When Yanks don’t hit, Thames feels it as much as players
CLEVELAND — When the Yankees sluggers are struggling, when their hitters are scrapping, Marcus Thames feels it as much as anyone. The Yankees hitting coach is not just a mechanic of each and every swing that the Yankees feature. These days he’s also a cheerleader and counselor.
“I’m in every at-bat with these guys. Every pitch. Every swing,” Thames said. “I’ve got to keep my body language the same because they’re watching. I’ve just got to make sure I stay positive, let them know that you’re going to come out of there. I just always say, once that at-bat’s over, you’ve got to move to the next one, the next pitch.”
The work paid off Friday night as the Bombers homered four times — two from Giancarlo Stanton — and beat Cleveland 5-3 at Progressive Field.
So the Yankees’ awful offensive start to the season has kept Thames and assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere busy. The Bombers went into Friday night’s game against Cleveland at Progressive Field last in the majors in slugging percentage (.338), 21st in home runs (18) and second to last in OPS (.639). They were secondto-last in the American League in runs scored (tied with Cleveland at 65).
Those are some dreadful numbers for a team built on power hitting. Thames said he sees the players reacting to that.
“They’re chasing hits like I think they’re trying to get three hits in one or hit a three-run homer when nobody is on base at times,” Thames said. “That just comes with being an athlete trying to pick your teammates up, but doing it the wrong way.”
Like Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman before him, Thames has seen what this group of guys is capable of and believes in their ability to turn it around.
“Continue to work,” Thames said. “Continue to dive into a lot of videos but just don’t make things complicated. And I think sometimes when guys are going through a funk, you kind of make it complicated, but to go back to the basics (of) ‘are we swinging at strikes? Are we making solid contact?’ And that’s what we keep preaching to these guys. If we work on that, good things are going to happen.”
STRIKING MATCHUP
While all of baseball is bemoaning the number of strikeouts in baseball this season, at least on Saturday, it’s something that will be eagerly anticipated among fans of pitching. It will be the top two strikeout leaders in the American League dueling, with the Yankees sending out their ace Gerrit Cole against Cleveland’s ace Shane Beiber.
Beiber, the defending AL Cy Young winter, leads baseball with 48 strikeouts through four starts. Cole is second in the AL with 39.
For pitching nerds, this is one of the best matchups of the season to date — a replay of last year’s AL Wild Card Game 1.
“I mean, we got to see it last last October obviously. I wouldn’t mind it unfolding like that again,” Boone said with a laugh.
He was referring to the Bombers’ knocking Bieber out after just 4.2 innings having battered him for seven earned runs, including two homers.
“(Bieber’s) got great movement, great stuff, and has obviously become the face of their staff,” Boone added. “I’ve known that Saturday’s coming with Bieber versus Cole and how much do I get into it necessarily as a fan?
“I know there’s gonna be two studs on the pump that day for sure.”
Cole admired what Bieber can do.
“I think he’s got a really great breaking ball.The seemed to teach it well here in Cleveland,” the Yankees ace said. “And to compliment that, he’s fantastic on the corners with the fastball. So it’s a tough combination.”
ON TURN
After considering inserting a sixth starter for Sunday’s game, the Yankees are going to stay on turn and have Jameson Taillon start on his regular, four-days of rest, Boone announced before Friday’s game at Progressive Field.
That means the Yankees’ Monday starter is up in the air, though Boone said they are leaning more toward a traditional starter than using an opener and bulk guy.
“It could be a Deivi (Garcia) kind of thing,” Boone said. “We’ll get through today and kind of see where we’re at, but hopefully have that for you maybe tonight or tomorrow.”