THE YANKEES COACHING STAFF IS MAD AT ME

I'm kidding... or maybe I'm not.

I was harsh.  I was mean. I get it. I also get that when you are posting comments as UNKNOWN... most likely you don't want to be identified. I get that too. And that's what they do.

Here's the thing... that also means you can write whatever the hell you want. Fair.  But you know what's also fair? Being critical.

Critics have been way longer than me. And so, when I came down hard on the Yankees coaching staff as young and inexperienced, I was stating a fact.  What is definitely unfair is that I slammed them all insinuating that the Yankees future with these guys is flawed.  That's a guess. I don't know that... it's probably unfair but it's also an opinion.

I wrote MEET THE YANKEES LOSER COACHING STAFF. It was harsh. I was quickly meant with an attack back to me along with another that made a very good point... 

Unknown #1 is absolutely right. Should I give them a chance? I will. If they are successful I will be the first person to say I was wrong. But there's something that I firmly believe in when it comes to a coaching staff. They need to know what they're doing. Coaching College is a bit different than coaching the minors. Coaching in the minors is different than the majors. And I understand stepping stones, but do the Yankees have to have every single one of these guys move up at once? Serious question.

I mean even Aaron Boone is pretty green. He's not a good manager. And so if he can't manage well... and can't lead well... how do you think these other guys are gonna follow his lead? Do you see what I mean?

Now in reading the comment from Unknown #2 above, I'd bet you it's Casey Dykes or Tanner Swanson. You can just tell. I'm kidding. 

Bottom line... criticism in New York can be plenty. I'm not the only one who is underwhelmed by these guys, fact. 

But this I know... I'm probably the ONLY one that was a total dick about it.  And what's my main reason?  Experience.

If I was too hard on these guys, I apologize.  As a fan... I want experience and wins galore. That's not too much to ask. 

MEET THE YANKEES LOSER COACHING STAFF

Eric Chavez didn't even put a Yankee uniform on yet... and he bailed for the Mets. First off I find that kind of messed up that you agree to a gig and then bail, but secondly, I am very curious to if the Yankees actually offered the veteran a job. I wonder if they just threw Chavez in the mix when they announced their coaching staff a few weeks ago as a way to distract from the fact that the Yankees coaching staff has LITERALLY NO EXPERIENCE. I mean what are we doing here?

Dillon Lawson is not the answer. The Yankees hitters can probably teach him a thing or 2 about hitting. Dillon was the Yanks minor league hitting coordinator since 2018. Here is where Dillon's been since 2008:

2008-2009 Assistant coach Lindenwood University
2010-2011 Assistant coach Morehead State University
2012-2015 Assistant coach Southeast Missouri State University
2016 Coach Tri-City ValleyCats
2017 Assistant coach University of Missouri
2018 Coach Quad Cities River Bandits

And any person can make this next suggestion. This is an actual quote from Lawson. Lawson told The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pa., in July that the organization’s goal was “to square the ball up more, which in turn is going to increase average exit velos.”

I mean, you're not fooling anyone.

Let's talk about Casey Dykes. By the way, Casey Dykes is not the answer. Dykes played for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in 2011 and 2012. I know what you're think... SO??? Right. 

Before that Dykes graduated from Franklin High School in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2008, a year before the Yankees won their last World Series. He bounced around as baseball assistants at a few universities. And then in 2019, the New York Yankees hired Dykes as a minor league hitting coach...September 2019.

2021, Dykes was the hitting coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Fail up I guess. Moving on...

Carlos Mendoza is not the answer. Mendoza played in Minor League Baseball for 13 seasons.

After that be bounced around in the minor leagues Yankee farm system as a coach, and after the 2017 season, Mendoza was promoted as an infield coach for the Yanks. Mendoza became the bench coach in November of 2019. And he's done nothing for the Yanks since.

Right, let's put trust in this.

Matt Blake is not the answer. Blake became pitching coach for the Yankees in 2020, succeeding Larry Rothschild. He has never played professionally. He was a high school coach in Massachusetts for Cressey Sports Performance.

