Thursday was one of the better days for the 2021 New York Yankees so far: Their series finale against the Los Angeles Angels was rained out.
Jokes aside, the Bronx Bombers have to hope the washout provides the same sort of boost received by Crash Davis and Co. in “Bull Durham.” The Yankees could use any sort of mojo right now, as they toil in fourth place of the American League East after a devastating loss Wednesday night.
New York’s problems, according to those within the game, are no fluke. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark spoke to a number of people in baseball who, quite frankly, hammered the Yankees.
One person told Stark the Yankees lack “real baseball players.” Additionally, the roster is “unathletic” and “injury-prone.” The rotation is also a problem, scouts and execs told Stark.
What makes matters worse in Gotham is not just how good the rival Boston Red Sox are and have been against the Yankees but how it also exposes glaring issues with New York’s roster.
“They make the Yankees look like they’re standing still,” a scout told Stark, noting how the Red Sox are far better at things like baserunning.
Next up for the Yankees is a three-game, Fourth of July weekend set with the crosstown Mets. Luckily for Aaron Boone’s club, they miss Jacob deGrom, but another rough weekend against their Big Apple counterparts could really make things ugly.
As it stands now, the Yankees are nine games behind the first-place Red Sox. But with the trade deadline four weeks away, New York might not even be positioned well enough to effectively sell and maximize its assets.
“They’d really have a hard time selling,” an unnamed executive told Stark. “Of the guys they could possibly move, I honestly don’t see a lot who could bring much in return. If they sell, Aaron Judge is the guy to sell. But I don’t see that happening.”
In others words, the Yankees might be stuck with this ineffective roster, which likely means the bad days will outweigh the good days moving forward.
