So this is the 2015 Yankees. Pitching that can at best be considered "inconsistent." Hitting that shows up some nights and not so much others. And that vaunted defense, especially on the infield? The most errors in Major League Baseball through nine games.
It's gonna be a long year, Yankee fans.
It's not that we were sold a bill of goods, though. We knew what was coming; you could see it a mile away. CC Sabathia, a tired version of his former self, keeps having what the YES commentators want to tell you is a return to form with his pitches, and gives up enough runs to lose. Masahiro Tanaka, the new ace and first-half phenom last year, is pitching like a guy who's afraid to injure his elbow even when he says he's not. Michael Pineda? I'm not sure what's going on with Michael Pineda. He should be better than this.
Nathan Eovaldi has some promise, but as advertised, he gives up a lot of hits. That's not a great formula. When the most consistent starter in the rotation is Adam Warren, that's telling you something.
The bullpen? The Yankees can tell you up and down that they have confidence in the suddenly erratic Dellin Betances, but look who's closing games whenever there's a game to close. (Hint: Not Betances.) If he doesn't get himself straightened out, the loss of David Robertson--much like the loss of Shane Greene right now--could be seen as a huge error in judgment.
And then we get the starting lineup. Already Brett Gardner is out with one of those injuries that's not supposed to be a big deal and ends up taking two months to heal. Jacoby Ellsbury is trying to be both himself and Gardner, and that's a problem. Mr. Rod is the only one hitting well, which leads us to wonder what amazing cocktail he's discovered to avoid the drug tests this time.
Remember how Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira had to all rebound at the same time? Well, Teixeira's hitting pretty well...
And then there's out vaunted infield, the area of the game that, if the pundits were correct, was going to be the most fun to watch. Defensive wizardry would be the norm. In the field, Didi Gregorius was going to make us forget Derek Jeter, who as you'll recall never caught a ground ball in his life.
How's that working out? It's getting to the point that a Yankee fan holds his breath when a routine ground ball goes toward shortstop. It's hard to tell whether it's the pressure of "replacing a legend" or just the larger, nastier crowds that's getting to Gregorius, but something is, and he needs to cure that in a hurry because he's never going to hit well enough to justify the lapses in defense.
As for second base--do the Yankees have a second baseman? I know they didn't call up Rob Refsnyder because his defense is supposed to be poor, but how much worse could it be, and everyone agrees he can hit.
This team isn't going to the World Series, folks. It'll be amazing if it gets within sniffing distance of the playoffs. So it's time to use a word that's never, EVER, heard in the Bronx.
Rebuilding.
Bring up the kids and let them play. Eat some of the insane salaries and trade a few veterans away for good prospects. Draft like you've never drafted before. It's not going to get that much worse, I assure you. Remember that in 1995, nobody had ever heard of Jeter, Pettitte, Posada and Rivera and had only heard the name Bernie Williams once or twice. In 1996 everybody knew who they were.
It's time.
