And we thought 2020 was bad...

 The Yankees season ended Monday night in Boston and somehow it sort of feels like a relief instead of a tragedy.

This year was brutal, even when the team was going well. There was NEVER an easy win; there was NEVER a time to breathe; there was NEVER a sense of confidence. This was a team that cheated death in its good games and was suicidal in its bad ones. It was not fun being a Yankee fan this year.

So the winter started a few weeks early and there are so many questions and so few answers it's like a Bizarro World game of Jeopardy! For those clamoring to see Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone ushered out of Yankee Stadium by security, you're probably not going to get your wish. Cashman is entrenched and Hal Steinbrenner is more interested in the bottom line than he is in winning. He's proven that a number of times now and Gerrit Cole's massive contract to the contrary, Hal's just not going to be the popular version (not the real version) of his dad. Cashman will stay. Get those Theo Epstein ideas out of your head.

You'll notice Cashman has not surfaced for a 2021 team obituary. That's not because he doesn't like talking. 

Boone's situation is slightly - and I mean that "slightly" - more precarious. His contract is up and it would be easy for the Yankees to simply not offer him another. It's not like getting fired, Aaron. Remember how Joe Girardi's contract was up after 2017 and the team decided to go in another direction? Like that. Except Cashman likes Boone, possibly because he does whatever Cashman decides without question, so don't start interviewing new managers in your mind just yet either. 

Players? Some are givens because of their contracts, not necessarily their talents or their fit in the Bronx. Gerrit Cole is ours for many years to come and we can only hope it WAS the hamstring injury that caused his blowup in Boston because otherwise we have to think he can't handle the big moment and that means there are a lot more bad nights coming in Octobers yet to be.

Giancarlo Stanton is everybody's favorite Yankee right now because he "showed up" in Fenway on Monday. He has a knack for the big game and that's very good. His numbers for 2021 were quite impressive. But how many strikeouts were there in big spots during the year? How big an obstacle at the DH spot will he be as he gets (even) older? Hard to know. Doesn't matter because his contract is completely unmovable and he has a full no-trade provision anyway. Settle in, Big G. You'll be here a while.

DJ LeMahieu was an elite player until the Yankees gave him a long term contract. Let's hope again that it was a physical issue this year and not a return to his earlier years, that he won't age as quickly as some and that he can play a really good first base because we're probably going to need that.

Gleyber Torres seemed to rebound mightily when moved to second base. But it's a small sample size and can we trust that to be the REAL Gleyber Torres? I have no idea but if someone comes calling with a good offer in the winter I don't think Cashman should hang up too fast.

Gary Sanchez. Oh, Gary Sanchez. I stood up for you for so long, but even if you do return it's going to be for the last time. The Yankees need to find a full-time catcher and fast, because it ain't Kyle Higashioka no matter what you think.

And that brings us to Aaron Judge.

2022 will be Judge's last year of arbitration. In other words, he'll be a free agent after next season. The Yankees are notorious for not extending contracts (except for Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino and Aroldis Chapman) and Hal probably doesn't want to cough up the megabucks it'll take to keep Judge for the rest of his career. Do they have the guts to trade the franchise player going into his walk year, like Boston did with Mookie Betts? SHOULD they?

Much will be said about the coming labor negotiations between the team owners and players union. That will have some impact on what the Yankees do with Judge. After all, Hal doesn't want to pay for a year in which there might be a lockout, or he might push to raise the all-important luxury tax ceiling to pay for Judge going forward.

But does that leave money for a shortstop? There's a small army of them becoming free agents this winter and the Yankees have long lusted after Trevor Story. Or will they wait for 20-year-old Anthony Volpe to be major league ready and get a fill-in shortstop for a year or two? 

Pitching? Maybe another day. I'm already exhausted.

My fear is that this will be a typical Yankee offseason and we'll be seeing a slightly revamped version of this team again next year. Next year they won't be lucky enough to grab a wild card spot unless some serious retooling is done.

See you in 2022.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

 The current 2021 Yankee roster:

D.J. LeMahieu

Anthony Rizzo *

Aaron Judge

Giancarlo Stanton *

Gleyber Torres *

Brett Gardner *

Gary Sanchez

Gio Urshela

Joey Gallo *

Luke Voit *

Kyle Higashioka

Tyler Wade *

Rougned Odor *

Gerrit Cole

* Jameson Taillon 

Cory Kluber

Nestor Cortez Jr.

Jordan Montgomery

Luis Gil

Jonathan Loaisiga

Aroldis Chapman *

Wandy Peralta

Clay Holmes

Lucas Luetge

Albert Abreu

Andrew Heaney *

* Luis Severino

* Domingo German *

* Miguel Andujar *

* Michael King

* Aaron Hicks *

Now that the season is almost officially over, let's look at the current roster with an eye toward 2022, assuming that season happens at all (labor negotiations are forthcoming and some are predicting a strike or lockout). 

