Yankees will find out only now what they are made of

Yankees players have given plenty of indications of their talents. We have seen low ERA’s and bloated batting averages. There have been big home runs and a barrage of base-stealing attempts. But that was all on the outside.

Now, with the onset of the Yankees first losing streak of the season, we will get to see what these have players are like on the inside. Now we will see if this is going to be a special Yankees team.

The 2017 Yankees season so far reminds me, somewhat, of Risky Business. Left alone, with few paying attention to him, Tom Cruise invites over some young friends and some free agents, and a huge party ensues. For those who have not seen the film, you will have to trust me that there is, even more, scoring in the movie than the Yankees have done this season.

At one point, in the cold light of day, when the party is over and the time of reflection is at hand, Joey “Pants” Pantoliano asks Tom, “Time of your life, huh kid?!”

That’s what it has been like for the Yankees and Yankees fans. Up until a few days ago almost every question going into the season was answered with a yes. Will Severino bounce back and be the guy we saw in 2015? Can Aaron Judge figure out the strike zone and become a power hitter? Will Pineda become consistent? Is there any hope Headley can get off to a better start than he did last year?

That list could keep on going. And man has it been fun, a real Yankees Stadium party. They have the biggest and best power hitter in baseball in Aaron Judge. There are three guys—Tanaka, Severino, Pineda—who are pitching like front-line starters. And they have proven their organizational depth. As of three games ago, that all added up to a 21-9 record. Rock on, rocker.

What Goes Up…

It was easy to overlook the warts, partially because there were so few of them. Bird has been grounded this entire season but few worry about him. But Carter has played like Carter and that is a problem. CC has been a gas can for his last three starts and is only still in the rotation because of 2009. He should at least have to skip a start.

But that’s been about it. When back-ups such as Torreyes and Romine play like All-stars and once-upon-a-timers (Headley) do the same, playing is easy and the wins pile up.

That all changed three games ago. The Yankees have lost the last three, which in itself is no big deal. But it is their first losing streak since the first week of the season and their response to it will shape the remainder.

You see, you cannot judge a team after a winning streak. Those are bright shining flares that shoot off for all of MLB to see. But a baseball season is long and success is fleeting; it’s a series of winning and losing streaks. So while the winning streaks draw all the attention, it’s the length and reasons for the losing that really determine the season. And show how much determination the players have.

Please Take Them

Take the Boston Red Sox. They have gone five and five in their last ten and have a record of 19-17. But they also have a ton of talent. Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez both have sub-3 ERA’s and David Price is due back soon. The Sawx also have the third highest BA in all of baseball, at 2.73. My guess is they are going to start a hot streak soon and will be eight or nine over within two weeks.

The Mets serve as the opposite example. Back on April 27^th, they were 8-13. Then they went on a nice run, almost matching the Yankees for a couple of weeks, and made up five games by May 9^th (16-16).

However, during that run, they lost some of their best players, Familia and Cespedes, watched their starters collective ERA become the worst in the majors (4.89) and suffered demoralizing moments. The blowout losses to the Nationals and the Limas will reverberate in the clubhouse possibly for the entire season.

Now, they have entered a losing streak, again matching the Yankees at three, and are obviously three games under .500. And “under .500” is never what you want to be; the losing streak is more telling than the winning.

Sorry Mets Fans

Which brings us back to the Yankees. I write this before either game of the doubleheader against the Astros. Odds are that the teams split the day; that puts the Yankees as losers of four out of the last five, at least. If they lose while the Sox win—or the Orioles, who seem to be paralleling the Yankees wins and losses—there could be a very quick change in the standings.

That makes it imperative that the baby Yankees keep this from becoming a long losing run. The good news is in the indicators. Long losing streaks often result from poor pitching. That has not

been the Yankees problem. CC is pitching like a true number five but the staff is fourth in MLB ERA at 3.61. And the eye test shows both Tanaka and Severino looking capable of beating any other team’s best starter.

Judge provides some optimism on the offensive side. He has gone in a slump not so coincidentally at the same time as the team. The fear for the Yankees was that his slumps would see him striking out at the same sad rate as last year. And perhaps that a prolonged strikeout slump could propel the bombers into a losing streak as long as the winning one.

That has not been the case. Judge has not been hitting a lot or any home runs for a few days now, but he has still been hitting the ball. His outs are still coming in the field of play, punctuated with hits like his recent triple.

Another Day of Judgment is Coming Soon

If this is the bottom for Judge, we can look forward to another homer barrage soon. That alone can carry a team. But it might not have to. There were days, not long ago, the Yankees line-up had six or seven guys with BA’s starting with the number three. We all wondered how long that would go on and how many players were going to crash back to reality.

That seems to have happened and the damage has been somewhat contained. Yes, Romine and Headley and Torreyes and Ellsbury are all below three. But that still leaves four players (Judge, Hicks, Castro and Gregorius) hitting well above that mark, while Torreyes is just barely below it at .298.

And while Sanchez has poor numbers, the fact is the Yankees accomplished most of their winning without one of the best young players in the game. He has a power-hitting streak due and can carry the Yankees by himself, as we all saw late last year.

Run for your Life

Players are running hard and conceding no outs. And they always seem to rally in the ninth when they are down. They don’t always come back, but they always get guys on and give themselves a fighting chance. That’s the attitude, the fight, and desire, that keeps a winning streak small.

And it’s what these young Yankees are going to have to do. They have to dig in now, before it becomes losing 10 out of 14, and do whatever it takes to scratch out wins until the party starts again. The Baby Yankees must establish the pattern for the season right now: long stretches of great play followed by short interruptions of losing.

If they do that, and if they start now today, then they can turn this into a special season. But they have to be tough-minded, and resilient as hell. They have to win games when their best pitcher melts down against a sub-par opponent or overcome a horrible, game-changing call by the umps. Because it’s easy to win when everyone is hitting and the pitcher is breezing along.

The Hard is What Makes it Good–Jimmy Dugan

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But when it’s hard to win, when no one seems to find the sweet spot or remembers how to make a breaking ball dive out of the zone, that’s when you find out what kind of player you are.

And what kind of team this is going to be. You get to find out if you and guy next to you is willing to dig down deep and find that something special.

Because the more you find it, the more special the whole season becomes.

So let’s see what this team, and these players, really are. Let’s see if they can win when it hurts just to play and scratch out a victory when you haven’t finished reading your press clippings. Can they come back, after being beaten by a superior squad, and steal a win against that same team in the bottom of the ninth? Can they win a double header on Jeter day?

Yankees in utero Torres, Frazier and Adams pushing through

All of this means that any Yankees player in the infield, outfield or bullpen who goes into a protracted slump might be the catalyst for a promotion.

It takes blood and guts to get the glory; now we are going to see what these Yankees players are made of.

Time of your life, huh kid?