Bleeding Yankee Blue: FALLING BACK DOWN TO EARTH

Monday, May 18, 2026

FALLING BACK DOWN TO EARTH

The Yankees have a pattern. They start the season off strong, and then when the dog days of summer arrive they hit a wall and take a nose dive. We've seen that in July and as frustrated as I get when I see it, I still know it's likely. But....it's middle of may. We are ahead of schedule. The Yankees just dropped three series in a row we should've beaten. Are we already free falling?

We knew the bullpen needed an overhaul. Cashman made some interesting moves and back in March they were rolling and we asked DID CASHMAN FINALLY GET SOMETHING RIGHT? I said I wanted to see Camilo Doval, Jake Bird and David Bednar adapted and performed over the next six months before celebrating a good start of the season. I think we can officially say we don't need six months. We can't afford six more weeks with what is going on....

These guys are complete busts! Our "needs" list is growing longer and longer by the minute. Once again, this is not a team built to win a championship. It's a team that is going to hit a wall and come up short while the National League contenders plow through them. The Yankees need to make some moves, take on some payroll and right some wrongs here.

The bullpen trio has to go. Right now, I only trust Tim Hill. That's it! Bednar is not a real closer, and Doval and Bird are gambles that are almost a guaranteed failure. Unless our starters can go eight innings, we are setting ourselves up for a blown game like we saw last night against the Mets. These games just can't happen, especially now that our starting rotation took a hit losing Max Fried. There's just no confidence.

The Yankees also need a catcher because Austin Wells isn't it! The Yankees don't want to use Ben Rice behind the plate and honestly, I am not feeling good with Paul Goldschmidt the rest of the season getting more reps at first base. The Yankees need more stability. It's a patch job.

It's no secret Anthony Volpe is a disaster and he's back up again because Jose Caballero is injured. When Caballero is healthy again, he needs to come back to shortstop, and the Yankees just need to cut their losses with Volpe. He's not going to be our answer, maybe some other team can use him.

Honestly, the infield and the bullpen really concern me right now. These are big pieces that just have to function. The pitching and offense (when it shows up) can't make up for those voids. Championship caliber teams don't gamble like this.

Cashman needs to fix this - because if he can't and he can't put together that winning team he doesn't belong here and the Yankees need to pull their heads out of their butts. Just like in any job, if you can't perform....it's time to move on.

This is a mess and we're all tired of it. Bandaged, flawed teams are not what we expect in the Bronx. No more mediocrity - stop the freefall! Fix it, already!