ONE MORE DAY

Country music artist Thomas Rhett wrote and recorded a song a couple of years ago called "Slow Down Summer." The lyrics provide a story about how summer slipped away for a couple, wishing it didn't so they could spend more time together. "Wishin' the weather wasn't gettin' colder. Lettin' you go, holdin' onto each other. Closin' our eyes, sayin', "Slow down, summer" I look at the 2023 MLB Yankee Season and sigh, wishing it was over in late August. I never want to rush summer away, but I have admit, I want to rush the Yankees away. One more day and we call it quits with hopes that real change surges through the Yankee organization.

According to ESPN+, "The Mets, Yankees and Padres share some ingredients in their own cocktails of disappointment -- underperforming their advanced statistics, losing true coinflip situations at an unsustainable rate, having more injuries than their rivals and seeing potential team building flaws become gaping holes within months -- but they also have a number of unique features that have led to their respective 2023 dumpster fires."

Some of those unique features for the Yankees include building their team on big contract players who underperformed and found themselves on the IL more than the field. Then they expected way too much of their farm system, bringing up players who were not quite ready for prime time. This has led to more injuries and poor batting averages, pulling down the Yankees' confidence and overall ability to generate runs and win games.

"Combine this risky approach to the top of the roster with some tough injury luck, young players who were slow to fully integrate and some truly baffling moves by GM Brian Cashman over the last three seasons, and it's not hard to see how things went awry," reported ESPN+.

The Yankees need their youth to shine next season if they are going to contend. These guys minimally include Anthony Volpe,  Oswald Peraza,  Jasson Dominguez, Everson Pereira, and Austin Wells. The organization can't afford big dollar contracts in the off season, because their over thirty elite players are simply not giving the team a return on investment. 

One more day and the Yankees' 2023 baseball season will be over. They will watch the playoffs from home, just like you and me. And I can rally around the playoffs and enjoy seeing good teams shine. But I will be bitter that the Yankees blew it again, but this time was the worst I have seen in years. Let's hope the mantra "we can only get better from here" reigns true and there are two less management level people with the team come this off season.

 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof