Rough Ending to First Half for Yankees, Mets Bullpen Shaky
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
Spent a few days on the beach last week listening to sports talk radio, and the amount of panic revolving around the Yankees was borderline hysteria as they continue this month-long freefall heading into the MLB All-Star break.
Since losing two of three to the rival Red Sox on June 16, the Yankees have won just one series and have gone 8-19 while being exposed as a team with several holes, despite being within a game of the AL East lead.
Panic had officially set in before the Yankees finished their first half by taking two of three from the host Baltimore Orioles, to pull within one game of their division rivals, but the Yankees should have been atop the AL East thanks to rookie 1B Ben “bleeping” Rice’s three-run, ninth-inning homer.
However, Sunday’s ninth-inning defensive implosion allowed the Orioles to escape with a 6-5 win in one of the wilder games of the season, which, shamefully, you couldn’t find on any TV network. (Most of us had to stream the game on our computers. At least I did.)
All we heard the week prior is that manager Aaron Boone must go, he’s a puppet of the organization! We’ve heard that clamor despite Booney reaching a pair of American League championship series and being among the winningest managers over his first six seasons in Yankee history. Trust me, it’s not Boone’s fault. There are only so many buttons a manager can push with a flawed roster, despite his recent inability to hold some players fully accountable.
That’s why the next few weeks will determine if General Manager Brian Cashman returns for the 2025 season, or if the Yankees go in another direction as this flawed roster continues to fall short despite a near-record-setting start to the 2024 season.
As of July 10, the Yankees went 21 straight games without a stolen base. That’s on the GM because the game has changed dramatically the last couple of years, and stolen bases are on the uptick in most other organizations. Stolen bases are at their highest per-game rate since 1992, when five players stole at least 50 bases. At this rate we will see 1,087 more stolen bases this year than last year, an increase of 44 percent. The stolen base success rate has jumped from 75 to 83 percent, which would be a whole lot healthier if the Yankees were taken out of the equation.
You think Boone wants to run more? Of course he does, but he can’t even think about doing so with this current roster, which has devolved into a unit of players that don’t fit today’s day and age. Speed matters more than ever and the Yankees are among the slowest teams in baseball, something a youth movement might address better than running out a handful of guys who are nearly eligible for old-timers day.
It’s on Cashman. Either he makes some major moves and parts with some key future pieces at the looming trade deadline, or he relies on successful call-ups like Rice and hits on a couple of other minor leaguers. Otherwise, he goes down with the ship and sinks with pitcher Carlos Rodón and aging infielders DJ LeMahieu, J.D. Davis and Anthony Rizzo, plus a somewhat struggling Oswaldo Cabrera and suddenly slumping Anthony Volpe, whose ninth-inning error opened the floodgates in Sunday’s setback…
Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star P Paul Skenes looks like the next Jacob DeGrom on the mound. Off the field he’s quite the player, too…
There’s currently a ton of young, fresh talent like Skenes in MLB. Perhaps, this Cincinnati Reds OF Rece Hinds is the next big thing, given the fact he made history by becoming the first player since at least 1901 to have eight extra-base hits in his first six career games, including his fourth big league bomb on Saturday. It traveled 430 feet and 106.1 miles per hour off the bat. Kid has the whiff of a perennial all-star…
Orioles rookie SS Gunnar Henderson (28 HR, 63 RBI, 14 steals), a second round draft pick in 2019, is another dawg, a surefire thorn in the side of MLB foes for years to come. So many great young players, too many to mention…
Think I’ve seen enough of Mets OF DJ Stewart (.173 BA) this season. He’s a poor man’s Daniel Vogelbach if ever there was one. Utility man Jose Iglesias, on the other hand, has been a vibrant blessing to Mets’ fans #OMG…
The Mets can do all these catty things they want that annoy the hell out of opposing teams and fans during this current hot streak (the OMG concert, Grimace, the air-butt slapping), but they won’t amount to a hill of beans until they address this historically horrific bullpen as the trade deadline looms. What are you waiting for, Uncle Stevie? Every damn day matters…
Pretty sure they partied hearty in Spain on Sunday when young Mr. Carlos Alcaraz did not flinch in his quest to upset Serbian-born all-time great Novak Djokovic, perhaps the greatest male tennis player of all time, in the Wimbledon finals. This, just moments after Spain upended England with a late tally to win the 2024 Euro finals. Spain won all seven games it played at Euro 2024, being crowned champions to cap one of the most dominant international tournament performances in history. Viva España!
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.