In 2010, he became an associate scout for the Yankees, whatever that means and then in 2015, he became a pitching coach in the Cape Cod League. That same year he went to the Indians organization as a minor league pitching coordinator. And that's it folks. 

You feel good right now?

Luis Rojas is not the answer.  Rojas was signed in 1999 as a third baseman by the Baltimore Orioles for $300,000 after graduating from high school. He was in the Marlins and Expos and Nationals farm system trying to make it. He even played in the Gulf Coast League for a hot moment in with the Expos minor league system. But he got hurt, and that was the end. He managed for the Mets in 2020 and 2021. You all know how that turned out.  

But gang, that's it. Nothing more.

Tanner Swanson is not the answer. 

Swanson is the major league quality control coach and catching coordinator for the Yankees and was the Minor and Major League Catching Coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. Before that you ask? He was hired as a full-time assistant coach at Santa Clara University in July 2017. Oh yeah and he played College ball for Green River Community College. Sounds like a winner.

Desi Druschel is not the answer. Desi started coaching in 1996 as an assistant at Vinton-Shellsburg. That went until 2000. He was also an assistant coach for Indiana University from 1999 to 2000 and Mount St. Clare College from 2000 to 2001.

He bounced around and then was hired as director of operations for the University of Iowa's baseball program in 2014. In 2017, he was the pitching coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Yankees promoted him to their major league staff as a pitching coach after the 2021 season. He was brought in by the Yankees in 2019 and worked his way up. No offense... that doesn't sound too promising.

Travis Chapman is not the answer. Chapman had one major league at bat with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003. His Major League average is .000. 

Before that he played college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Chapman spent 7 seasons in the minor leagues with the Phillies, Reds, Royals and Pirates and retired in 2006. 

He served as a coach for the Charleston River Dogs for a while, and now he's with the Yankees big team... because I guess lack of experience really catapulted him there.

And this brings me back to that big word...EXPERIENCE.

Mike Harkey has it and while the bullpen coach, he knows these players, understands them, understands what works and what doesn't work. 

He is content being out there. Why? Because he's good at being the Yankees bullpen coach. After all, he grew up as a pitcher in the MLB. 8 years to be exact. He's no slouch.

And Eric Chavez has experience and could have possibly been a nice fit. But the Mets poached him. That alone is fucked up but Steve Cohen wants to be big dog in Queens. Let him. I could care less. I do believe in ethics and morals however and I can't for the life of me understand why he thought going across town and taking coaches was ok. But don't worry, it will bite him in the ass.

CBS Sports writes: "In December, the Yankees announced that former A's slugger Eric Chavez was joining the club as an assistant hitting coach. On Thursday, however, MLB.com reported that Chavez will actually join the other New York team, the Mets, as their hitting coach."

Seems like the Mets want some experience. Why don't the Yankees?

Remember when excellence was a thing Yankee fans? What the hell happened?

YANKEE BODIES ARE FALLING... IS BOONE NEXT?

When it comes to inexperience... all you had to do was look at the Yankees coaching staff and laugh.  No one really had experience in the Major Leagues except maybe Marcus Thames and Phil Nevin. I've been screaming about this for months at BYB. The coaching staff is awful.  In fact, I would suggest that the manager was the more inexperienced than Phil Nevin too! Boone is a baffoon, a puppet, put there to torture Yankee fans who pay their hard earned money to go see their team win.  And yes, they did win, sometimes... when there was usually a 10 game losing streak attached to it.

Streaky teams have a hard time being consistent and that was their downfall. And yes you can blame the players to some extent, but you need leadership and the Yankees didn't have that. They had a bunch of college coaches who became fan boys in the process.  We don't need that. We need solid coaches.

The New York Daily News writes that things are starting to change... thank God!

"Over a week after the Bombers were booted from the postseason by the Red Sox, the team informed hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pilittere along with third base coach Phil Nevin that they would not have their contracts renewed for 2022, sources confirmed Thursday.