While the list above is not the complete 40-man roster of the moment, it is 31 players most likely to be used right now. An asterisk before the player's name indicates he is currently injured. 

An asterisk AFTER the player's name indicates someone I hope (and not always believe) will not be on the roster next season.

Let's take them one-by-one:

Rizzo: I think he wants to go back to the Cubs and he hasn't shown me enough offensively or defensively to cry if he doesn't come back.

Stanton: Let's face it. That contract is not movable. But man was that a blunder. The guy gets white hot twice a year and the rest of the time he's an obstacle. 

Torres: He's not a shortstop. He's now showing us that he's not a second baseman. He's Miguel Andujar with better credentials. There are a million great shortstops on the free agent market this winter. Gleyber can go.

Gardner: It's time. Yeah, he's been hot lately but he'll be pushing 40 next year and it's been made clear this season that you can't count on him being a part-time player. Get a full-timer and let Gardy retire with dignity.

Gallo: Because we hadn't seen enough strikeouts yet? Very good defensively, nice arm. Hits home runs. But he strikes out the rest of the time and we need more rally builders, not rally killers.

Voit: You don't get to be a diva after having one-and-a-half good seasons. Get out of the clubhouse and take your stone glove with you.

Wade: I've been hearing for five years that if we got to see the REAL Tyler Wade we'd love him. Guess what-this is the real Tyler Wade. I just sort of like him.

Odor: Yeah, energy in the clubhouse. Yeah, the occasional home run. Everything else, no.

Chapman and German: Domestic abuse isn't welcome in my clubhouse. Leave.

Heaney: Do I even have to say?

Andujar: He needs to go somewhere that he can play every day. It's not here.

Hicks: He's not going anywhere with that contract extension. But I barely remember what the guy looks like. He gets hurt and is out for the season every year.

No, I am NOT interested in getting rid of Gary Sanchez. For one thing, who have you got that's better and no, don't tell me Higashioka. He's not an everyday catcher. If Cole wasn't such a diva he'd be playing maybe once a week. 

It's got to be a winter involving a major overhaul. Those calling for Cashman's head aren't going to get it. Those calling for Boone's very well might. Beyond that, who knows?

The YES Network Presents...

 I've said what I can say about the 2021 Yankees. They're the 2020 Yankees, but with another 102 games to be wildly inconsistent. When they sweep the Red Sox in Boston I'll believe in them. Until then, let's move on to other topics.

Like the broadcast crew.

Die-hard fans such as myself have been watching games on the YES Network for 20 years now, and while there's been some additions (and remarkably little diversity) in the booth since then, we've gotten to know the large cast of on-screen announcers, color commentators and field correspondents awfully well. So it's time to assess (with an obvious lean toward my own opinions because what else do I have to work with?) the effect each one has on the fan watching night after night. After night.

Michael Kay. I might be in the minority, but I find it hard to listen to this guy. He has his little set pieces that he does every night ("[name of the batter] is ready. [name of the pitcher] is ready. Let's do it") and the sheer repetition grates on the nerves. He has opinions which come out every once in a while and even when I agree with him I want him to shut up. I look forward to times when Ryan Ruocco takes over for Kay as the play-by-play man.

Paul O'Neill. I enjoyed watching few players more than O'Neill when he was a Yankee. He was passionate, he had talent and it was clear he understood the game well. As an announcer, he's very good when analyzing hitters and strategy, less so when he thinks he's being jovial. I'm glad you're having a good time, Paul, but it's not spilling out of the screen.

David Cone. An excellent assessor of pitchers and often hitters as well. Enthusiastic and thoughtful. A little too heavy on the saber metrics but that's how it goes. I'd like to hear more from him. 

John Flaherty. We get it, "Flash." You didn't hit for a high average or for much power. That was a while ago. He always seems grumpy, which isn't a deal killer for me, but pugnacious as well. There are times I think he wants to beat up Michael Kay. Again, not really a problem from my end.

Bob Lorenz. I started out not liking Lorenz because I thought he was artificial and corporate. I still think he's corporate, but he's genuinely so and he does ask the right questions. My mind has changed on Bob Lorenz. 

Meredith Marakovitz. Not the "token woman," and that's great. She reports on the multiple injuries that seem to happen every night, gets her facts right and puts them in perspective. The interviews after the game aren't great but that's more the players than the reporter. They're just going to answer in pre-programmed sound bites that don't say anything. For the master of all things in that area, see Derek Jeter.

