Let's assume the Yankees' season is over. Yeah, there are another 18 games, give or take, left to play but they've been utterly awful for three weeks now and while I'm sure Brian Cashman is a riveting public speaker, his team meeting today did... nothing. Don't expect things to improve until Judge, Stanton, Paxton and Urshela get back, and let's be real, that's probably in 2021.
This has been a remarkably awful year in any number of ways. Trying to equate all that's gone on with a baseball team playing lousy would be absurd. They're a baseball team. They're playing lousy and will most likely continue to do so for another 18 games. Aaron Boone and the players are always talking about "turning the page" and moving on? Well, it's probably the calendar page we're discussing here.
So let's think about 2021, which one can only hope desperately will be a considerable improvement over 2020. Let's, in fact, pretend that it'll be a normal baseball season. I know, but we're pretending. What should the Yankees do to improve over the offseason?
Don't be snide. "Firing the GM and manager and trading everybody" is not a viable option and you know it.
Thinking seriously. Dear Brian Cashman:
1. Sign DJ LeMahieu to an extension of at least three years. Just do it. Assuming this season hasn't turned him off to the team entirely, he likes it here. He fits perfectly. That has to get done. Do it.
2. See about trading Aroldis Chapman and, assuming he ever plays again, Domingo German. It's just me, but I don't want people with domestic abuse allegations on my team. You'll have to eat some salary on Chapman and German, coming back from a LONG suspension, will be trading low. Do it anyway. Let Zach Britton be the closer. He's good at it.
3. Have talks about coming back with Masahiro Tanaka. If he's not being insane in his demands, he's probably the best free agent starter on the market. Be a shame to see him end up somewhere else.
4. Let Brett Gardner retire and tell Clint Frazier to his face that he's the center fielder. No ifs, ands or buts. He has the job. Let the kid play.
5. It's not possible, but look into eating a LOT of money and trading Gioncarlo Stanton. He never plays, he's a DH at best when he can make it onto the field, and so far he's been best in the role of Distraction. Let Gary Sanchez be the DH most days and find another catcher. Enough is enough.
6. Somebody needs to have a talk with Aaron Hicks about giving up the golf and concentrating on the sport he gets paid for playing. Because he just looks bored out there.
7. Wrap Aaron Judge in bubble wrap after every game. Maybe that'll help.
8. I never would have dreamed saying it before this mini-season started, but you might want to look into re-signing J.A. Happ.
9. Give up on the Tyler Wade experiment. I've been hearing for years that if he just got regular playing time we'd see the real Tyler Wade. Well, he's gotten regular playing time. I think this is the real Tyler Wade.
10. Don't fire Boone. He's a perfectly fine manager when he has good players. Casey Stengel couldn't make the 1962 Mets winners, and he wouldn't be able to get this bunch into first place either.
11. Mike Tauchman and Mike Ford were nice surprises last year. This year, unlike Luke Voit and Gio Urshela, they're reverting to the players they were when other teams were happy to dump them for scraps. Clint Frazier is your right fielder. With another offseason of training, maybe Andujar is your fourth outfielder. Maybe he's trade bait for a new starter. Tauchman and Ford were fun. It's time for them to go.
I tend to post to this blog only when things are going bad. Maybe it's superstition about not changing things when they're humming along. But right now things are about as bad as they get and it's time to post, and time to plan for the future.
Let's hope next season is a real season. Let's hope there's a point to this offseason.
Let's just hope.
