Yankees: This Team Needs To Get Back On Point – Now!

The Yankees, in the wake of the Betances/Levine debacle, need to get back on point now, not later. The 2017 season is looming, and there is no time to waste.

The Yankees have some serious fence-mending to do in the wake of the Dellin Betances/Randy Levine debacle. And there is no other word to use for what has occurred in the last few hours.

Two things must happen, and there’s no time to waste. First, someone needs to sit down with Betances to smooth over what must be a devastating blow to an already fragile ego. And that doesn’t mean putting a “spin” on it. Brian Cashman would appear to be the most likely choice to do this, but I think a better choice would be Alex Rodriguez, who’s been in this business for twenty years and there’s nothing he hasn’t seen or been party to over that span.

This is not what Spring Training was supposed to be.

Players respect Rodriguez, and he is due in camp on Tuesday for the first of three days that he will be serving as an Instructor. Player to player is always better, but the Yankees front still has to declare themselves as being apart from Levine’s comments as well. And that’s why it’s important for the action to be two-fold.

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Unless, of course, Levine was not off the reservation and he was merely the mouthpiece of the Yankees. Then, we would have a whole other situation that would cause writer, at least, to seriously question his loyalty to a franchise that acts in this manner. Not to mention the fallout that will come from players, if that is the case.

But I don’t believe that is what happened. And what’s important now is for the franchise is to put this episode behind them, even if the media does not, and the story hangs around for another few days.

After all, this was supposed to be the eternal Spring Rennaissance for the team, with the Baby Bombers taking center stage on a team that is focused on the future and all of the promise it holds. It was supposed to be about James Kaprielian, Justice Sheffield, and Chance Adams challenging Luis Severino and anyone else not named Masahiro Tanaka for a spot in the Yankees rotation.

And it was supposed to be about Gleyber Torres showing everyone that he is an inch away from Yankee Stadium, and not a mile. And for Greg Bird to demonstrate that he is healthy and eager to accept the challenge presented to him by Chris Carter for at-bats.

And it was supposed to be about veterans like Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Chase Headley demonstrating that they are worthy of the at-bats that Joe Girardi is dying to give them.

The situation between the Yankees and Betances has now taken on a whole new dimension, and it’s become personal. And therefore, it needs to be handled on that level. The rest of it and the more urgent and immediate problem the franchise is facing must be tackled promptly and forcefully.

Next: Yankees Defeat Betances (Published Earlier Today)

Next: Yankees President Rips Betances (Published Earlier Today)

Because this is NOT the way, Spring Training was supposed to be. It’s correctable, but the Yankees have the first move.