The
Kansas City Royals aren’t the league’s most powerful team. In fact,
they hit the lowest number of home runs in MLB this season, not even
reaching 100 – the only team not to do so. Instead,
the Royals have used a combination of speed (they led the majors in
stolen bases), hitting with runners in scoring position (they ranked 4
th in MLB), and as my colleague Suzie Pinstripe pointed out in
WHY CAN'T THE YANKEES BE MORE LIKE THE ROYALS? – chemistry and hustle
to create a winning formula.
Does
that mean every team should look to play “small ball” to win? Of course
not. What it does mean is that a winning formula has to be developed
according to the personnel you have and the
stadium you play in.
The
Royals’ most frequent lineup was an average age of 27.8 years-old. It
included 24-year-old stars
Salvador Perez (Catcher) and
Eric Hosmer (1B)
as well as four other “20-somethings”. There’s
lots of energy there to be had, and they’ve used it in their run to the
World Series. They play in a large park, so it only makes sense that
they play a station-to-station type of game.
With a strong starting staff anchored by
James Shields and 23-year-old fireballer
Yordano Ventura, and bullpen that ranked 6
th in baseball, the Royals aren’t a fluke. They are
a team built for their stadium and managed to their talents.
Can the Yankees find that same type of recipe? They can, but they’ll need a change in mindset.
Beleaguered by injuries over the past two seasons, the Bombers have ranked 22
nd and 12
th in home runs.
The previous three seasons they were 1
st, 3
rd,
and 1
st. The bottom line is that their advanced age – the
average age of the Yankees most frequent lineup was 33.7 (with no one
under the age of 30) – is resulting in a higher frequency of downtime
and sapping their power. The replacements for
the fallen starters have included the likes of
Chris Stewart,
Lyle Overbay,
Brendan Ryan,
Ichiro Suzuki, and many others whose best power
was seasons long in the past.
When a
starting nine that once included
Robinson Cano, a healthy
Alex Rodriguez and
Mark Teixeira, and
Jorge Posada is replaced with players
like those mentioned above, you need to adjust your
style of baseball. You no longer have consistent power, and need to
compensate for that.
Instead,
the team has ignored the hand it has been dealt and attempted to
recreate the success of 2009 with players of a different caliber. There
is no statement more telling of that ignorance
than a quote from manager Joe Girardi in 2013. In responding to
reports that hitting coach Kevin Long suggested the team play more
“small ball”, Girardi was quoted as saying
“We’re the Bronx Bombers, not
the Bronx Bunters”. At the time, the team featured
Stewart behind the plate, Overbay at first (Teixeira was down with a
wrist injury), Jayson Nix at third base and
Eduardo Nunez at shortstop
(
Derek Jeter was out with an ankle injury for most of the year). In
2013 only one player – Robinson Cano – hit more
than 20 home runs. How could they NOT be the Bronx Bunters?
I’m
not just focusing on 2013 as the “stubbornness” seemingly has continued
through the most recent season. In spite of an injury to
Carlos Beltran
that clearly hampered his talent at the plate
(.233 average with 15 hr in just 109 games) and the continued decline
of Mark Teixeira (.216 average with 22 home runs and 62 RBI), Girardi
repeatedly left them in the middle of the order (Beltran had 88 games in
either the 3
rd, 4
th,
or 5
th spot, Teixeira had 109 games in either the 4
th or 5
th
spot) as the team hopelessly battled for the final playoff berth. As
much as it pains me to say it, the manager’s refusal to move Derek Jeter
from the number two
spot in the lineup (where he hit .258 with a .306 on-base percentage)
was yet another example of failure to adapt to the talent at hand. It
is one thing to be loyal to your players, but to do so at the expense of
the team is tantamount to sabotage.
Without
dwelling on the mistakes that are now water under the bridge (I could
go on about
Stephen Drew, or
David Huff, or
Matt Thornton, or any other
desperate attempt to find a left handed
pitcher just for the sake of having a left handed pitcher), what change
of direction can the Yankees take to create the success that the Royals
have?
First,
they need to trust some of the players that have proven themselves in
the minor league system and promote from within. The 2014 Royals
starting lineup features five “home grown” players.
Their rotation has two starters that began their MLB careers as Royals
and their All-Star closer,
Greg Holland, has never known another major
league team.
Do
the Yankees have that kind of talent in the minors? How are we going to
know if they aren’t given a chance? Already, out of necessity (due to
numerous injuries to the staff), the team stumbled
upon a couple of gems on the mound in
Chase Whitley and
Shane Greene.
Both are 25-years-old and both can expect more time in the Bronx next
season. Greene may actually break into the starting rotation. Need I
even bring up what
Dellin Betances did in 2014?
Instead
of lamenting the need for a shortstop, let Jose Pirela have a shot at
proving he belongs in “the show” (he has over 300 games at short in MiLB
and hit over .300 with Scranton). Bring
up
Rob Refsnyder and start him at second base. He has proven himself
at Triple A (hitting .300 in 77 games with the RailRiders). At the ages
of 24 and 23 respectively, they would not only fill needs on the field,
but inject some youthful energy into our
stale, old team.
Aside
from personnel, the Yankees game management needs to be more flexible.
If one of the aging stars is in a prolonged period of..well…aging…then
move them to a different spot in the order!
Realize what you have at that moment, and adjust accordingly. Broken
egos are much easier to recover than lost games.
Should
we end up with a team made up of hitters more capable of hitting
doubles than home runs, then we need to manage the game to make that
sort of character a strength. Why do I get the feeling
that as a toddler, young Joe Girardi repeatedly attempted to pound the
square block through the round hole?
It is
my hope that our GM and manager are following what the Kansas City
Royals are accomplishing and how they are doing it. Let’s learn from an
organization that has somehow passed us by and
rekindle our future simply by utilizing what we have.
--Steve Skinner, BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1
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