Deeper Wells

 

The Yankees don't make sense this year. We took 5 from Houston and we can't even take 1 from the Mets?  What's even going on??

I mean, Luis Severino made waves before the Yanks-Mets games in the Bronx saying 'well they really only have 2 guys that are any good right now', and all the Yankee fans stood up and went 'THAT'S NOT TRUE' and then the series happens and not even those two guys show up. In Game 1, Judge was walked 4 times and then struck out in a clutch position in the ninth. Soto was similarly held down in those two games. The second game, where the Mets kept striking repeatedly without the Yankees having anything to contend with, was painful. You got the sense that every so often the lineup COULD wake up, like the Rays game where Austin Wells, Gleyber Torres and Oswaldo Cabrera made 'em suffer, but most of the time they didn't want to.

And so right now you're hearing, once again, the cries of 'fire Boone' and 'fire Cashman', because they couldn't build a team that could withstand slumps or injuries, and while it may not be quite as bad as it was in 2023, it's concerning. This team isn't...completely terrible, but you get the sense that they could be much better. Gerrit Cole has been fine since he was activated. Not awful, but for someone who won a Cy Young last year he's been decidedly mid. He's stuck out 38, and given up 39 hits. Similarly disappointing is D.J. LeMahieu, who's hitting .179 since his return. It's genuinely upsetting that a team, that employs D.J. LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Jon Berti, J.D. Davis and Gleyber Torres is apparently looking for infield help. And Ben Rice has been helpful, but he's stopped hitting since his come-up and is now back under .200. This sort of thing, everybody going cold at once, is the kind of thing that really should have been avoided.

The thing that hopefully will be remembered about this down period is that at least Austin Wells was able to come into his own during it. Wells is decent enough at the plate, with 7 homers and 22 RBIs, but his defensive catching abilities have pushed him ahead of Jose Trevino. He's also one of those guys that can come through in the clutch when you least expect it, like a better version of Kyle Higashioka. The hope is that, like Anthony Volpe, he'll come into his own consistently at some point, but for now he's been very useful.

This Yankees team has come upon flashes of great moments. Occasional great starts by Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon. Trent Grisham periodically doing something incredible. Judge hitting a homer. Those games you trivia for where the team comes alive and punishes an opposing pitcher. But the problem with this July stretch is that they've been too infrequent. And now comes the point in the coping, as the Red Sox and Phillies line up, where we start believing that if we make a trade deadline move, which Cashman will either A.) not do despite reports of the contrary or B.) do in a way that makes us regret it in a year's time, that'll save the team. It's a nice pipe dream, but it probably won't.

Coming Tonight: He's over 40 and a team can still count on him. Who'd have thought?