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Old 09-23-2023, 06:31 PM   #16
Mattchu12
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Re: Back To The Bronx, a Mattchu12 New York Yankees Franchise | 2023

JUNE: THE RETURN OF INCONSISTENCY


NEW YORK -- If you thought the Yankees had figured out what kind of ball club they were going to be in 2023, you were sorely mistaken. The team started the season 13-16 and looked like they would never get things in sync. Then they went 23-6 in May, completely turning around their season and looking like the team that many expected out of Spring Training.

They seemed like they were clicking on all cylinders, though some had noted the schedule. 19 of the 29 games were against teams that have struggled considerably out of the gate, all well under .500 at that point.

"Other than facing the Blue Jays, Guardians, and Padres, this wasn't exactly the toughest part of the season. You had to wonder what you had," said Buster Olney. "Could they beat higher end competition?"

The clubhouse said all the right things. The Yankees got Harrison Bader and Tommy Kahnle back, Billy McKinney had been a surprise contributor, players like DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton seemed to get it going. There were real reasons to believe that the team had turned it around. And to their credit, going out to LA and sweeping the Dodgers made a big statement to start the month of June. Sweeping the White Sox in their second series of the month lesser, but still a good start.



Then came the Red Sox.

While the Yankees did win the series, they did not look like the team that had run the table in May. Gerrit Cole put the team on his back and pitched a complete game shutout in game one, the offense mustered just one run to secure the victory. Nestor Cortes did not contain their offense in game two while the Yankees scored just two runs. The Yankees eeked out a victory in game three with a walkoff in the tenth that just barely had enough.

"The offense disappeared against Boston, and you knew that wasn't a good sign because the Red Sox weren't where they were in the standings thanks to their pitching. That should've set the alarms off," said Jack Curry.

Going across town, they got swept in a two-game set against the Mets, and then lost the three game series to Boston back at Fenway. They scored just eight runs over those five games. Seattle came to the Bronx and took the series 2-1, then the Rangers took the final two games to win their series.

"We're scuffling at the moment, we understand that, but we have to keep going out there and playing our game. We have to find a way to make it happen and that's all we can do," said manager Aaron Boone. "I know that we've got the guys to make that happen in here."

If playing "their game" was the performance they turned in on the road in Oakland, the Yankees are in considerable trouble. They scored two runs across three games, outscored 12-2, against the Oakland Athletics. For context, the Athletics have the worst record in the American League and had the worst record in baseball prior to sweeping the New York Yankees. They dropped the first game of the St Louis Series as well by giving up four runs in the ninth inning to blow a 4-1 lead.



Due to their incredible month of May, the Yankees were able to climb back into first place in the division. This is partially due to regression by the Red Sox and Blue Jays. The three are within 1.5 games of each other at the moment, with the Yankees going 2-8 in their last ten and Boston going 3-7 in their last ten. Toronto has shaped up better recently, going 5-5 in their last ten games. Baltimore and Tampa Bay are also on the rise

The Yankees have mostly been plagued by offense woes thus far.

They rank 20th in batting average, 13th in runs scored, 18th in hits, 24th in doubles, 27th in strikeouts, and dead last in walks. They do however rank 4th in home runs and are middle of the pack in steals.

This is of course contrasted by being 1st in ERA, 3rd in shutouts, 3rd in hits allowed, 1st in runs allowed, 1st in home runs allowed, 1st in walks issued, and 1st in strikeouts by a large margin. They are however 24th in blown saves after the early struggles of Clay Holmes and the recent struggles of Jonathan Loaisiga, the latter being removed from the closer role recently.



"When you look at the stats, the team just isn't right offensively. This is a team that should be walking, should be hitting doubles, should be near the top in runs scored. I don't know how you fix it, [Oswald] Peraza will be back around the end of the month and was fantastic prior to fracturing his arm, but they need to overhaul their offense," said Jack Curry.

The Yankees did part ways with their hitting coach Dillon Lawson a couple weeks ago, replacing him with the veteran Sean Casey. Casey did not have any prior coaching experience, however. They believe that perhaps there was an issue with approach as they've drastically changed offensively. There is also talk that more of the younger players in the farm system may get a look sooner than later. Estevan Florial was recently called up after a hot month at Triple-A and is seeing time in left and center. Austin Wells and Everson Pereira were called up to Triple-A at the start of June, but both are expected to need about a 125-150 at-bats at Scranton before a call-up will be an option unless both are forcing the issue.

Jasson Dominguez continued to be rumored for a call-up to Scranton, though that may not come until August and he may not make it up to the majors this season. He has struggled of late at Double-A as it is.

"We're going to consider all of the options we need to consider to get things turned around," said general manager Matt Pierce. "Obviously, we've got internal options to consider, but I'll also be doing my job to see what sort of external options make sense for us as well."

As we enter the month of July, those external options will continue to come into focus for the Yankees. They figure to get Carlos Rodon back next week but any other reinforcements will either be unproven prospects or players from outside of the organization. Rodon will surely help, but the biggest issues for the Yankees appear to be at the plate and in the bullpen.

The sellers markets will surely feature the Tigers, Reds, White Sox, Nationals, Mariners, Rockies, Cubs, Athletics, and Marlins. All are confidently out of the races it appears, while others like the Pirates, Cardinals, Rays, and Astros may join them if they do not turn things around in July.



We will do a much more in-depth look into players that make sense as we get closer to the Trade Deadline, but the big name that keeps getting connected to the Yankees is Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs. A big left handed bat, Bellinger is having himself a very nice bounce back season in Chicago after being cut by the Dodgers last year. The average is up, the power appears to be creeping back, and would fit nicely in New York if a trade can be made.

"I would expect them to be in the market for at least one bat, probably in the outfield, and the question is whether they get another infielder in case Peraza doesn't hit like he did earlier in the season," said Olney. "I wouldn't be surprised to see a reliever or two on their list as well."
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