If The Yankees Are Really Making A Playoff Push It’s Time For Stephen Drew To Go

The New York Yankees are the team that will not die. The squad has lost nearly all it’s pitching, it’s hitting has underperformed, and yet they sit at 63-59 after the off day yesterday. They are three games behind the Tigers and Mariners for the 2^nd Wild Card spot. While the Yankees are just a .516 team this year, it looks like that is nearly good enough to make the playoffs. Personally, I do not see the Yankees as a playoff team this year. However, I will blindly put my head down and follow the direction the front office wants to take. If we are giving up on the year, move some pieces to save money and maybe get a B level prospect. If we are all in for a playoff push, treat every single damn game like it’s the one that will cost you your playoff spot or get you in. Sitting and waiting for the team’s performance to dictate  that direction in the second half of August is inexcusable. For that reason, Stephen Drew should never play as a Yankee again.

At the trade deadline, the Yankees moved underwhelming Kelly Johnson to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Drew. While Drew had a nice series against his former team off the bat, he has been terrible since. In 15 games for the Yankees, Drew is hitting .157 with a .204 OBP, 0 home runs and 3 runs scored. I hate to say it, but he is making Brian Roberts look like Jeff Kent. Who would have thought that trading trash for trash gives you trash? Fortunately, the Yankees have a second baseman that can hit. I’m sure you have heard his name before: Rob Refsnyder.

Refsnyder has been talked about countless times on Yanks Go Yard in the last few months. He’s torn through both Double-A and Triple-A this season. Through 63 games with the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, he is hitting .311 with a .396 OBP, 8 home runs, 30 RBI and an .881 OPS. Refsnyder is a huge asset that the Yankees are simply not using. Just think about this – the Yankees struggle to score runs, second base is the team’s weakest position, and they have a kid playing second base extremely well at the Triple-A level. You can argue about arbitration time and starting the free agency clock all you want, but winning teams do not wait to bring up talent when it is so desperately needed.

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This move is not trying to bench a dependable veteran for a kid full of question marks. The New York Yankees have a guy in it’s lineup hitting .157, and zero eye to get on base otherwise. Get Refsnyder in the lineup. More people will be on base, and more runs will be scored. The team cannot wait for September call-ups. There are too many important games and too little time to make it back if the Yankees decide to lose 5 in a row again. Refsnyder needs to be in the lineup and Drew needs to be on a bus to the middle of nowhere starting today.