Yankees Fans Need To Stop Rooting For Wins, Otherwise It's The Same Old Thing
Here's a piece of advice for anyone out there - people only remember what you've done for them recently.
"You're only as good as your last show," Imus used to always tell us (or warn us) while I was part of his show at WABC Radio and Fox Business Channel.
So when it comes to the disaster that has been the New York Yankees' year where - last place in the American League East despite such high hopes - it's clear that something needs to be changed. Many reports say that manager Aaron Boone is all but gone after this season whether his fault or not. He didn't choose the roster after all, that was General Manager Brian Cashman.
If you ask the Yankees fanbase and listen to sports talk radio, the fans hate Cashman. However, with the team gifting him a four-year extension just last year, it doesn't seem like he's going anywhere.
YANKEES ARE 65-69 THIS SEASON
The worst thing that could happen to Yankees fans right now is the team having a strong finish to the season.
Remember what I said, people only remember the last thing you did for them. If the Yankees go on some sort of tear to wrap up the season, you can be sure that the front office will deem the season's lackluster performance as a "fluke."
This wasn't a fluke. This is a fundamental reliance on analytics that doesn't work. It wasn't some short of shock that they went into the season without a third baseman and without a full outfield. They did nothing to change that. It wasn't a surprise that Giancarlo Stanton is literally physically unable to run. Sure, the baseball Gods may not have been nice to the Yankees in the form of injuries - especially with their starting rotation - but that's baseball. Unfortunately, the next guy up hasn't been able to do much to turn things around.
My nightmare scenario if the Yankees finish strong here is that Hal Steinbrenner and the powers that be will somehow have second thoughts about not making major changes. I hope I'm wrong, but fellow Yankees fans can understand why I'm hesitant based on the team's track record and insistence on believing the analytic numbers. It's not me just assuming, they have told us year-in and year-out that they believe in the analytics.
Analytics is fine, but as I've argued, it's not the numbers themselves, it's how you look at the numbers. It's the type of information you're trying to get out of them. And it's also about finding a way to balance a computer algorithm with a player being in a hot streak - something artificial intelligence can't comprehend.
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Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge looks down as the team continues to slide. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
On Thursday, Steinbrenner told the Associated Press that he plans on looking into every aspect of the organization during the upcoming offseason.
“We’re going to take a very deep dive into everything we’re doing. We’re looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do. Baseball operations in general. We’re going to have some very frank conversions with each other. This year was obviously unacceptable," Steinbrenner said.
Yes, it was unacceptable. But that hasn't stopped the team from already raising season ticket prices for next year. And can we really trust Steinbrenner that he means what he says? They've been hell bent on this analytics focus for years and still haven't won a World Series since 2009.
ROOT FOR THE YOUNG PLAYERS, JUST DON'T WIN
Right now, Yankees fans should hope the team follows the path of an NFL team who is eliminated from making the playoffs. Bring in the backup quarterback, bring in next year's hopefuls and see what you have. Get them some real game reps and just let it rip.
Yankees fans should root for the future. Jason Dominguez and Austin Wells are being brought up from Triple-A this weekend, let's see what they can do. Let's see the hopefully continued growth of Anthony Volpe. Eventually, Aaron Judge needs to be shut down because the last thing we need is him giving 100% and getting hurt.
Yes, losing stinks and nobody wants to see it happen. But it's been happening all year long for the team now, and the last thing Yanks fans should want is some sort of win streak here. We need to take one for the team, because God knows the organization is doing everything they can to not see the problem at hand.