Guest Article from Michael Ruda / @DaTuna725 on Twitter

Here we go, Another Yankee fan piece filled with excuses and belly-aching about why the “Chase for 28” fell short.  Not from this guy.

The 2018 New York Yankees were built to win a championship. That’s the expectation of the franchise every year. Building off of the surprise early success of this new core of homegrown talent the 2017 Yankees fell just 1 game shy of reaching the World Series. Joe Girardi was shown the door in favor of a youthful/players manager in Aaron Boone, Mixed with seasoned veteran leadership from the likes of Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia, young rising stars in Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, Gary Sanchez ,and the offseason acquisition of the reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton the sky was the limit for this 2018 club.

Greg Bird, another highly touted “Baby Bomber” (Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar being the others) disappeared. He was given every opportunity to hold down this first baseman job and hit a disgusting .199, eventually losing his job, and not even making the postseason roster.

So what exactly did the 2018 New York Yankees accomplish. Yes, they set a MLB record with 267 homeruns as a team. They had 12 players with 10 or more homeruns. An amazing feat. They won 100 games, No walk in the park. This season felt like a grind. Losing Aaron Judge for 8 weeks played a factor in the division race, but Brian Cashman put all the pieces in place at and after trade deadline. Acquiring J.A. Happ, Zach Britton, and Andrew McCutchen to fill in the holes this team had and ensure that injury would have minimal effect on what we were expected to accomplish.

Ultimately 2018’s expectations beat the 2018 New York Yankees. Yes, the Red Sox had an amazing regular season season winning 108 games, but were ripe for the pickin’ in the ALDS. A shaky Red Sox bullpen, a gem by Masahiro Tanaka,Tying the series heading home for games 2 and 3 should’ve meant another trip to the ALCS. Luis Severino was not the ace we needed in that spot, and didn’t look right in the second half of the season. Again expectations too high, too soon. We need to remember that this team WILL eventually win the World Series. This core of talent will lead us to many years of success and post season moments as the likes of Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera,Posada, and Bernie did. They need to learn how to handle the pressure. This year was that lesson.

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Tags: Aaron Boone, Aaron Judge, Andrew McCutchen, CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Greg Bird, JA Happ, Joe Girardi, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Miguel Andujar, Yankees

It's been two weeks since the Yankees were eliminated at the hands of the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Playoff game and it still hurts.

This Yankee team that no one gave a shot at winning before the season started far exceeded expectations. By the end of July it looked like the Yanks would coast into October, except three things happened that derailed the entire season. Mark Teixeria went down with a season ending injury hurting the offense. Nathan Eovaldi ultimately went down for the remainder of the season hurting the starting rotation and the bullpen. The Yankees got old very quickly.

Teixeria was on his way to a 40 home run 115 RBI season when he fouled a ball off his shin and fractured his shin. Eovaldi was 14-2 and on his way to 200 innings when he went down with a forearm strain and he threw the balance of the pitching off its rocker. It put trusted pitcher Adam Warren back into the rotation, which was ok because he excelled during his stint in the rotation earlier in the year BUT it left a gapping hole in the bullpen. The 2-3 innings Warren would solidify in case a game was close or within reach now went to young inexperienced kids and boy did the Yankees pay for having to go that route. The Yanks lost countless games down the stretch because their starters just couldn't give them enough length. When they did, the offense was non-existent causing there to be more pressure on the lineup to produce. This formula was the demise of the 2015 Yankees.

So much could be said of how manager Joe Girardi handled the bullpen down the stretch in the final month and a half of the season but the REAL cause for concern is the lineup. The lineup that produced 20 runs in Atlanta, two potential Comeback Players of the Year in Teixeria and Alex Rodriguez, the future first baseman in Greg Bird, and a 7 game lead in the A.L. East on July 29th could only muster up 3 hits against the Astros. They went 1-7 in the final 8 games of the overall season. Pitiful, pathetic and embarrassing.

I'm not sure where the Yankees go from here but the answer to me is crystal clear. Get younger, get hungry, get rid of the old. Look around the MLB LCS's going on. All young teams going around. Out are the days of the high priced payrolls, In are the young and hungry want to make a name of themselves kinda players. This is what the Yankees should be aiming for. The new core is ready to be unleashed, Bird, Luis Severino, Rob Refsynder, Aaron Judge, Dellin Betances are just some of the homegrown talent waiting to make this THEIR team. I'd say make this happen sooner rather than later.




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Tags: Aaron Judge, Adam Warren, Alex Rodriguez, Dellin Betances, Greg Bird, Joe Girardi, Luis Severino, Mark Teixeira, Nathan Eovaldi, Rob Refsnyder, Yankees

The Yankees season may come down to how they get through this 10-game homestand that started Friday night. In order to make it to October, they have to get through the A.L. East and that's what the next 10 games will be all about.

The Yankees got off to a stellar start by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. In the process they gained a game on the Toronto Blue Jays. Something they haven't been able to do lately. 

Luis Severino pitched into the 7th inning and recorded his 3rd victory of the year. He lowered his ERA to 2.04. Showing poise on the mound and possibly auditioning for a spot in the playoff rotation, he gave the Yankees just what they needed. He threw a gem giving up just one run in his longest outing of the year. 

Alex Rodriguez, Greg Bird and Brian McCann all homered in the win. A-Rod was the first one to go deep in Friday night and the Yankees will need more of that down the stretch in order to regain control of the division. Alex has slowed down a bit here in the 2nd half but a couple off days seemed to do the trick.

The 10-game homestand ends with a 4-game set with the Jays so every game counts at this point. Day 1 is in the books and the Yanks show they mean business and are coming to claim the division crown. 

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Brian McCann, Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Yankee Stadium, Yankees