The Major League Baseball season is only three weeks old and faithful New York Yankees fans are already disgusted. The Yankees are dead last in the American League East standings with a 6-11 record. The tough New Yorkers are letting the team hear about it with loud choruses of boos each evening!
Sure, there is still nearly 90% of the regular season left and it is probably too early for a massive panic in the Bronx. However, the Yanks have to overcome their sluggish start in order to not lose too much ground in a very competitive division. Here are three reasons the Yanks have struggled so far in 2021.
Horrible Offensive Production
Let’s start with the most obvious problem the Yankees have that even casual baseball fans can see. The boys in pinstripes ‘just ain’t hittin the ball’! There are plenty of excuses like cold weather, lack of rhythm at the plate, or just not seeing the ball well.
Whether those excuses are valid or not is beside the point. When your team payroll is over 211 million dollars, you expect a better team batting average than a putrid .205 which currently ranks dead last in the American League (Spotrac). Heck, Aaron Boone is probably thinking of coming out of retirement to insert himself into the lineup (and who could blame him?).
However, even with the poor start on offense New York fans must remember that the sky is not falling. One positive stat that Yanks fans can cling to is the fact that the team ranks third in the league in walks (MLB.com). That is a good sign that the Yankees hitters are not just swinging away aimlessly.
Bad Starting Pitching (besides Gerrit Cole)
Cole has done a fabulous job as ace of the Yankees staff so far this season. In fact, the 30-year old workhorse has a miniscule 1.82 earned run average this season which ranks near the top of the league for starting pitchers. However, all of the other starters in the rotation have been TURRIBLE (as Charles Barkley would say haha).
Domingo German and Corey Kluber have both been major disappointments so far. German has already given up four bombs and Kluber cannot seem to find the plate with 11 walks. Cole can only do so much since starters only pitch once every five days. Spots 2-5 in the starting rotation have to improve fast.
Again, here is a positive for Yankees fans to keep in mind. As bad as the starting pitchers have been, the bullpen has been dominant. In fact, the Yankees have the best bullpen earned run average in the American League so far at 2.28.
Lack of Leadership
Everyone and their brother loves Aaron Boone and that is understandable as he seems to be a super nice guy and a supportive coach. However, one has to wonder if Boone was really ready to manage one of the world’s most prolific sports franchises. Yes, Boone hit one of the most memorable home runs in Yankee history but the fact remains that he had ZERO big league manager experience when he was hired in 2018.
All that being said, general manager Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family seem to love Boone and it is highly unlikely they will replace him anytime soon. The Yankees bats could wake up soon and silence all the questions.
