YANKS CAN WIN IT ALL, BUT ONLY IF JUDGE & SOTO ARE ON

There's no question that the Yankees are rolling right now. 4 game lead in the American League east and closing in on winning the division, but I often worry about the short series in the playoffs. So often under Aaron Boone's direction they just pitter out and don't do a thing right.  Boone doesn't lead well under pressure.

My opinion and the opinion of many is that without Judge and Soto at this point, the Yankees cannot win it all. It's sad to think about it this way, but let's be clear, night after night the only reason why the Yanks win is because of some heroic run scoring double from Soto or a dinger from Judge.  We're not hearing about Giancarlo Stanton... Anthony Volpe doesn't know how to hit... you see what I mean?

I believe that the Yankees need to get left field set with Dominguez not Verdugo, I believe that the Yanks have to reinvent how Volpe comes to the plate, and I believe that we can't keep getting automatic outs with Giancarlo Stanton at the plate.  Waiting and wishing is not an approach.

The biggest fix for me however is left field, it's obvious. The ‘Martian’ should be getting the majority of starts, based on his potential alone. Verdugo has missed many opportunities to establish himself as a reliable starter, the case for prioritizing Dominguez becomes even clearer.

In 2024, Verdugo has racked up 542 at-bats and his OPS is .650. That is the worst among MLB regulars for a considerable stretch.

While one would argue that Dominguez "just got here", there's something special about this young man and I would offer him that spot to see him shine.  I believe that those three in the outfield is a much stronger lineup, I really do.

Whatever the case, I do worry that the Yankees can't get through the playoffs with a World Championship.  Statistically they are just bad.  And you know me, I blame Boone for a lot of it. His decisions have been awful for years when it comes to the playoffs.  It just goes to show that he's not a big game manager.