YANKEES LACK OF OFFENSE WILL BE THEIR UNDOING

Source: ESPN

Yes, the Aaron Judge grand slam on Friday night gave me faith but the 7-1 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon erased it. The inability for this 2024 team to string together a series of wins is laughable and deflating at the same time; especially against teams that have no shot of making the post season. When I boil it down it is simply, the Yankees lack of offense will be their undoing.

Saturday's game against the Red Sox was abysmal. "Gerrit Cole allowed a season-high seven earned runs on five hits, three walks, and three hit batsmen. It was a stunningly poor performance for Cole, who is projected as New York’s Game 1 starter in the postseason," wrote the The Athletic. But what is equally concerning is that the Yankees had no answer for the Red Sox's hitting.

Source: The Athletic

"In the fifth inning, Boston continued pouring it on as Cole struggled. In a fitting moment, Rafael Devers faced Cole with the bases loaded. He hit a two-run single, and then two batters later, Yoshida added a two-run single of his own. Cole’s day ended after 4 1/3 innings pitched," reported The Athletic.

But the Yankees' inability to counter the Red Sox is worrisome. Yes, the grand slam was a good answer, an excellent answer to the Yankees 4-0 run deficit on Friday. But how do they let the Red Sox score 7 the next day with no recourse. 

"I think we were paying attention to the standings a couple of weeks ago, and I think that's when we just kept going back and forth, kind of passing the lead," Judge said. "We all talked in this room and said, 'Hey, if we just focus on us and what we got to do, we'll be where we want to be.' So hopefully nobody's looking at the standings. I'm certainly not," reported ESPN. I get that, but you still have to win ball games, particularly these ball games coming down the stretch against teams like the Sox who's season is over mathematically. 

Source: Robert Sabo for the NY Post

It is very simple. Hit. And in particular situationally hit, which is something the Yankees don't do well. They rely on the home run and it is not working. Aaron Judge was shocked to hear that his home run on Friday night was the first in 16 games. "Was it 16 games? I didn't really know that," Judge said. "It's just another day. I really don't focus on hitting homers. I don't focus on any of that. I've got a job to do," reported ESPN. Yes, as we well know, it is the Yankees brass that emphasize the home run. But big blasts can't be the end all be all. There has to be more if the Yankees are going to support days like Friday and Saturday when starting pitching is not going to hold down their opponents. 

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

A NEW FACE THAT COULD CHANGE THE YANKEE OFFENSE

A superstar outfielder in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League is rumored to be posted in the next two weeks, and he has some skills the Yankees could really use. The Yankees should be interested, because several other teams will be too, with good reason. 

The Orix Buffaloes just won their first Japan Series title in 26 years thanks to Masataka Yoshida's walk-off home run and now, he's likely destined for MLB. Someone is going to grab this guy because he's proven to be elite is one area that teams will salivate over.

Yoshida is a two-time batting champ in NPB and was a gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He is the contact hitter that Yankee fans have been dreaming about. This season he had a .335 BA with 21 home runs, 80 walks and only 41 strikeouts and FanGraph's scouting report HERE says he "is almost impossible to strike out, and his feel for contact is superlative enough that even though a) he's not very physical and b) is a left field-only guy, he's elite at the game's most important skill: hitting."

Almost impossible to strikeout...that sounds like a dream. The Yankees have too many guys that just strikeout a ton. They chase too often, and Yoshida is the opposite. As much as I liked watching Aaron Judge smash home runs this season, I'd also like to watch good contact hitting instead of stranding runners. There needs to be some balance. The Yankees can still be the Bronx Bombers, but can also get some guys that can just put the ball in play and Yoshida could be that guy.

If Yoshida is posted as expected, he will have 30 days to negotiate with MLB clubs and international spending limits will not be an obstacle due to his age and service time. He's an interesting option for many teams, and should be for the Yankees even if they re-sign Judge because he is a left-handed bat and he could be another option if Andrew Benintendi does not return.

It's time for the Yankees to think outside of the box, because what've been doing just hasn't been working.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj