It can be painful listening to manager Aaron Boone continue to talk up his players no matter how awful they’re playing. He was back at again on Wednesday night after the Yankees were held to five hits in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves that dropped the Yankees’ last-place record to 6-11.
The game marked the fifth in a row the Yankees and their $200 million payroll have been held to five or fewer hits.
Boone likes to say his offense is built to score a ton of runs and hit a bunch of homers, and he’s right. The same guys who did it in 2019 and 2020, when they were healthy, are still around. But three weeks into this long season, every last one of Boone’s hitters is underachieving, two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu and slugger Aaron Judge included.
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Wednesday’s loss was the 11th time the Yankees scored three or fewer runs and it would have been shutout No. 2 if not for Clint Frazier dinking a two-outs-in-the-ninth bloop just behind first base for a cheap hit — and his first RBI of the season — after Aaron Hicks walked and took second on a catchers’ indifference.
Boone’s message, of course, wasn’t just glass half full. It was glass full.
“I believe in our guys, he said. “I know who they are. I know we’re going to mash. It’s definitely frustrating when you’re going through it, but is it hard to stay positive? Not at all. I know we’re walking out there with heavy artillery each and every night. We’ve just got to unlock it … and we will.”
Here are three Yankees observations:
BOONE ON THE CLOCK
I feel like I defend Boone every day replying to emails from irate Yankees fans. I write, “Boone will not be fired this year and he doesn’t deserve to be fired.” He’s an excellent 2021-era manager, which is a whole new tamed animal from the Billy Martin days.
Most fans have no idea how difficult it is managing most anyone in the majors nowadays when the analytics staff (with zero combined days of big-league service time) draw up a written game script that is expected to be heavily weighed for any and all lineup and pitching decisions, before and during games.
Now for some criticism:
It’s time for Boone to show tough love. He should bench shortstop Gleyber Torres for Thursday night’s game in Cleveland to send a message that failing to run out a ground ball will not be tolerated.
In Wednesday’s game, Torres started the Yankees seventh by nipping a check-swing slow roller between home plate and the mound, then he slow-jogged to first base and was thrown out easily by Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who had to make a tough play.
If Torres runs hard, maybe he beats it out for a hit or rushes d’Arnaud into a throwing error. Regardless, every ballplayer should run hard every single time they hit the ball.
This was egregious mistake that should never happen, and even Yankees TV voice Michael Kay said as much on YES’ telecast:
“Unless you’re hurt, there’s no excuse to run like that,” Kay said. “The team’s playing poorly”
Torres deserved to be pulled from the game for his laziness, but he played the final two innings. Don’t blame Boone. He had no choice but to stick with Torres because third baseman Gio Urshela exited after seven innings with lower back tightness. with Urshela leaving, LeMahieu moved from second to third and Rougned Odor — the Yankees’ one and only reserve infielder — went from the bench to second.
Boone said after the game that he planned to talk to Torres about the lack of hustle, but that’s not enough. We’ve heard him say the same thing about Torres, Gary Sanchez and other young players here and there in past seasons, and the talking never completely flushed away this laziness.
The best way to send Torres and all his players a tough message is a benching.
THE LINEUP
When the Yankees broke their losing streak on Tuesday night, they did it with Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman starting in the outfield, which sent massive slumpers Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier to the bench.
Why not stick with those changes for more than one day?
Yes, Gardner and Tauchman didn’t lead to an offensive awakening, but the Yankees did win and that should count for something, especially considering how little Hicks and Frazier have contributed.
And while we’re at it, what does No. 2 catcher Kyle Higashioka have to do to get more starts?
Gary Sanchez’s defense has improved, but it’s still not as good as Higashioka’s. And once again, Sanchez looks awful at the plate.
Sanchez homered in the Yankees’ first two games and batted .296 in his first eight, but his average now is down to .200 after Wednesday’s 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts. He is hitless in his last 16 at-bats.
The sample size is small, but Higashioka is hitting .308. Higashioka was the better hitter last season, too, especially when it mattered most in the playoffs.
ROTATION PROGRESS
The Yankees’ offseason decisions to bet on new rotation pieces Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon look better now than they did a week ago.
Taillon held the Braves to one run over five innings in a no-decision on Tuesday night, then Kluber followed with his best outing on Wednesday when took a shutout into the fifth before losing his command and ending up with a two-run, 4 2/3-inning line.
The Yankees’ plan all along was to proceed with extreme caution with both righties because they missed most of 2019 and combined for one inning last season due to injuries. The Yankees figured if they stay patient, rust will come off, then Kluber eventually will look more like the guy that won two Cy Young Awards, and Taillon would go back to dominating like he did when he was a 14-game winner with a 3.20 ERA for the 2018 Pirates.
Both still have a high 5.40 ERA, but they’re making progress. Unlike the Yankees’ hitters, Kluber’s and Taillon’s body language is good, too. Don’t bet against both being consistently solid starters.
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The Link LonkApril 22, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://www.nj.com/yankees/2021/04/gleyber-torres-loafed-so-yankees-on-clock-to-send-strong-message-3-observations.html
Gleyber Torres loafed, so Yankees are on the clock to send a strong message | 3 observations - NJ.com
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