There is still no decision on Aaron Boone, the team’s manager for the past four years, whose contract will officially expire after the World Series."

Then this came out of nowhere from Kristie Ackert, same article:

"So what does shuffling the coaching staff mean? More importantly, what will it actually accomplish? This is just two years after they made what they thought were significant changes, firing long-time pitching coach Larry Rothschild and Josh Bard as bench coach and rebuilding their strength, conditioning and training staff. How big of a difference has that made?"

And so the question to harp on is "What will it accomplish?" Well for one, the Yankee front office has to do a deep dive to look for guys that actually know what their doing.  And if they can actually vet guys this time and maybe find a rythmn... IT WILL ACCOMPLISH ALOT.

You see, the Yankees look good on paper. But mismanagment, sitting guys "cause they need a rest" is no way to coach a team.  Sitting players for sucking is important. Tell that to Joey Gallo.  We are the Yankees. We play to win, that's our legacy and so fans aren't in the business of watching inexperience help navigate a team.  And so, one example of Bard for Rothschild is probably a pretty ridiculous one Ackert... relax. Fans know what we want. I mean look at these coaches that we currently have excluding Marcus Thames and Phil Nevin: 

                                                                          (Photo: Matt Blake)

PJ Pilittere (played baseball at California State, minor leaguer) 

Carlos Mendoza (played minor league baseball for 13 years) 

Matt Blake (pitching coachin the Cape Cod league, moved to pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians), Reggie Willits (played for the Anegels, 2006 to 2011) 

Tanner Swanson (minor league catching coordinator with the Twins).  

Does anyone realize how embarassing this is? They look more like a boy band than an actual EXPERIENCED MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL COACHING STAFF.  And Boone the clown at the top? Give me a break.

I am glad Yankee bodies fell yesterday... but I want them all to fall.  Sadly, I have a sneaking suspicion that Boone will stay, but he shouldn't.

Give us experience.  Try and bring in a David Cone.  Try and bring in a Paul O'Neill. Try and bring in anyone that knows this game and all it offers and look for the win, not a streak.  I am telling you... you find the right leadership and we will right this Yankee ship.

But right now it's sinking and I can't stand it.

I leave you with this. I received a note from the Yankees trying to get me to get my 2022 ticket package. I hid the person's name because I don't want to embarass that person. They are just trying to do their job. Anyway, here's the exchange...

They never emailed me back. Oh well.

FIRE BOONE! HE BROKE HIS YANKEE TOY!

 

Aaron, you might be the worst manager in New York Yankee history. You make bad lineups, you rest better players too often and play the wrong guys all the time. And when it comes to the bullpen, you have managed to dismantle it, hurt it and put in guys that don't belong there.  You have ZERO urgency, are more concerned about how you look than how to win and are truly unqualified to lead any major league team.  Just because Ray Boone, Bob Boone and Bret Boone all played the game and were praised for years during their time doesn't make you a good manager. You're a Beta. You wanna be an Alpha. You wanna be part of that elite Boone liniage, but you just fall short, in the family tree... and in Yankee history. In short, you've fooled no one. You're awful.

Gary Sanchez should never play the field! I don't care how much money we're paying him. He has no grit. He can't catch, he can't block and he cannot call a game. 

You've managed to strip Andrew Heaney of any confidence he's ever had on the mound because you're trowing him into roles he's not accustomed to and not prepared for. If you want quality, you need to build this dude up because you've happened to ruin everyone else out there in the pen.

You can't rest guys like DJ LeMahieu and play Tyler Wade who's been hanging on to the Yankees for way, WAY too long. He's just not good.

What the hell are you doing?  We're supposed to win games, especially down the stretch, but your moves have jeapordized that.  You can come back at me and say "Hey, what about that 13 game winning streak?" I can say, I only care about the next game, and last time I checked... we're losing alot.

