The Yankees Stink Right Now
After another gut-wrenching 5-4 walk-off loss to division foes the Toronto Blue Jays, it's become blatantly clear: The Yankees just aren't that good right now. They're brutal on the mound, they struggle to make routine outs, and they haven't hit a lick.
Yes, it's early in the season, but we also can't ignore that team ownership let fans down with this roster. I'll explain how bad it really is.
Right now, the Yankees' bullpen is spent. They've been asked to pitch multiple innings this past week, and they're already running out of gas. And we Yankees fans have watched this Yankees front office let this same story play out four years running.
Strike out a ton, throw a bunch of left fielder/DHs out there to try and play defense, and hope and pray for solo homers to propel another regular season attack on a weak division. Part of me wants the Yankees to win, and then another side of me wants Hal Steinbrenner and ownership to be punished for their cheap offseason. They kinda deserve to fail, don't they?
"But the Yankees are already spending a lot!"
So what? If the Bombers just played in a winner-take-all playoff game and "ran out of starting pitching," then they aren't spending enough. We don't necessarily insist on always acquiring talent via free agent spending, but the team has proven they can't develop talent.
Upcoming starters like Deivi Garcia have so far been good not great, and the rest of the starters are on short-term deals out of free agency. Other than Gerrit Cole, the team has made no major investments in that rotation because Hal Steinbrenner didn't want to eclipse the $210 million tax threshold.
The richest sports organization is owned by a man reluctant to spend an extra $4 million because of taxes. Does anyone still doubt that profits are the center of attention rather than winning? I thought that was perfectly obvious when the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers went and grabbed NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer -- even though they were over the tax threshold -- because they wanted to win again. That's a team owner who's committed to winning, and the Yankees fan base should expect that same energy.
This team has some major changes to make
I'm not going to claim this team is one move away from winning a title because they're not. If you can't pitch, field, or score, then you're not a move away. Except for maybe Shohei Ohtani, the Yankees can't expect one player to solve their issues.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman needs the leash to make the Yankees great again. Will it happen? History tells us the "Yankee way" of insisting on winning passed away with the great George Steinbrenner. Of course Hal may just snap and give in, but we shouldn't hold our breath.