With a sample size approaching 100 games, the New York Yankees need to be dead honest with themselves regarding personnel.
Every team throughout baseball sets goals prior to an 162-game schedule. For the New York Yankees, those goals came through as dependent variables.
Ultimately, in their largely failed experiment, there have only been a handful of constants and far too many underachieving, enigmatic presences.
With that said, the issue with the Yanks has not necessarily been the failed experiments, the inconsistencies, or the dependence on them. Simply put, the issue has been the inability to adapt effectively.
Yes, Mark Teixeira has achieved plenty and meant a great deal to the franchise throughout his tenure. Even so, his .189/.271/.390 slash with 22 RBIs in 64 games simply does not cut it. What he is providing to the team is a more than capable defensive first baseman who is a dead stick in the lineup. Moreover, he cannot even stay in the lineup on a normal basis.
How can the Yanks have those numbers batting fifth in the order on a nightly basis? That is a problem they have run away from all season long.
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Sure, Alex Rodriguez had an incredible comeback 2015 season which was highlighted over and over again. Yet, his .206/.256/.364 slash with 29 RBIs in 58 games is not worthy of a full-time designated hitter occupying the cleanup spot. Not to mention he is a soon-to-be 41-year-old with no other position.
With only a year and a half left in the longstanding and questionable marriage, why have they not cut ties? The front office has pranced away from the headline rather than confronting it for the betterment of the team.
How about a more marginal piece in Aaron Hicks? Brought along as a young, athletic, switch-hitting bat with a capability to mash left-handers, he has managed an absolutely pitiful .149/.210/.216 mark against southpaws with one homer and six runs batted in in 36 games.
Let’s just say that production is worthless. What have the Yanks done about it? Run him out there every time there is a vacancy in right, left, or center field. Does that make any sense whatsoever? Absolutely, positively not.
Minus the three losses — Teixeira, Rodriguez, Hicks — and the stagnant nature they present, the organization receives major flexibility. Maybe not financially, but from a roster standpoint.
Currently, Joe Girardi is faced with two aging, inept boppers in the middle of the order and a fourth outfielder who is not even qualified for that title. Even with that, only one unsubstantial hint has been put towards A-Rod and Tex getting bought out. Furthermore, no sign has been provided of Hicks tasting Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
If the organization wants to reboot rather than rebuild, the three aforementioned liabilities cannot be a part of their plans in any way, shape, or form.
Letting Alex Rodriguez go will inevitably have some major lay over, but it had to happen sometime. Cutting Hicks or sending him down will only be viewed for what it is: a logical endeavor. Lastly, letting Teixeira go would not anger anyone throughout the league. In fact, he would have trouble finding another major league gig.
Simply put, a club in the midst a stretch where they have won five of six combined between three extremely relevant teams needs to continue the torrent play. In other words, there is no leeway in the division.
A stretch that has installed a winning atmosphere in the Bronx brings about an eagerness to run off a string of success. Continuing to fill out a lineup card containing not one, not two, but three clogs will hamper a team trying to eek its way into contention.
How do you expect to consistently contend against premier teams in baseball with one-third of your lineup having an incapable nature? Simple answer: you cannot.
If a surging Yankee team wants to sniff October, Brian Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner, and company need to cut the losses that may keep the team from doing so.
