WE GOT SOME HATERS! YANKEES PREDICTED TO MISS THE PLAYOFFS.

I really love when someone counts the Yankees out! It's Spring Training and here we are talking about what we will see in October. It's nuts! Also, I just love to be the underdog. I love being written off and having no expectations and then just take everyone by surprise. 

So yesterday I laughed when I jumped on the internet to read the latest rumors and I find a column on MLB.com HERE giving one prediction for each division. Spoiler alert: the Yankees were predicted to miss the playoffs by Will Leitch. It's crazy to think about after the Yankees just had a productive winter. It wasn't perfect we didn't get a third baseman like I wanted but I'm excited to see Max Fried and Devin Williams pitch at Yankee stadium. We made some nice additions to this team.

Leitch feels differently though. He thinks the Yankees will be the shocker in the AL East and not play October baseball. Apparently, we are going to be so bad, we won't even grab a Wild Card. It's like 2023 all over again, I guess?

"The Yankees will miss the postseason. That's the sort of sentence you type and then feel like you should duck afterward," Leitch wrote. "But it's not that crazy of a notion. First of all, it's possible that every other team in this division will be improved from 2024. The Red Sox may have had one of the best offseasons in the sport, the Orioles’ youngsters, the Blue Jays are all-in for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s final season of club control and the Rays have Shane McClanahan back and all sorts of young talent emerging, as usual."

The Blue Jays have been all-in for the last couple of seasons, and they didn't get all of the talent they wanted to attract, and they haven't been able to capitalize on Vlad's talents. Not sure I can believe this season will be the one they beat out the Yankees. The Rays always have young talent, but they haven't been able to put all of that together to get to the postseason. Can it happen? Sure....but the Yankees added talent too, and Leitch doesn't give them enough credit for that.

Anything can happen. He is right that we do have some question marks with the ongoing injury woes of Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu. DJ in particular concerns me, because I always wanted to upgrade that position but at this point it is "the norm" and we have to work through it. One thing that does change is hopefully a healthier first baseman now that Anthony Rizzo is out and Paul Goldschmidt is in. 

The Yankees have some good talent on this roster. We lost one big bat in Juan Soto, but made improvements in several others. I don't see Soto as a loss. He was one guy, the Yankees added several assets that can help this team.

I like being the underdog. I'm excited to prove Leitch wrong. This isn't 2023....you should never count the Yankees out. 

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj