Yankees Best Medicine For Ailing Team Was Losing Sanchez

The Yankees suffered a significant loss over the weekend when they lost a vital part of their lineup for at least the next four weeks. But in an odd way, that could turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to this team.

The Yankees, like most teams, build their lineup around one player who is expected to carry the team with his explosive bat and run-producing abilities. The Mets have their Yoenis Cespedes; the Indians have Edwin Encarnacion, the Giants rely on Buster Posey, and so on.

Gary Sanchez was supposed to be that man for the Yankees. But, not only did he falter at the plate during the first week of the season, but he also left the field with an injury that will take his bat out of the lineup for a minimum of four weeks.

Now, make no mistake. If the Yankees had a choice, Sanchez would be in their lineup as often as possible, no matter what he is hitting. But with him out of the lineup, an opportunity for the team to overcome his loss arises. And that’s where it gets interesting.

In baseball, it’s easy to spot the reason why certain teams are winning while others continue to spin their wheels.

Do you know who is leading the team in RBI? I didn’t until I looked it up. It’s Ronald Torreyes with eight. Half of the team’s lineup is hitting .300 or better and two of those players, Jacoby Ellsbury and Chase Headley, are hitting .350 or better and were said to be ready for the scrap heap only a few weeks ago.

Masahiro Tanaka takes a tumble in his first two starts, but the very next day the old man goes out there to pick him, and the rest of the team as well, up from the doldrums. Pick-me-ups on any team translate into wins because in baseball you have to learn to cope with adversity and failure.

Again, the loss of Sanchez is huge, especially when you consider the vital role he plays in the catching position. And it looks even bigger when you try to plug Austin Romine in as his replacement.

Video courtesy of the YES Network

And although there’s no direct linkage to Sanchez’s injury, the Yankees can get another lift later today when Jordan Montgomery makes the first start of his major league career in front of, what is expected to be, a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium.

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In baseball, it’s easy to spot the reason why certain teams are winning while others continue to spin their wheels. And when the Chicago Cubs trot out to receive their rings later today for the World Championship they won last season, it will be hard to find a player who is not worthy of wearing that ring.

And there will come a time when, for instance, Pete Kozma, who has all of one at-bat thus far in the season, will be called on by Joe Girardi to replace an ailing Starlin Castro or someone else who comes down with the flu or something. But there will be no signs of panic because Kozma has prepared himself for this day, or so we would hope.

The more I see of this team, the more I like it. The Yankees have the perfect blend of youth and veterans that spell balance and control, and ultimately success translating into wins on the field.

Now, does that mean they are in line to win their 28th World Championship this year? I wouldn’t bet the house on it happening, and neither would you. And as Brian Cashman told the New York Times yesterday, “We don’t raise banners here for wild card appearances.”

And he’s right. But having said that, it’s also true that success can be measured in a variety of ways that don’t include rationalizing deficiencies.

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Barring unforeseen trades, this team will be playing together for at least another year before the full compliment of Baby Bombers is ready to join the big league club. For the moment, though, if the team can hold itself together while Sanchez is out, they will be better for it when he returns.

And win or lose, that’s a goal worth striving for over the next few weeks.