Things went about as badly as they could for the New York Yankees over the weekend against the Baltimore Orioles. But it’s too early to panic.
The New York Yankees suck. Giancarlo Stanton sucks. Aaron Boone is the worst manager in the history of managers—and that includes the manager of your local McDonalds. That pretty much sums up the thoughts of Yankees fans after the team dropped 3-of-4 to Baltimore this past weekend.
If we didn’t know any better, a group of fans is, at this very moment, meeting with New York City mayor Bill DeBlasio to discuss the potential ramifications of the disaster in the Bronx.
No, the Yankees didn’t look good against Baltimore. Not even a little bit.
CC Sabathia wasted little time—four innings, to be exact—before making his yearly trip to the disabled list. The team’s blundering baserunning left many wondering exactly what these guys were watching—it sure wasn’t where the ball was.
Then there’s Stanton, who played his way into the record books after another 0-for performance on Sunday afternoon.
Giancarlo Stanton is the first player in the live ball era to have 2 games with 0 hits and 5 strikeouts in the same season.
It's April 8th. pic.twitter.com/TBy91mpYcJ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 8, 2018
Don’t think for a second that Stanton’s problems were limited to the four-game set against Baltimore. They weren’t.
It's been a week to forget for Giancarlo Stanton. pic.twitter.com/2bRhbZAYdC
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 8, 2018
Over his last six games, Stanton is hitting .107 with a 53.3 percent strikeout percentage. That’s not a typo—the man has struck out more than 50 percent of the time he stepped to the plate.
He’s on track to whiff 324 times—which would shatter former Yankee Mark Reynolds’ MLB single-season record of 223, set back in 2009 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Yet after all of that, three words come to mind.
Relax. Take it easy.
It’s been 10 games. There are 152 left to play, which works out to roughly 94 percent of the regular-season schedule.
Despite all the issues, the Yankees head into their first series against the first-place Boston Red Sox (8-1) with a .500 record (5-5), 3.5 games off the lead.
Guess what? If Stanton picks up three more Golden Sombreros en route to the Yankees being swept at Fenway Park, those three words will still be applicable.
Because let’s be honest for a minute: There’s a better chance of Derek Jeter coming out of retirement, signing with the Miami Marlins and trading himself back to the Yankees than there is of these “dark days” lasting into September.
Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Stanton aren’t going to continue hitting a combined .179 (20-for-112). The bullpen isn’t going to continue pitching to a combined 4.93 ERA—a mark that, ironically, was the same as Miami’s bullpen ERA heading into Sunday’s games.
Injuries have hit the Yankees hard. The team has eight players on the disabled list. All but reliever Ben Heller, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery, will be back at some point this season.
Two of the team’s bigger bats—yes, there are big bats outside of the “Big Three” and Didi Gregorius—are among the infirmed.
Outfielder Aaron Hicks, who landed on the disabled list just one game into the season with a right intercostal muscle strain, could be back with the team at some point this week.
First baseman Greg Bird won’t be back quite as soon—he’s probably a month away after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in his oft-injured right ankle.
“It’s something I do think on and dream on,” Boone told the New York Post‘s Dan Martin on Saturday while discussing Bird’s status. “I think about getting him and Aaron Hicks back and start to envision the potential of that lineup at full strength.”
Say what you will about Boone, but the guy just nailed it. The Yankees aren’t going to go undefeated, but all of the potential this team had heading into the regular season remains firmly intact.
Yes, we’ve seen the Yankees at their worst. We’ve yet to see them at their best.
So relax. Take it easy.
It’s been 10 games.