Ken Singleton. The best. Tells the truth, doesn't sugarcoat it, and always has deeper perspective than anybody else, even when not mentioning Eddie Murray. I wish he could have his own Studio 29 and broadcast from his home. I'd like to see him do as many games as possible.

Ryan Ruocco. Again, preferable to Michael Kay by a mile. Even though his voice sounds like David Cross, he has an enthusiasm and honesty that is sometimes lacking in Yankeeland. Like to see him do more play-by-play.

It's Even Worse Than We Thought

This year's Yankee team, against all odds, is a train wreck. 

The team that was the heavy favorite to win the division and possibly the World Series is now lucky to be in the same division as the Baltimore Orioles or it would be languishing in last place. From the bewildering deterioration of DJ LeMahieu to the staggering inconsistency of Giancarlo Stanton, the lineup is a mess. The only dependable hitter showing up every night is Aaron Judge, although Gio Urshela and (lately) Gleyber Torres are holding their own.

Say what you want about Gary Sanchez, he's hitting for a higher average than three or four players in the lineup day after day. I'll have more to say about Sanchez in a moment.

For a few weeks a phenomenal run by the starting pitchers, including a no-hitter by Corey Kluber, made the Yankees look like a better team than they actually are, and it should have been a telling moment when Kluber almost immediately thereafter went on the Injured List for at least two months, possibly never to be heard of in the Bronx again. The bullpen, too, seemed invincible until other teams started to vince it. 

But it's clearly the hitting (yeah, fielding too and don't get me started on the baserunning) that's the culprit here, and there's plenty of blame to go around. LeMahieu signed a six-year contract and immediately misplaced 100 points from his batting average. I don't remember DJ striking out to start a game in 2019 or 2020. It's now becoming a ritual to begin a Yankee game in 2021. Runners in scoring position? That's where he earned the name "El Machina." Now he's more likely "el double-play-ground-ball-ina."

I'm not Brian Cashman and I'm not Aaron Boone and these days that's a good thing because Yankee fans on Twitter are calling for their dismissal, if not their heads. But looking at today's roster and thinking about saving the season, there are moves that can be made. Because I'm not Mr. Cashman I can't speak to specific players who might come to the Yankees in a trade, largely because as a typical Yankee fan I'm lucky if I know two other players from each team. But I think it's obvious who can be leaving:

1. For reasons other than baseball, Aroldis Chapman and Domingo German. If I'm the general manager I rid myself of any player with domestic violence issues, period. Yes, Chapman is still an elite closer and German has been perhaps the second most consistent starter in the rotation. They should go anyway. You can probably get a decent haul for them, too.

2. It's time for Brett Gardner to gracefully retire, maybe become a coach, base running instructor or broadcaster. He's been a terrific Yankee for a long time but now he's not hitting at all and his defense is fine, but without a strong center field arm. Cashman needs to go find a centerfielder because Aaron Hicks isn't coming back anytime soon. And if you can find a buyer for him when he comes back, mazel tov. 

3. Remember when Luke Voit became Luke Voit and we thought that black hole that had been the first base position was filled? Luke can't stay healthy. The backup is LeMahieu, which leads to awful things like Rougned Odor. Find a first baseman, Brian.

4. I hate to say it, but Clint Frazier probably needs to find a new address. The Yankees were never going to be the place where he can let his freak flag fly and he needs that in order to succeed. I like him as a player and he's never dull to watch, but another team is going to be a better fit. Cashman won't get a ton for a guy hitting under .200 but maybe there's a backup first baseman in there someplace.

5. If we're talking ideal situations here the best case scenario would be for Stanton to re-find his timing, have a good week or two and then get traded at the deadline. Except nobody wants that contract. The Yankees can fill a DH slot without him (and have been doing so frequently as he's often hurt) and could use the payroll flexibility to find, I don't know, two outfielders and a starting pitcher, maybe. It won't happen but it would make sense for the Yankees. 

6. Players to keep: Well, Judge. Gio. I want to see Voit come back and remind me why I don't want him to go. Gleyber? (Trevor Story and a small squadron of elite shortstops will be free agents this winter.) 

7. I'd keep Sanchez, and before you scream, here's why: In his career, even in the years he was considered an elite hitting catcher with a great arm, he ALWAYS started out slow for the first two months. In 2020 he was awful and guess what: The WHOLE SEASON was the first two months. This year, he started out awful and as soon as two months were behind us, Sanchez suddenly started showing signs of the Kraken we knew in 2016-18. I'm not ready to give up on him yet and his defense has gotten better.

8. The pitching. Gerrit Cole is going to be just fine; don't let the last couple of starts fool you. Kluber's likely gone for the bulk of the year. Taillon might round into shape after he shakes off some more rust, or he'll get hurt again because what else is new. Jordan Montgomery could be real as a #3 or #4 starter. I don't know if Deivi Garcia is going to become anything but I'm willing to find out. Michael King is inconsistent especially as a starter.

