Predictions For The New York Yankees In June

After a May in which it looks as though all of my predictions were wrong, I feel that I should seek redemption and take another chance at predicting the next month for the New York Yankees. The month of May was not as kind to the team as April was, with players losing production, and injuries once again hitting the team. Will June be any different?

The Yankees can’t get rid of Overbay. (Image: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Before we take a look at June, let’s recap my May predictions.

1. Curtis Granderson will return and hit at least five home runs: Well I was partially right by saying that he’ll return. Unfortunately, another hit-by-pitch sidelined Granderson just a few days after he came back. He managed to hit just one home run.
2. Chien-Ming Wang, Mark Montgomery, or both will be called up: Neither pitcher even came close to seeing action in the Bronx in May. In the case of Montgomery, he was passed over for pitchers like Preston Claiborne.
3. The Yankees will have a better winning percentage than they did in April: The Yankees look as though they will be unable to have better than a .615 winning percentage in May.

Now let’s take a look at June.

Mark Teixeira will once again get off to a slow start:

• Tex will reportedly be coming off of the disabled list in time for the Yankees’ series against the Boston Red Sox which starts tomorrow. People think that with the increased layoff and warmer weather, perhaps Teixeira will not fall victim to his usual early-season struggles. I say otherwise. I think that he will get off to another slow start, prompting boos to actually head his way from the fans at Yankee Stadium. I think there will even be times where Joe Girardi chooses to start Lyle Overbay over Tex because his struggles could hurt the team. It’s said that a player needs around 50 at-bats before they’re comfortable. I think it will take Teixeira around 75 to start heating up and become the player he normally is.

Lyle Overbay will see time in the outfield:

• Obviously with Tex’s return, one of the biggest questions is what is going to happen with Lyle Overbay. As I’ve said in the past, Overbay has been extremely valuable to the team and they can’t afford to let him go. Because of this, and because Tex will see a lot of time at first base, the Yankees could put Overbay in the outfield for parts of games in order to keep his bat in the lineup. It’s unknown whether Overbay can actually play the outfield, but using him for a few innings at a time couldn’t hurt the team too much, right?

Another Yankee will go down due to injury:

• For some strange reason, the injury bug seems to be running rampant in the Yankees clubhouse this season. It seems as though we can’t go a week without another player injuring themselves. It’s gotten to the point where if Brett Gardner crashes into the wall to make a catch, I hold my breath. Unfortunately, I don’t see the Yankees getting any relief from injuries in June. At least one player, and I’m not sure who, will have to be put on the 15 day DL. I get an inkling though, that it might be a pitcher.

Well there you have it, a few predictions for the Yankees in June. Unlike last month, I’m not sure that I want all of these to happen. Baseball is a funny game though, and anything is possible.