Hey Boone... You need to be gone when the season concludes. You have no command of respect... it's clear these players don't wanna play for you. You don't have that THING.  The thing that players look up to. You're a pal, not a leader and that's a major problem. We were supposed to beat the Mets last night, not look like them.  You are embarassing.

I have to tell you Boone, you're soft. Not only that, you know that you're protected by your friend Brian Cashman, but I have news for you... if this was the 80's, you'd be gone. The Yankees have fired people for less in previous decades. Your problem is you cannot command respect from these players and you continually make the wrong moves.  

Phil Nevin's an Alpha. Phil Nevin knows how to win. If I'm Phil Nevin right now, one of the only truly seasoned coaches on your staff, I'm finding a way to off you. The dude has the heart of a lion and wants to win! But he's looking around and he recognized that he's the most qualified on your inexperienced staff... and that includes you. I mean think about this... you have no true veteran except Nevin and Harkey and if you think for a second that these guys and you can come up with a solid, strong winning strategy, you are sadly mistaken.  

Hitting is a major problem these days for the Yankees and all Marcus Thames ever did was hit a few dramatic home runs for us when he was in pinstripes.

P.J. Pilittere? He's a career minor league player. What the hell does he know? Reggie Willits played as a part time player for the Angels for 6 years and he's a first base coach. Why? He's got some experience, find a better role.And this about Tanner Swanson's job. He's quality control and catching coordinator. QUALITY CONTROL!!! 

Did anyone see Gary Sanchez last night? There was ZERO quality and no control. WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR STAFF DOING TO HELP BETTER THIS TEAM? Did you surround yourself with young bucks so you could look like a prophet or something? Cause you're failing.

My advice? Take a walk. Leave... don't do this gig anymore, you're bad at it. 

We need a manager who's more in tune with playing the best and winning than worrying about feelings and giving bad players chances.  If I see Joey Gallo in that damn lineup again I'm going to scream. He cannot hit a god damn thing. I said it before we got him, I'll say it again... he's not a hitter. He's what I call ONE FOR 15. That one he might hit a homer... or not, but that's about it. If he didn't play good defense he'd be in AAA. 

Work harder or leave, Boone. 

Be dedicated to winning and stop making stupid decisions and setting this team up for failure. You're the worst manager I have ever seen. Even if we make the playoffs, we have no drive to get to the finish. Hey... maybe that's a good thing... maybe then they'll fire you and that incredible inexperienced staff. 

My god!

ARE THE YANKEES PREMATURELY IMPRESSED WITH SANCHEZ?

It sure sounds like it. Don't get me wrong, I also want to be blown away by progress from Gary Sanchez. I am ready to be impressed. I am ready to feel that confidence in him, but I don't think I am as easily impressed as other are....namely the Yankees.

Yesterday's game looked good. I saw a lot of things that I liked, especially after being humiliated by the Phillies previously. Sanchez was productive both behind the plate and in the box and I want to see him continue to be. I am in his corner, but the Yankees seem to think this is what we can expect going forward the entire season.

I need to see a longer track record before I am convinced but I am happy that Yankees catching coach Tanner Swanson is a big believer, he had a lot of good things to say during the game yesterday, in case you didn't see it you can read about it HERE.

"He has really invested himself in what we’re doing," said Swanson, who has been working with Sánchez since January. "He has refined his process. Has put in a lot of quality work in. I think we’re seeing that transfer into the game. When we broke camp year last year, and really when we got disrupted with the pandemic and had to come back, we kind of had a foundation laid but weren’t really able to expand much beyond that. I think this year with the work he's done this offseason we've been really able to open the playbook."

I'm sure the pause last year between spring training and summer camp disrupted his routine and didn't help but he had problems before that. He's had problems framing pitches, blocking balls and has hit below the Mendoza line long before Covid-19 came around. I don't think last season is the only reason to be skeptical.

I do have hope that his time in the Dominican League over the winter helped. I hope there is a resurgence to the 2017 Sanchez that a lot of people are buzzing about. I think we all need to see more first....but I will be ecstatic to eat my words later if 2021 is a career year for him.

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj