Difference in Bronx
has clearly gained much better knowledge of the strike zone. With all of the hitters, you can see the same Michael philosophy − don’t be afraid to take a walk…be selective − taking hold again. Last year, the Yankees were 25th in the majors in on-base percentage, 22nd in runs and 14th in walks.
“If you ask me, it’s confidence as much as anything with these guys,” said Michael. “That’s why it’s so important for a hitter to get off to a good start. You can hide a slump in midseason, but at the beginning of the year, you look at that batting average on the scoreboard every day and if you’re hitting over .300 it can be such a confidence-builder, but if you’re down in the .100s you feel buried.
“That’s how I felt my first year in pro ball. I got off to a 1-for-41 start at Grand Forks in the Class C Northern League. I was holding up the whole league! The third baseman next to me in the infield wouldn’t talk to me. He was afraid I’d put him in a slump. Fortunately, I was able to get my average back up to .227, but I never forgot that.”
Cashman thinks a couple of other things are in play here as well. First is the kids’ willingness to listen to the coaches and second is the veteran presence of Matt Holliday.
Without mentioning the stubborn Mark Teixeira specifically, Cashman talked about how the preponderance of shifts, “have demanded that hitters make adjustments. Shifts BRAD PENNER-USA TODAY SPORTS are the new norm and you’ve got to figure out how to counteract them. We’re doing that.”
As for Holliday, who has especially bonded with Judge, Cashman said, with Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez gone, he felt it was necessary to have someone in the clubhouse to provide wise counsel to the kids, even though it was going to mean eating up most of the designated hitter at-bats.
“Matt has really had an impact. The kids gravitate to him,” Cashman said, likening it to what Chili Davis brought to the Yankee clubhouse in 1998 and ‘99.
In retrospect, it is curious as to why the Red Sox didn’t make a run at Holliday, who could have been a monster in Fenway Park. Despite what most pundits contended was the best, most balanced lineup in the American League at the beginning of the season, the Red Sox are presently averaging almost a run per game less than last year. Scouts around the league say they really miss that presence of David Ortiz, both in the middle of the lineup and in the clubhouse.
But as the talent gap between the Yankees and Red Sox appears to have significantly narrowed almost overnight, a Boston official who shall remain nameless said to me: “I agree the Yankee kids look pretty good, but the real test will still be how they do the second time around the league.” By my calculations, that would be right around Memorial Day.