Bomber Bites With Jumping Joe–Mediocre Yankees Going Nowhere
By Joe Vitulli
The Yankees have been an inconsistent team all season. They continually take one step forward and two steps back. They win three games then lose four. They were the same type of mediocre team in 2013 when they missed the playoffs. They will likely miss the playoffs again this season or in the best case scenario secure the second wild card and lose in a one game playoff. A game started by the likes of Brandon McCarthy or Chris Capuano because the Yankees will not be able to set their rotation due the fact that they will not be able to clinch a playoff spot until the last day of the season.
The Yankees made a lot of moves that improved the team at the trading deadline. Chase Headley, McCarthy, Martin Prado, Capuano and Esmil Rogers were all added to the roster in an attempt to transform the club from a pretender to a contender. While the team is better, they are no less a pretender today than they were back in June. Yankee fans are desperately trying to look on the bright side and convince themselves that this version of the Yankees can take advantage of the schedule and make a run at a playoff spot. The Yankees meanwhile continue to disappoint.
Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.
The past week can be see as a microcosm of the season. The optimist says they Yankees have won two of their last three. The pessimist notices they have lost six of eight. Of course, both statements are accurate,. However, which statement better illustrates the reality of the season for the Yankees? I would argue that this Yankee team is the loser of six of eight. This team has continually found opportunities to be missed and grasped defeat from the jaws of victory. They have found new and interesting ways to lose a game and have been given a plethora of opportunities to do so due to their propensity for playing low run games.
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There is an expression in sports that a team is only as good as their record. The current Yankees are 63-60. They are not a bad team. They are just not a good team. They are a middle of pack and mediocre team. They will finish the season a few games over .500 and miss the playoffs for the second straight season. All the money spent in the off season and all the trades made during the season were not enough to overcome the lack of depth at key positions and injuries that sidelined 4/5s of the starting rotation. If this were the Kansas City Royals or even the cross town Mets, such a season might even be called successful. But this is the Yankees, the team with a World Series or bust mission statement. Therefore, this season will ultimately end in failure.