Playoff Hopes Fading for New York Yankees
As the seasons change, the leaves begin to change color and begin to fall, so do the championship hopes of New York Yankees fans. The Bombers failed to seize an opportunity to gain ground on a playoff birth this past weekend. Things started off well with a win on Friday only to get blasted at home by Cleveland on Saturday and Sunday.
The Yankees are 16 games over .500 right now and will finish with about 90 wins this season. Yes, they have the second highest payroll in baseball but 2021 was really another COVID 19 year. What may have come out of this year for the Bronx Bombers will be valuable next year and the years to come.
First pitching; Nester Cortes, Jr. and Luis Gil showed that they can both pitch in the major leagues and be successful. Jameson Tailon took an important step towards being a solid number 2 or 3 in the Yankee rotation.
Next defense; Giancarlo Stanton showed he can play in the field and contribute. Joey Gallo and Aaron Judge are both solid outfielders. The Gleyber Torres is a shortstop experiment appears to be over. Look for a defensive free agent shortstop to be signed this offseason. However, Anthony Rizzo should be a priority for pinstripe GM Brian Cashman to bring back. Luke Voit is definitely an attractive option at 1B as is moving DJ Lemahieu there but Rizzo also provides that sweet lefty swing that has been lacking in the Bronx line up.
All in all, there is no way that you can look at 2021 at a failure. Who knows, the Yankees could get hot again over the next two weeks and sneak back in. But, if they don't, look at it this way. This year COVID 19 outbreaks on one team were handled differently by the league than others. Players were getting used to the grind of 162 games after only playing 60 last season and if the Yankees win 89 games, they will have a better record than the winner of the National League East Atlanta Braves. Chin up Yankee fans. It's not over.