9. In the bullpen, Nestor Cortez Jr.? No. Chad Green (who has the saddest face in baseball) is getting overworked, which showed in his work against Boston this weekend. I've already said I'd ship Chapman off on principle, which means a combination of Green, Loaisiga and hopefully soon Zack Britton can close games. As well as Chapman? Probably not for now. Wouldn't be an awful thing to have more than a one-run lead late in games (or to have a lead at all) as that might lighten the load a bit. 

Is this a panic post? Maybe, but this weekend against Boston was unwatchable. And they've lost eight out of the last 10 games. This team is going nowhere in a huge hurry and things - big things - need to happen soon. 

Okay, So Maybe NOT 2021

 First of all, we're not even 10% of the way through the season yet. But yeah, it's looking grim.

This team is going to have a hot streak because it's a rerun of last year's team, which was pretty anemic except when in a fairly prolonged hot streak in the middle of the abbreviated season. But with 162-game schedule, that great run could very easily not be enough.

The 2021 Yankees are, so far, the 2020 Yankees but with more crowd noise, which has included people throwing things on the field out of disgust. The starting pitching has been bad (except Gerrit Cole, of course) and the relief pitching has been... let's say inconsistent. There have been base running errors, throwing errors, catching errors and mental errors. That's all just as bad as it sounds.

But good lord, the problem is the hitting. If you want to call it that.

As it turns out, the glue holding the Yankees together has been Luke Voit. Because Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks (don't get me started on Aaron Hicks), Rougned Odor (!) and even DJ LeMahieu have not been hitting. Gio Urshela is about the only semi-dependable bat in the lineup and he's usually hitting seventh.

Now, let's be sensible. Eight people in this lineup not hitting isn't going to last forever. But some of them (Torres, Hicks, Odor and I hate to say it but Frazier) could stay this way all year. The Gleyber Torres experiment seems to be a failure on all ends, as he's also making multiple errors in the field while not hitting. 

Odor, of course, is here because Voit is hurt and LeMahieu needs to play first. Jay Bruce, more power to him, understood he was taking up space and couldn't get back to what he once was, and he retired. Class act. You can expect Odor will evaporate sometime after Voit returns.

But what can be done to fix the dismal showing we've seen in the past 19 days?

I'm not Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone. Clearly. I write mystery novels for a living. But as an interested and long-standing fan, this is the view from the fifth tier:

1. See about eating a lot of the money and trading Stanton. He can't stay on the field and he has had one hot streak since joining the Yankees, which admittedly took place in the postseason. But with the Yankees insisting on staying under the luxury tax ceiling, they could use whatever money they can save on Stanton to find another shortstop and trade Torres. He's a second baseman and should play elsewhere.

2. Yes, trade Torres. You can't get top value for him now because he hasn't lived up to the hype, but he can still show a great deal of potential upside and someone will want to bit on it. It's a fantasy, but Trevor Story is in his walk year and the Rockies know they can't keep him. They might be interested. Best if an extension ala the Mets and Francisco Lindor can be arranged. Hang the luxury tax, Hal. Your dad would be spending his brains out. And I wasn't a fan of his, but it's true. 

3. I get that Judge is doing his best to stay healthy, but I don't believe he's succeeding. Even on the good plays he's making, he appears to be favoring the left side that was "sore" last week. Maybe if Stanton leaves you can give Judge more DH days. He's a wonderful right fielder when he's not worried about every play injuring him.

4. I'd trade Hicks and let Brett Gardner play center field. That's a very short-term solution and probably not a good idea, but I'm tired of Hicks looking distracted in the field and now at the plate. Especially left-handed, which is about 80% of the time.

5. I would NOT trade Gary Sanchez. I still believe there's a very scary bat in there and he's been doing a lot better defensively. Cole won't say that he only wants to pitch to Kyle Higoshioka, but it's the truth. Okay. That's why you have a backup catcher. The other four days of the rotation can be Sanchez's when his hand heals.

6. Any trades that are made have to result in another starting pitcher. Yeah, very small sample size, but the Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon bets don't seem to be paying off. Given that Domingo German (who should be shipped out just based on his off-the-field issues, as should Aroldis Chapman) is your plan B, more pitching is definitely indicated. Deivi Garcia looks good, as does Michael King, but they need to be in the minor leagues for one more season.

7. No, I wouldn't fire Boone. What do you think a manager can do to get a whole team out of a hitting and fielding slump? Miller Huggins couldn't light a fire under this bunch.

This is looming as a truly awful season and lord help us, the Boston Red Sox are in first place. Drastic measures are called for. In all candor, I don't expect that any of them will be implemented, but something needs to happen soon.