Bomber Bites With Jumping Joe–2014 Yankees Season At A Glance

The 2014 season is now complete for the Yankees.  They will not advance to the postseason for the second straight year.  There will not be any baseball played in the Bronx again until next spring.  This season saw a lot of ups and downs by a team just good enough to fool a fan into hoping for a trip to the playoffs.  This incarnation of the Yankees was a team that was flawed from Opening Day and could not mask those blemishes over the course of the season.

This team failed in multiple areas in all facets of the game.  Injures ravaged the team, but cannot be used as an excuse because where they hit hardest was the rotation, which remained one of the strengths of this team despite losing 4/5 of the rotation to the DL.  The lineup did not score enough runs.  The Yankees were outscored by their opponents by 31 runs.  Too many times the Yankees lost by way of a walk-off after not being able to get the big hit with runners in scoring position or were simply shut out. For much of this season, it felt as if that if the opposing team got 3 or 4 runs, the game was over.  The defense was bad with several players playing out of position over the course the season, even showcasing Carlos Beltran at first base.

The Yankees never addressed several issues with their depth, using a revolving door of first baseman when the oft-injured Mark Teixeira was unable to go.  In addition to Beltran, the Yankees used Brian McCann, Francisco Cervelli, Kelly Johnson, Chase Headley, and Brendan Ryan, none of whom are a first baseman.

Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.

As this season concludes, we have now seen the last of several players in pinstripes.  Captain Derek Jeter officially played his last few games this week.  His last game at Yankee Stadium ended in epic style, as his hit a game-winning walk hit to beat the Orioles.  He will be a clear first ballot Hall of Famer in five years, but save for future Old Timers Day games, we have seen his patented inside out swing send a single the opposite way for the last time.  We have also likely seen the last of Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda as both are free agents pondering retirement, and unlikely to play for the Yankees in 2015 even if they decide to put off retirement for another season.  Other players that might leave by way of free agency include Brandon McCarthy, Headley, Stephen Drew, and David Robertson. 

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But there was a lot of good that came out of this season as well and some key building blocks for the future were made.  Masahiro Tanaka started the season on a roll and was an early candidate for both the Rookie of Year and the Cy Young awards before going on the DL with a partial tear of his UCL.  However, he was able to avoid Tommy John surgery and pitched twice in the dwindling days of the season and appears to be in good shape going forward into next season.  Dellin Betances started the season as the last man added to the bullpen.  He finished it as the most dominant reliever in the sport, breaking Mariano Rivera’s reliever strikeout record along the way.  He will look to continue that tradition as either the closer next season if Robertson leaves or as a dominant set up man.  The Yankees also got a sneak peek into what their future rotation might consist of with impressive work at the major league level from Shane Greene, Chase Whitley and Bryan Mitchell.

The Yankees made a lot of mistakes this season.  There will be consequences in the offseason.  While GM Brian Cashman is expected to be back, manager Joe Girardi and several members of his coaching staff, most notably hitting Coach Kevin Long may need to update their resumes.  The Yankees have key holes to fill such a finding a new shortstop for the first time since 1996.  The 2014 season may be over and forgettable but it’s legacy will continue to shape the offseason as the Bomber try not to repeat the same mistakes and avoid a third straight season without October baseball in the Bronx.