Bleeding Yankee Blue: DO THE YANKEES HAVE ALL THE RIGHT PIECES TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

Sunday, August 1, 2021

DO THE YANKEES HAVE ALL THE RIGHT PIECES TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

Source: Newsday

I loved this line in our noble leader Robert Casey's latest post (here) about acquiring Andrew Heaney seconds before the tradeline deadline hit, "It's pieces like this that make it better for the Yanks." The "pieces" he is referring to are Joey Gallo, followed by Anthony Rizzo, and now Heaney. But the real question is "Do the Yankees have all the RIGHT pieces to make the playoffs?"

Source: New York Post

The New York Post's Ken Davidoff did not give the Yankees high marks for their pickups because he felt they gave up too much in Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson "in order to stay under the $210 million luxury-tax threshold and couldn’t find a taker for Luke Voit." I will be honest, I felt that giving up Cessa was a real loss, given our lack of consistency and depth in the bullpen. Wilson on the other hand has been ineffective. But it is not just pitching that is on the hook for the pickle the Yankees are in right now.

The Yankees simply cannot leave runners in scoring position like they did so blatantly in the game against the Marlins on Saturday evening. Gary Sanchez, although more effective in more recent weeks since dropping that leg kick, still can't seem to consistently knock in runs with the bases loaded. This is just a mere example of the kind of disadvantage this team puts themselves in when they leave runners on the pond, and unless these new pieces can do something about that, the Yankees will not move any closer to the post-season in 2021.

The other point I'd like to make here is that this has to be a team effort. No one can do this alone. It is not Gerrit Cole's role to lead this team, nor is it Aaron Judge's or Rizzo's. It is a collective effort- no one on this team stands out ahead of the rest, even if some have loftier contracts than others. They are all responsible to produce. And when they don't, it is the team's fault.

So, my question is have the Yankees done enough? Do they have the depth to get things done? With the dog days of summer now, here as we step into August, have the Yankees put themselves in the winners' column? Can they turn this disaster of a season around? It is up to them. The ball is in their court. And collectively, they either go for it and give it everything they have or it is back to the drawing board for Brian Cashman or maybe even the unemployment line.