Bleeding Yankee Blue: PEDRO MARTINEZ HAS HARSH WORDS FOR THE YANKEES

Thursday, August 23, 2018

PEDRO MARTINEZ HAS HARSH WORDS FOR THE YANKEES

And he isn't wrong.

These Yankees don't have the same spunk as the version that Pedro Martinez once referred to as "my daddy" and even he knows there is something wrong with this team that goes beyond all of the injuries.

We already said this last week in STOP BLAMING EVERYTHING ON INJURIES! Yes, the injuries are an issue. It's a long season and it is bound to happen but good teams finds ways to win. Guys step up and someone picks up the slack. The Yankees aren't doing that. They are just going with the motions and now finally an outsider agrees.

Photo: USA Today

The Yankees have key guys missing in the lineup with Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius and now we can add Aroldis Chapman to the list as of yesterday. Those are all guys that make a huge difference in a game but they aren't playing like a winning team. Their record and their performance in the last month simply do not match. Right now, we are lucky.

I don't like the idea of agreeing with Pedro but, his tweets are true.

The Yankees aren't hustling out there. There's no heart either. Sure the Yankees are 32 games over .500 and that's nice. That record doesn't tell the accurate story about the team since July. That record is thanks to early success. The Yankees haven't been that team in awhile.

Photo: New York Post

The Yankees just don't look hungry anymore. They look lost and no one is stepping up to be the leader that is sorely missed. We have all of the talent to get us to the postseason but our passion has been sucked dry. Aaron Boone doesn't have that fire and he can't get it out of his players, either. Without Judge, our team is missing a leader and there has been no one else to fill those shoes.
It's the end of August and the excitement is gone.

Sure, the Yankees are winning games but when you are not playing your best....can you really be called a winner? The Yankees aren't fooling anyone. They aren't playing to their full potential even with all of the injury concerns. They have holes without key players but they shouldn't be this ineffective.

And the Marlins series is a perfect example. It shouldn't take twelve innings to finally beat the Marlins 2-1. And last night? Ugly. Lance Lynn gave up five runs in the sixth. Oh and what about Austin Romine's needless and wild throw to second? That allowed Brian Anderson to advance to third, and he scored an unearned run on a ground out. The Yankees managed only one extra-base hit against five Miami pitchers. They committed three errors and struck out 11 times in a defeat that ended their four-game winning streak. They should've easily walked through the Marlins.

So now what? The Yankees have a day to try and get their act together before they head to Baltimore. The Yankees are 6-6 against a team that has the worst record in the majors. We are better than this.

The Yankees may have a winning record but Pedro is right, this team doesn't have the energy of a winning team. I don't like agreeing with Pedro, but he's right. A 100 win season won't matter if they keep playing like this. If the Yankees want to make that long postseason run like last season, leadership, hustle and tons of energy will go a long way. If they don't find any of that it is going to be a short trip and a long winter.