Yankees patient approach will save the season in July, or sink it in June

Clearly Not Tanaka Time

This same approach to pitching, however, has provided mixed results at best. CC Sabathia was struggling back in April and May; everyone wanted him benched or traded, except for opposing batters. But Girardi trusted his veteran to solve his problems and CC rewarded him by returning to an ace-like status.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, that same approach has not worked for Masahiro Tanaka or Tyler Clippard. Neither should be throwing in a meaningful game for the Yankees right now; Clippard recently proved he should not be pitching at all when he gave up two runs but no outs in the ninth inning of a game the Yankees led 8-2.

Both men should have been sat down by now. That is not to mean that either should be traded or permanently benched. No, just given a chance to work things out in non-game situations. Even a short break can help pitchers mentally reset and fix their mechanics in a way that a bullpen session cannot.

A Maxim without the Pictures

But Girardi and the Yankees have more than June on their minds, and they understand the nature of baseaball. One fundamental reality of The MLB is that the season is very, very long. Because of that, a common belief is that the team does not fully declare itself until July 1st. And that wise organizations make no decisions until that time.

Another relevant maxim is that once you lose a veteran—meaning your handling of them destroys their confidence or positive attitude in the locker room—you have lost him for the year. That’s fine in late August or with a lower rung player at any time. But June is way too early to risk losing Tanaka or Clippard, the former being far more important.

It’s why YanksGoYard was able to predict that Tanaka would be given extra rest instead of skipped. It wasn’t necessarily the right decision, just the one the Yankees were going to make. They just made it with a different player, Chad Green instead of Chance Adams.

Clippard does not have to be on this team in September, but June is too early to decide that. But Tanaka will be; the Yankees are thinking about that, too. Masahiro will also be on this team in 2018 and ‘19, and the Yanks are thinking of those years, as well. It’s also the explanation of how they have handled their prospects. At least so far.