With the lack of a “lead dog” in the division, this rough stretch should not have you thinking this team is down and out. There is a whole lot of baseball to be played and injuries haven’t hurt them yet, which may or may not be a bad thing.
Ways The New York Yankees Can Turn This Slump Around
1. Hit The Damn Ball
Well, I’ll try to keep this short.
A Yankee lineup that features Jacoby Ellsbury, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, and Starlin Castro should be a juggernaut in the American League, but that’s unmistakably nowhere close to the case.
Ellsbury looks as bad as that contract does, A-Rod is off to the slowest of starts but shows life, Teixeira has been OK at best, Beltran was off to a great start but cooled off, McCann has become a log, and Castro is perhaps the lone bright spot.
In their last 17 games, this dreary offense owns a .216/.284/.318 slash line and are averaging a mere 2.29 runs per game.
This unit has scored three runs or fewer in 15 of their first 20 games and two runs or fewer in half of their games played. They are the sole reason why this is their losing April since in 2008, a year in which they didn’t make the postseason.
This team cannot and will not win anything unless this team starts raking.
Last night’s loss in Beantown was a perfect example. The top five hitters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-20 with Beltran having the only hit.
Only one runner reached third base, and given their league-worst .189 batting average with runners in scoring position, they weren’t driving that run in, and didn’t.
This team has too much talent in the lineup, too much potential in the rotation, and the bullpen is too epic for the Yankees to be this corrupt.
Christian Kouroupakis
Christian Kouroupakis covers the New York Yankees and is the Editorial Director for ESNY. Interact with him and view his daily work by “liking” his facebook page and follow him on Twitter. All statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Don’t hesitate to shoot him an email with any questions, criticisms, or concerns.
