NEW YORK – The ALCS rout was not just another boring loss for the New York Yankees but a warning to wake up fast. They were the best team in baseball just three months ago but now they’re heading into another winter without a clear plan for the future. Unless they learn, wake up, and revamp themselves, the Yankees are at risk of losing their fabled status as MLB’s most decorated team.
Their latest defeat came on a gloomy Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, the Houston Astros won 6-5 after a rain delay to complete their four-game sweep of the Yankees. This was their third victory over the Bombers in the American League Championship Series in the last six years.
Since 2017, the Astros have used the Yankees as a stepping stone more often. This means that the Yankees haven’t won a pennant in 13 years, during which time seven AL teams have made it to the Fall Classic.
It is time for the Yankees to reassess their difficulties. The next few months should include a review of what went wrong, during which club leaders must “take responsibility.” Manager Aaron Boone’s moves will be carefully looked at, and his clubhouse viability will be talked about. And there will be the scary idea that Aaron Judge is a free agent.
This process should end with him getting a contract that starts with a 3 and has many zeros after it. This would be a big draw for the team’s TV network, give suite holders a reason to come to games, and maybe even put a C on his No. 99 jersey, as teammate Nestor Cortes suggested.
But most of the time, the question persists: Why are the Yankees so bad? Let’s just say it’s a problem from the top down and the Yankees should start revamping from there. But how?
Gone are the days when George Steinbrenner didn’t hesitate to do a brutal assessment and demand a win at any cost. His stewardship led the Yankees to six titles and ten AL pennants.
But his successor, the friendly but businesslike Hal Steinbrenner, told everyone months ago how this season would go. Just that for a while, his team played so well that we forgot how short they were, to begin with.
Making things worse, the Yankees had to watch as five of MLB’s best shortstops went to other teams that paid them a lot of money. Instead, when the lockout ended, they tried to make deals to get shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and third baseman, Josh Donaldson. Both proved their expectations wrong.
Steinbrenner found himself evaluated by fans not against the Boston Red Sox but against cross-town Yankees’ rivals the Mets, whose owner was willing to spend up to $300 million on payroll and have a luxury tax threshold named after him.
When it was time for Steinbrenner to explain himself at spring training, he praised both his general manager, Brian Cashman, and the Yankees’ shortstop prospects, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera.
“I think they have what it takes,” Hal said at Steinbrenner Field, “I think we have a championship-caliber team. I believe the trade Cash made was a great trade. We’re going to miss the guys that were gone but we addressed one or two things.”
“We do have two incredible prospects that I am excited to give a chance to. I consider everything. I think you know me well enough to know, and Cash will tell you, I’m willing to discuss and consider everything my baseball people bring to me. And that process was done this year as it is every year.”
Everything looked great when the Yankees started the season with a 56-20 record, built up a 15 ½ game lead before the All-Star break, and made people think there would be a big game in October underwritten with $265 million and an assurance of the 28th World Series title.
But things began to change and the Yankees crashed into their worst summer slump. Despite Aaron Judge’s 62-homer masterpiece, this team’s mediocrity became evident despite the AL East win.
They limped home with a record of 38-40, played their hearts out to win two elimination games, and beat the annoying but weak Cleveland Guardians in the AL Division Series, but they were embarrassed by their rival in the playoffs. The game was over after Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres failed to push for a win. The Astros rally then ended the series.
When it was all over, a sad Boone said that Sunday had been “an awful day” and that there had been no close call. They are a long way off.
Cabrera came on August 17 and Peraza on September 2, as expected, but neither was ready for prime time. At the end of the season, Kiner-Falefa’s 84 adjusted OPS and.314 on-base percentage made him a liability from an offensive standpoint. Add to that Donaldson’s worst game of his career. With a .308 on-base percentage and a terrible postseason (5 for 29, one extra-base hit, and a lot of boos at Yankee Stadium), almost half of the Yankees’ lineup was domitable.
Cashman was pretty proud that he didn’t offer left-handed free agent pitcher Patrick Corbin the sixth year in the offseason between 2018 and 2019. Corbin instead took $140 million from the World Series champion Washington Nationals.
The Yankees, instead, used cheap left-handed pitchers James Paxton and J.A. Happ and won 103 games, but the Astros beat them in the ALCS. Since 2019, Corbin has had two terrible full seasons, which proves the point that the Yankees should never take that risk.
Three years later, the Yankees and Astros are further apart than ever. The Astros are still a well-oiled machine, thanks in large part to parts left over from when disgraced former general manager Jeff Luhnow ran the team. Things seem to be running even more smoothly now.
But part of it is how they do it. No matter how much money the hedge fund guy across town puts into his business, the Yankees will always bring in the most money. Judge’s pursuit only got fans excited again, and his pay, which should be about $100 million more than the Yankees’ $213 million and can boost brand value too.
What about the rest? In the meantime, there will be a lot of talk about it. The chance to do big things at shortstop is back, thanks to Carlos Correa’s decision to opt out and Trea Turner’s availability as a free agent. That might make it possible to trade one of the kids to get a better pitcher and make a lot of money.
Cashman, Boone, or their successor, will have to deal with most of the stress caused by the changes already made and things that need a change. In February, the club will get together in Tampa and once again be called “championship-caliber,” which won’t be a lie.
It’s not the same thing to be able to win and to be expected to win. And it might not make sense for a title to come at any price. But for the past 13 years, the wait it getting longer and the Yankees don’t have any “plug-and-play” solutions. They need a revamp.
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