THE YANKEES NEED A LOT OF FIXING, BUT THEY NEED TO START HERE....

There is so much that is 'wrong' with this team. Fans have ranted about it all season, we've written about it all season, but there is one thing that has really been eating away at me the last few days. It absolutely needs to be fixed for next season....and I am not confident it will be.

I am not talking about awful Aaron Boone or Brian Cashman. I still want both of them to go, and maybe you do too.... but I don't think that is what will happen. I am talking about the Yankee medical staff though. That 100% has to change and it is an easier change to make than a new manager or GM so there should be no excuses.

So if Hal Steinbrenner is really serious about this "deep dive" he wants to take within his organization he needs to start here. I studied journalism and Public Relations in college, so I am no doctor, but I think we can all see one of the biggest sports markets in the country has one of the worst (if not THE worst) medical staff in all of sports. A franchise that is worth SEVEN BILLION dollars has a medical team advising them that is as competent as the average person who can look up symptoms on Webmd.com. It isn't working.

I am highly disturbed by the latest debacle with Anthony Rizzo, who is now out the rest of the season. The Yankees need to find out how the Yankees medical staff determined he was good to play after that scary collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. The average fan could tell he was struggling, and he had tell-tale signs of a possible concussion. He hasn't looked the same since then. The medical staff did not do their due diligence.

Maybe the medical staff didn't run all of the necessary tests or maybe they didn't know what they were looking for but the Yankees can't afford to make this mistake. I can appreciate Rizzo's desire to return as soon as possible and maybe that is what caused the Yankees to rush him back to game action, but something was obviously missed. 

The scariest part is Rizzo's injury isn't the first one that has been mishandled. I am still haunted by Aaron Judge's injury in 2020, you can refresh your memory HERE.

"Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his top right rib two weeks ago -- he suffered the injury last September and was having shoulder and pectoral issues in spring training -- and, on Friday, he had his two-week checkup. He told the Associated Press the bone is healing as expected, and he revealed another injury: a collapsed lung."

The collapsed lung was found AFTER the stress fracture in his ribs. How do you miss something like a collapsed lung? The only answer is: it shouldn't happen when you do the right testing and know what you are looking for. One of the most valuable sports franchises in the world has a medical staff that has as much medical smarts as my eight-year-old nephew. It's pathetic.

So if Hal really wants to take a deep dive, it must include the medical staff too. I wouldn't keep ANYONE they are currently using. Time to clean house in more ways than one. According to the Athletic, the Yankees will likely finish in the top third for time spent on the injured list for seven seasons in a row. It's unacceptable. A team with high expectations to win, needs to keep their athletes healthy and in optimal shape. We expect our team to win, but for too long now we also expect them to suffer injuries. It just doesn't work.

FIX IT, HAL! That's a must in your deep dive.... otherwise, you are just doggy paddling again next season.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj