It's not even July 4 yet and the Yankees have been buried more times than Kenny from South Park. The latest last rites were issued on Sunday after New York's ninth loss in 11 games, a slide which has once again made an AL East pennant look like a pipe dream (11.0 games back) and the wild-card consolation prize an impossible dream (9.0 games back behind five teams).
I'm not ready to kick dirt on the 2007 Yankees, though a comeback at this point seems about as likely as an Obama-Clinton ticket in '08. Rallies of this magnitude do happen on occasion (see: Yankees in '78, Braves in '93), and are often celebrated in book, movie and song for decades to come. But to expect it to happen is not realistic and quite possibly bad for your own personal health.
If the Yankees are going to get back into the race, they will have to overcome their biggest problem so far: an inability to win close games. New York is an AL-worst 5-13 in one-run games compared to 18-9 in games decided by five runs or more. The disparity has led to a six-win difference between their real record of 37-41 and their record based on run-differential (pythag) of 43-35.
There is a school of thought in Sabermetric circles that results of one-run games often come down to pure luck. Sometimes, that may be true. But I don't think that is the case with these Yankees, who have handicapped themselves in close games by poor bullpen management and suboptimal roster construction.
• First, the bullpen. As a whole it's not a terrific group. Yankees relievers lead the league in walks with 143, and part of that is a function of how often they are called upon -- only the Rangers and Royals have pitched more innings out of the 'pen. Yet the Yankees' bullpen has only 175 strikeouts, 11th in the AL. Kyle Farnsworth, in particular, is one guy whose act has worn thin to say the least.
To sum up: Yankees relievers walk a lot of batters and don't strike out many batters. That's not a recipe for success in any league I've ever heard of.
The one exception to the mediocrity in the bullpen is Mariano Rivera, who is on the Halley's Comet schedule of relief duty. Joe Torre long has been criticized (both fairly and unfairly) for the faulty use of his bullpen, but last Tuesday against the Orioles took the cake. Tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Torre brought Scott Proctor in to start the inning. Proctor allowed the first two runners to reach base before getting an out. Instead of bringing in Rivera, who had made one appearance in the previous nine days, to preserve the tie, Torre stuck with Proctor, who issued two walks to end the game. A tie game in the bottom of the ninth is one of, if not the highest, of high-leverage situations in a ballgame. If that's not the time to bring in your best reliever, I don't know what is.
The stunning development led to this brilliant rant by Jay Jaffe on his Futility Infielder blog:
"If Torre couldn't be bothered to use a rested Mariano Rivera in the face of a sudden-death bottom of the ninth to thwart a potential three-game losing streak and 1-6 slide, then this team, this season, maybe even this regime is beyond redemption."
• Second, the bench. This is what I mean by bad roster contruction: Miguel Cairo has started 15 games at first base, five fewer than the equally feckless Josh Phelps. But don't blame them. They were just filling in for the fearsome Doug Mientkiewicz. (It's been asked before and worth repeating: Why did they let Carlos Pena go?) Is there anybody on this bench who does anything at an above-average major-league level? Wil Nieves, Andy Phillips, Kevin Thompson, Cairo ... this isn't exactly the Bomb Squad.
Fortunately for the Yankees, these are problems that can be addressed. Quality backups aren't too difficult to acquire via trade, though finding the right reliever or two to fix the bullpen will be costly. Unfortunately for the Yankees, time is running out quickly for any of their moves to make a difference.
Chelsey Buhler
Brooklyn Decker
2009 Turkeys Of The Year
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Comments (26) Add A Comment
Soory I like the Yanks but it's over. This is not the team that will comeback. They are great on paper but injuries and lack of leadership has killed them. Signing Roger was a slap on the face. I thought they learned from Randys' adventure last year. Don't get me wrong; Roger is one of the best but not now. He belongs in a booth ot maybe as a pitching coach. Hello, age 44 is old no matter how geat you are as a pitcher.
Be a fan and cheer but it will be a long season for everyone in New York that loves the yanks.
drj0514
Total Comments (4471)
As someone well remembers the magic of 1978, it's important to note the huge differences between the 1978 and 2007 Yanks. The 1978 squad was the defending champ; this group hasn't won a playoff series since 2004. The 1978 group had the 1977 Cy Young winner as a setup man; the 2007 Yanks have a setup man with an ERA above 5. While I can't find any mid-season 1978 AL East standings on-line, I don't think the 1978 team was flirting with .500 near the All-Star Break; I'm pretty sure the Red Sox were playing at an other-worldly pace. While Reggie Jackson could be pretty comical playing right field, Abreu makes the 1973-vintage Willie Mays look like Devon White.
I agree with Jacob that the bullpen and bench are disaster areas, as is the stunning lack of power from anyone not Alex Rodriquez.
Robert A. Brooks
Leverett , MA
Total Comments (1)
LETS GO METS!
KCP
Glen Head , NY
Total Comments (1)
I bet Bernie is happy as heck NOT to be on this team of mediocrity
ninedeeniner
Portage , MI
Total Comments (2)
I'm a Sox fan and I'll be the first to say....uh, don't count them out. I'm not counting them out until the last out of the regular season.
Whitepants
West Orange, NJ
Total Comments (14)
Robert, try this URL. About halfway through the season, the Red Sox were playing .688 ball and had a 9.0 game lead on the Yankees, who were at .570.
http://www.baseballrace.com/races/MLB-1978-AL_East-Normal.asp
Jacob Luft
Total Comments (6)
The yankees seem to be having a really bad years, after 2 years of pretty much everything falling right for them. I'm a fan of the Yankees, but I think this season is a write-off... I just hope they don't panic like before and sign everyone they can find to fill the gap (leading to Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright)
This may be the time to start using young pitchers. I think Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy will mature a lot faster in the big leagues. Clemens and Mussina can be shafted into middle relief - Frankly, I don't care how they feel about it.
First base is a giant black hole. Their only good minor league positional player plays Shortstop I think... so they'll have to search free agency. Mientkiewitcz is not the answer in anyone's eyes
killian
Total Comments (240)
Maybe the Yanks need to get more than two starters who can average over 6 innings a start. You can have the greatest bullpen in the world, but if they need to pitch nearly four innings a game that will wear them out quicker than anything. Pettitte figures out to be 6.1 innings per start. That may be high since he has two relief appearances. Wang is averaging 7 innings per start. That makes it much tougher on the pen to do anything and it will get worse over the rest of the season.
gnjaxon
Fort Wayne , IN
Total Comments (9)
Any reason SI continues to waste space with articles about this particular losing team? Where are the pieces on how to fix the Giants, Rockies, Reds, Astros, Pirates, Cardinals, Nationals, Marlins, Rangers, Royals, White Sox, Devil Rays, Orioles, and Blue Jays?
The rest combined don???t get half the editorial ink as these losers???
By-the-Sea
Total Comments (111)
Look the Yankees are awful this year but because their the Yankees you guys keep on talking about them well I personally am sick of it! You all dont write articles like this about any otherteam unless their the RED SOXS or the YANKEES and im tired of your endless coverage of those two teams granted the RED SOXS are actually winning and doing stuff worth covering. But like By-the sea said y arent you giving the same coverage to the Astros, Reds,etc..... Stop giving so much attention to a team that this year doesnt deserve the attention you are giving to it!!!
Wave101
Houston , TX
Total Comments (2)
First off: Joe must go. He has not been the manager he was when Zimmer was by his side. Second: Fire the coaching staff. The batters are not hitting, the pitchers are not pitching, nobody is stealing bases. Turn the reins over to Joe Girardi and let him select his own coaches. As for individual players: Let Cairo play first base full time until Cashman gets a suitable full-timer; sit down Johnny Damon until he is completely healthy, or you're just prolonging his uselessness; pitch Mario every other day; rest Posada every fifth day. Arrest Scott Proctor for starting a fire in a public place without a permit. It's illegal. It is now embarrassing to be a Yankee fan.
Tom Bruce
Brooklyn , NY
Total Comments (23)
Good or bad, the Yanks and the Sox have more fans than those various teams combined. The press has to give the people what they want, homies.
He's Biz Markie
Total Comments (1)
There are at least three clubs ahead of the Yankees that they have no chance of catching: Boston (50W), Cleveland (50) & Detroit (47). They probably won't catch Oakland or Minnesota either. No Division, no Wild Card (but look at the bright side - no playoff disappointment this year). They may as well blow up this aging, brittle team and start putting together a new one. Good riddance, Yankees!!!!!
megas megalosti
Total Comments (8)
Agree, this Yankees team looks like they don't have heart , passion for the game. They don't have a good Bullpen, either a good starting pitcher, and the biggest problem of all this comes from the big office.
Jeter said a few years ago , when the yankees was playing a very bad baseball about a big comeback for the team like the 98-99-2000 team, who was a very good team, and he said ''Not this group, this group its not the same''
Well, the Yankees finish that season losing the WS Against the Florida Marlins.
I'm Cleveland Indians fan and i think we have a better team than the Yankees right now, and playing with more heart. That is thinking in a wild card race (i am optimist but the Tigers are better and i think our real chance at the end of the season is the wild Card).
Go Tribe !!
Aguilucho26
Mc Keesport , PA
Total Comments (2)
I think we can win the division, but if we can't we have a real chance in the wild card, that is why i mention the yankees with the Indians.
Hi to all from Dominican Republic
Aguilucho26
Mc Keesport , PA
Total Comments (2)
The yankees can turn it around... if their pitching becomes reliable... their bats come alive... and A-Rods wife dont wear stupid shirts
JP: Aoki fan
Total Comments (1027)
New York Mets - 2 Championships in 44 years! What a joke of a history. That record will never beat the Yankees, even in your great grandchildren's lifetime! New York City will always be a Yankees Town!
johnnysain
Total Comments (30)
sports is a cyclical business so the yankees season should not come as a surprise to most as the last 2 years they have had major problems and yet somehow have managed to overcome them and sneak into the playoffs... the glory days of the mid to late 90's were fueled by good free agent signings, trades and an excellent farm system that produced major league talent such as bernie williams, derek jeter, andy pettite, mariano rivera, ted lily, nick johnson and many others.... once the yankees started signing every big ticket free agent that is when things started to go south... now you get to see over the hill pitchers and in decline power bats and all those up and coming young prospects are in someone elses farm system... cashman has begun to rebuild the farm and has a lot of good young arms but is void of any position players... and a 3rd or 4th place finish in the al east might mean cashman is not around next year to continue what he started
bCColtrinari
Staten Island, NY
Total Comments (11056)
As controversial as this might play in the NY tabloids, it may be time to give up on the season and start rebuilding for next year. The minor leagues is packed with outstanding young pitchers so Cashman should try to unload some overpriced, overaged veterans for some young position players. Jeter, Hughes and Wang are about the only untouchables I can see so why not ship out Abreu, Damon, Petitie or even ARod to some team that can use a 3 month rental? Of course there's no telling if anyone would want any of them, except for maybe ARod, but it's worth trying. If the Marlins can constantly rebuild every 3 years with the limited resources available, can you just imagine what the Yankees can do with theirs?
vinvega9
Hillsborough , NJ
Total Comments (1)
As a Red Sox fan, I love to watch the Yanks suffer, especially with the amount of money they are spending to be below .500. But A lot of people are right, the last time the Yanks won the world series, their roster was full of talented farm system people, and terrific role players from free agency. Now they have a ton of individual talent that cannot come together as a team. Kinda reminds me of the most recent NBA - Olympic "Dream Teams" What a joke. Tons of talent individually, but getting all of these superstars to play as a team must be killing Torre. To top it off, injuries are way up this year. All in all, I love to watch the Yankees tumble, and I hope that Steinbrenner will finally cave in and overhaul his rosters. He hasnt in the past because on paper, the teams from 2-3 years ago were winning the AL East, but were flopping in the playoffs, now that they are most likely not going to even be a contender, its time to eat crow.
Phinfan13
Boise , ID
Total Comments (6)
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