Bronx is Boiling: The Yankees 2014 Retrospect
By Wayne Cavadi
2014 was another trying season in the Bronx. The New York Yankees finished at 84-78 which was good for second in a weak AL East, falling four games behind the Baltimore Orioles. It was a year of missed opportunities, quiet bats and the farewell of a legend. It was also a season that has left a lot of uncertainty for the future.
What lays ahead for the Bronx Bombers is anyone’s guess, but was 2014 a completely lost season? Were there highlights for the Bombers in 2014 or was it a complete wash? The Bronx is boiling and I need to blow some steam.
2014 IN RETROSPECT
It’s funny to a Yankees fan that is of my generation. Guys like my co-editor Billy Brost have seen terrible Yankees baseball in the 80s and early 90s. This younger generation, however, they only know winning. It’s championship or bust for the new Yankees generation, but at the end of the day, the Yanks finished above .500. Was 2014 disappointing? Yes. Was it abysmal? Nowhere close.
Expectations were high because of a 2013 that was led by one-year deals and washed-up veterans. The 2014 season started off with a bevy of big signings. Homegrown talent Brett Gardner was extended to a nice deal, but the Yanks broke the bank bringing aboard Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran to fuel a run for the pennant. It was all for naught, and by season’s end, many fans were left second guessing the moves.
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Ellsbury had one of his worst statistical years and, much to the initial fears of fans, played injured more often than not. McCann couldn’t find his groove until later in the season, and in turn many Yankee faithful turned against him. It was rather unfair, however, as McCann hit pretty much his career norms, he simply couldn’t live up to the lofty (and unrealistic) expectations New York put upon him. Beltran, well, we fans knew we signed an aging and broken veteran and that was exactly what we got.
The high hopes Yankees fans had with their new offensive toys turned into a nightmare. They batted .245 as a squad (20th overall), but the real alarming fact was that this team could not score runs. They finished 22nd in RBI (591) and 20th in runs scored (633). When the Yankees went down, it seemed like there was no chance to win.
In hind sight, it wasn’t that bad. This team went 28-24 in one run games. Despite a .500 first half of the season, the Yankees finished strong, going 37-31 in the second half. A large part of that was the super bullpen and the highlight of the Yankees 2014 season: Dellin Betances. Betances, who seemed to be a bust of a prospect, barely made the Opening Day roster. What he did in 2014 made Yankees history.
He broke Mariano Rivera’s single season strikeout record for a reliever, fanning 135 batters over 90 innings. That translated to an unbelievable 13.5 strikeout per nine ratio. Runs came at a minimum as he posted a 1.40 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. He was undefeated and became an All Star in his rookie year.
Betances’ season led to the biggest talks of the off-season, as the Yankees let 2014 closer David Robertson walk for their new found gem. While many Yankees fans feel the team has blundered, I think the bullpen is better. Whether it is closer by committee or Betances’ gig to lose, the super bullpen is much improved.
Brian Cashman, who took a lot of heat for his offseason signings, scored huge at the trade deadline. Another highlight of the 2014 season was, quite possibly, Cashman’s best moves in years. With the Yankees pitching staff on the shelf, Cashman went out and scored Brandon McCarthy off the scrap heap. He also went out and got Martin Prado and Chase Headley for very little. He then signed Chris Young to a minor league contract which lasted a short while. All three were huge offensively down the stretch and earned their pinstripes.
Headley homered in his first game with the Yankees, Young was a walk-off monster and Prado tore the cover off the ball before his season ended prematurely. Cashman may have saved his job, but he also made a team that stayed alive to the final moments that lost four of its starting pitchers and suffered numerous injuries and close to 60 different faces on the roster all season long.
We also got a glimpse of the Yankees farm system and were shown that the years of lackluster prospects appear to be coming to a close. Bryan Mitchell, Chase Whitley and Shane Greene all had great moments in both the rotation and in the bullpen. Jose Pirela and John Ryan Murphy showed they are major league ready.
Fans also saw our good minor league stars become great. Aaron Judge flew through the ranks as did Rob Refsnyder. Greg Bird won the MVP Award of the Arizona Fall League. Eric Jagielo, although he played through an injury-riddled season, showed he is coming along in the power department. Luis Severino and Ian Clarkin are on the quick path to the Yankees rotation, which could explain why they have been so quiet in the free agency market this offseason. There were quite a few others who helped ease the pain of all of the Mason Williams and Slade Heathcotts we have had to endure the past few years.
The 2014 season, of course, will forever be remembered for one thing: the final year of one of the most legendary Yankees to ever don pinstripes. Derek Jeter lost a step, but no one cared. This season was a celebration every where the Yankees would go. Two amazing commercials, a final All-Star Game hit, a sizzling hot end run and the most storybook ending of a final at-bat that I don’t think Bernard Malamud could envision.
One of the greatest leaders in Yankees lore unfortunately went out without a playoff series like his Core Four brethren Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. If you want further proof of Jeter’s greatness simply look at the 2012 ALCS against the Tigers. The Yankees haven’t been the same team since The Captain busted his ankle, have they?
All in all, the 2014 season is thankfully in the books. It wasn’t the greatest, but by no means was it the worst… in fact, it wasn’t even close. The Yankees dynamic is clearly changing to the New Yankee Way, but as long as they can stay afloat and finish above .500 in their restructuring era, Yankees fans will always have hope. At the end of the day, that is all you can ask for from your team.
Thanks for making my first year of Bronx is Boiling an exciting one despite the frustrations of the 2014 season. Can’t wait to see you all back in 2015!