship.
I know that baseball is an 162 game season and not at the half way point, but during this slide, they're missing a huge component in all of sports... That is emotion. It seems that the bats and the fight have gone completely silent in a time where their backs are against the wall.
Yes, they will have to rely on former MVPS (Donaldson and Stanton), World Series Winner (Rizzo) and a once hitting machine (LeMahieu), which seems like it could be done because they have done it before, but they just truly be a shell of themselves. Just like how this franchise has become over the past 6 years. Baseball is a team game, and yes, Judge will help drastically when he returns to the lineup, but if they think he will be their savior and will change everything, but do not continue to get the production they very well need, then this season could be a downward spiral very quickly...
Not the ideal year to have some of your go to guys go silent at the plate, the field, and, even on the mound. Especially, when they are currently in the best division in all of baseball...