Yankees Brass Must Define The Purpose Of This Season – Now!

The Yankees Brass has been silent when it comes to the assignment of a Real Purpose to the 2017 season. And the failure to do so is hurting the team badly.

The Yankees have been playing two teams they are supposed to beat if they have any chance of surviving in a Division that is stronger than most people think. They haven’t been doing that.

And it’s not like you can say that they ran into a buzzsaw and teams with pitchers that just blew them away. But, that’s on the way later this month when the Yankees run into Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, and Steven Wright of the Red Sox.

And they also have a date to meet Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn, and Adam Wainwright when the Cardinals come in for a visit and also some time to spend in Pittsburgh where Gerrit Cole and Ivan Nova (yes, that Ivan Nova) are waiting for them.

Answer This Question, And You Don’t Have To Write An Essay

Name two Yankees pitchers who are doing their job. And you can’t say, Adam Warren, because he doesn’t have a job except to do everyone else’s job when the team needs him. And if you’re thinking about CC Sabathia, who has the only win of the team’s young season, he doesn’t qualify either until he makes it at least through the sixth inning when he pitches later today.

The Answer Is Blowin’ In The Wind

Ove the past two days, the Yankees have blown a four-run and a three-run lead resulting in two losses they should have won. The box tells you that it was the bullpen that faltered, but your head says that it was the starting pitching that opened the door to both disasters.

The idea that a team can win big in this league year after year nowadays is absurd

And whether or not Masahiro Tanaka is developing a head case of his own remains to be seen. But surely, Michael Pineda, whose body language clearly said, “Get me outta here, Joe” during his start. Girardi, thinking that the team still had a chance to win the game, did just that.

But if Pineda pulls a stunt like that again (he is scheduled to start the Opener at the Stadium), Girardi needs to leave him out there and hang him out to dry. Either that or don’t start him at all because he’s an embarrassment to everything this organization stands for.

Square Pegs In Round Holes Doesn’t Work

The Yankees, unless they are willing to take their lumps this season in favor of next year when the calvary arrives, cannot compete with a rotation composed as it is now. And fight doesn’t mean a World Championship or even an appearance in the Playoffs this season. It just means finishing above .500 and at least in front of the Rays.

We still don’t know from the top down in the organization just who the 2017 Yankees are supposed to be.

Joe Girardi, for his part, can spend the entire season playing with his favorite toys in the bullpen, but that’s not a cure. It’s only a band-aid and, sometimes as we’ve seen recently, the bleeding can’t be stopped.

Girardi can also appear before the YES cameras following each loss playing the game of pretending, and rationalization about performances that my lying eyes know just aren’t true. A case in point, here’s Girardi on Luis Severino‘s less than stellar start the other day:

Who Are The 2017 New York Yankees?

We’ve been through this a number of times, but we still don’t know from the top down in the organization just who the 2017 Yankees are supposed to be.

Are they the budding team of the future in the middle of a rebuilding process. And yes, I did use that God awful swear word the Yankees brass just can’t seem to utter.

Or, is the team supposed to be what the Yankees have always been – winners – at all costs and take no prisoners along the way. And you do what you have to do to get what you need to get if you don’t already have it.

It can’t be the latter because if it were, Jose Quintana would be starting tomorrow instead of Pineda and Clint Frazier would be playing in the White Sox outfield.

So, what’s the problem, then?

It’s That Damn Yankees Pride Again

The idea that a team can win big in this league year after year nowadays is absurd. And yet, the Yankees insist on promoting the Yankee Tradition. The Yankees never lose, and they never have empty seats at the Stadium. And they’re always the biggest show in town.

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Well, they’re not. The Mets are, at least for this year. And that’s a fact.

So, why not let it go and let everyone relax a bit. Let the Baby Bombers be babies for a few months and let’s just watch them grow up before eyes as we do with our kids and grandchildren.

And while the brass is allowing that to happen, how about making some plans to get rid of the deadwood, especially in the starting rotation. And that only means Pineda and Severino because Sabathia’s contract runs out after this season. And who knows what Tanaka will do with his opt-out?

This shouldn’t be a big deal. The Phillies are rebuilding, and they play in front of the some of the most rabid fans in baseball. The Minnesota Twins have also gone through it, and if they can get another pitcher or two, they have the ability to surprise as soon as this season.

Yankees Tradition: The Weight Of This Thing Is Becoming Too Much

Yankees "Tradition" is getting in the way of things. And nothing illustrates this more than Clint Frazier's "request" for the #7 jersey of Mickey Mantle.

Define the season and set some realistic goals, both individually and for the team as a whole. And that can only come from the top of the organization. Girardi can’t do it, although he’s trying. And neither can Matt Holliday. Mr. Steinbrenner, it’s your call.