FINAL INQUIRY
Girardi will try to provide some answers for 2016
On Friday, manager Joe Girardi will meet the media for the third straight year without his club participating in a postseason series.
You want to count Monday night’s sleepinducing 30 loss to the Astros as making the playoffs, go ahead. Yet, the last time the Yankees played a postseason series was 2012 when the Tigers swept them out of the ALCS. Adding a second wildcard spot is the product of MLB’s marketing department to keep more teams alive in September and a very flawed concept.
Though Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t possess the kneejerk gene his father did, Steinbrenner likely will make changes if 2016 is the fourth season without the Yankees playing a postseason series.
Here are five topics Girardi likely will be asked to address Friday.
1. What was more costly in September, losing Mark Teixeira or the wayJacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner played?
Teixeira was a legitimate AL MVP candidate until fouling a ball off his right shin Aug. 17. He started a game on Aug. 25, appeared as a pinch hitter the next night and never surfaced again.
Ellsbury, a $153 million investment who was benched against Houston in the wildcard game, batted .202 (23for114) in September and October games. Gardner was worse, hitting .198 (21for106).
2. At the July 31 trade deadline, the Yankees made a serious effort to acquire reliever Craig Kimbrel from the Padres but were unwilling to part with stud shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo.
Considering the Yankees’ starters aren’t likely to go from 12th in the league in innings pitched (927) to among the leaders next season with likely the same names, does the bullpen need another arm in front of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller to go with Justin Wilson?
3. Considering the Yankees haven’t played a postseason series in three years, does that increase the pressure on everybody to stop that slide which is the longest in 20 years?
Andconsidering the returning cast will have a lot of familiar faces is there something that can be done to avoid the September crashes that Alex Rodriguez, Brian McCann, Chase Headley, Ellsbury and Gardner experienced?
4. Who does Girardi see at second base next season?
Stephen Drew’s 17 homers aside, the position was an offensive wasteland because he batted .201 and had an onbase percentage of .271.
He won’t be back and the Yankees are not likely to shower free agent Daniel Murphy with money and have never beenenamoredwithgetting Brandon Phillips from the Reds. Theycould be looking at aplatoon of RobRefsnyderand Dustin Ackley at second.
Offensively, that entry was better than Drew, but neither is the defender Drew was. And it’s hard to tell what that duo would produce offensively across a full season.
Initially ignored upon being added to the big league roster in September (two atbats in 13 games), Refsnyder started nine of the final 12 games and from Sept. 24 till the end of the season batted .379 (11for29). Refsnyder also started against Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel in the wildcard game.
Ackley’s lefthanded power played well at Yankee Stadium (three homers, six RBIs in 27 atbats). The Yankees like his uppercut swing, and their analytical department has been smitten with him for a long time.
Can they live with the defensive shortcomings of Refsndyer and Ackley or will they look outside?
5. What will the coaching staff look like?
Bench coach Rob Thomson, firstbase coach Tony Pena and firstyear hitting coach Jeff Pentland have their contracts expire at the end of the month. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild has a year left and bullpen coach Gary Tuck has an option that is his.
Keep in mind that when the Yankees didn’t hit enough in 2014 hitting coach Kevin Long was fired with a year remaining on his contract. Thomson getting moved from third base to bench coach was curious because many believe he was among the best thirdbase coaches in baseball. Pena being shifted from bench coach to first base was a step down.
Hard to believe all three will be let go, but the Yankees aren’t shy about replacing coaches. Last year firstbase coach Mick Kelleher and Long were both fired with one year remaining on contracts.