FIXIN’ WHAT’S BROKEN
5 things Yanks can do to become team we expected
ANott 8-8, the Yankees are off to a disappointing start and seem to be in need of some fixes.
only has their lineup fallen short of its huge expectations — thanks in large part to a horrific start by Giancarlo Stanton — but their pitching has been sketchy, too.
Something has to change before the Bombers fall much further behind the red-hot Red Sox.
Here are a few suggested changes they could make:
MOVE GIANCARLO STANTON TO NO. 2 IN THE ORDER
Aaron Boone’s idea to split Aaron Judge and Stanton up with lefty Didi Gregorius makes sense, and was suggested by a few scouts I spoke with because pitchers tend to attack big power righties like Judge and Stanton in similar fashion.
Also, Judge has already become such a fixture in the No. 2 hole himself. But I wonder if it makes more sense to put Stanton in front of him to try to jumpstart things. Stanton — like Judge in 2017 — put up most of his NL MVP numbers hitting second. It is worth noting as well that Stanton (.197, 3 HR, 29 K) was hitting .226 with three homers and 19 strikeouts on April 18 last season. Maybe once the weather warms up, Stanton will too.
The Yankees have still managed to rank fourth in baseball in runs scored and fifth in homers, though their offense can be a bit feast or famine at times.
CALL UP GLEYBER!
Asked about the possibility of a Torres promotion following Tuesday’s blowout loss, Brian Cashman replied: “The players we got have got to play better.” Torres was pulled from the Triple-A Scranton lineup
over the weekend with back stiffness but returned on Wednesday, going 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and two walks. His batting average sits at .372.
The team looks like it could use a spark, and the 21-year-old could be a guy who provides that. Plus, Neil Walker is hitting .173 and Tyler Wade has been even worse at .094.
Interestingly, Torres has been playing every day at third in the minors, which leads me to wonder if Miguel Andujar is going to shift to first. Even with Andujar’s lack of experience, it’s not like Tyler Austin has looked great out there either. Plus, Andujar has started to pick it up with his bat, connecting for five extra-base hits in his last three games.
Walker could always come into games later for defense. Brandon Drury could also become an option at first and second when he comes back from his migraine/blurred vision ordeal. I always like to see more Ronald Torreyes, but I do get the idea that you don’t want to overwork him and burn him out.
LET AUSTIN ROMINE CATCH SONNY GRAY REGULARLY
Gray has been a disappointment, pitching to a 6.92 ERA in his first three starts while reaching the fifth inning in only one of those outings. The former All-Star says he needs to get back to being more athletic on the mound — getting the ball and just throwing it rather than thinking too much. Catcher’s ERA isn’t an end-all, be-all stat, but Gray has posted a 2.20 ERA in five games with Romine behind the plate, and a 5.44 ERA in nine games with Gary Sanchez behind the plate.
I know Boone would prefer not to have personal catchers for any of his pitchers, but this could be the combination that calls for it. Gray is set to make his next start on Friday. There’s a similar catcher’s ERA disparity for Masahiro Tanaka in a much larger sample size: 4.63 in 32 games with Sanchez, compared with 2.66 in 19 games with Romine. Tanaka (6.45 ERA) has already given up five homers — two of them against his four-seam fastball, which he now barely throws (55 times total).
Starting pitching overall, a big concern that hasn’t gone away, needs to be better. The Yankees have gotten only six quality starts so far.
MOVE CHAD GREEN INTO A HIGHLEVERAGE, LATE-INNING ROLE
Green has been a dominant bridge guy, but with the struggles of Dellin Betances and the injury to Tommy Kahnle, I wonder if the Yankees will use Green (2.16 ERA) more in the seventh and eighth innings, rather than earlier on. David Robertson has really picked it up since allowing a grand slam to Justin Smoak during opening weekend in Toronto. In his last 7.2 innings, D-Rob has struck out 11 and allowed two hits. That at least gives the Bombers two guys they can trust, but the bottom line is Betances is going to have to pick it up and actually produce zeroes.
GET BACK TO FUNDAMENTALS
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the 2018 campaign has been all the errors the Yankees have made — an AL-worst 17 of them. Boone talked to his team about the importance of the small details in spring training, but that hasn’t carried into the games. The Bombers have also made too many mistakes on the basepaths in the early-going, running into outs. They need to clean things up out there.