2. The Angry Yankees Offense Has Leveled Up
Giancarlo Stanton seems furiously ready to prove his critics wrong in a full season in 2021, he typed in a sentence he immediately knew would be used against him someday.
The sentiment holds true, though, despite my self-conscious fears.
The Stanton we saw in the 2020 postseason could easily exist again in 2021, and the early returns indicate that his fearsome bat and new stretching routine have him ready to back up the talk that he’s “better” now than his 2017 MVP form.
Streaky? Sure. But the streaks are worth the strikeouts when Stanton’s right.
Factor in an in-shape Gleyber Torres and a full season of Clint Frazier, backed by potentially a deeper and more experienced bench (Jay Bruce, anyone?), and this Yankees offense should be far better than anything we saw in 2020.
You don’t have to believe it, if you’re an injury skeptic (and they will happen, don’t think they won’t), but this offensive unit is a juggernaut that outranks any other in the American League by leaps and bounds. The inexperienced Blue Jays are likely second. You’ve seen the Blue Jays. They’re great! But they’re not “Second-Best AL Offense” great.
Last year’s Yankees — a good, not great offense paced by Tyler Wade, Jordy Mercer and Thairo Estrada on many occasions — still led the American League in runs. Without Stanton. Without Aaron Judge. Without anything that resembled Torres and Gary Sanchez.
If even two of these four issues are fixed, they’re a steamroller.