The 2021 New York Yankees came into the season with lofty expectations of hoisting their 28th World Series trophy at the end of the season. There’s still a chance that this could happen, but they need to change course quickly because what they are doing from the front office down is not working at either winning games consistently or putting a good product on the field.
Now, this will not be a hit piece or a stereotypical Yankees fan that just says to fire and trade everyone. Still, I will attack this as an observant third party because whatever formula the front office uses does not work for winning consistently. As of this writing, the Yankees are 78-63 and 0.5 games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for the second AL Wild Card spot. `
2021 New York Yankees | You Are Not the Rays
The New York Yankees want to be the big juggernaut of MLB while also being a heavy-analytical team. Unfortunately, those two mindsets don’t always mesh well. Their ideology is to prioritize resting players over attacking games to pick up wins. They have played this season as if they have already clinched a postseason berth.
The organization has also dived deep into the numbers to determine that their starting pitchers cannot face a lineup for the third time, and instead, that is when a relief pitcher is brought in. That is fine and dandy if you have the bullpen and pitching staff to live through it over the season.
After Gerrit Cole, the New York Yankees do not have a pitcher on the staff that is guaranteed to help them by getting the ball to the sixth inning or later. The Rays have a quarter of the payroll that the Yankees have and do it out of necessity, but New York wants to be the most intelligent and prettiest girl at the ball.
Cole 🚂 Takes the Mound.#SquadUp pic.twitter.com/5BVe4bqfWl
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 7, 2021
2021 New York Yankees | Don’t Be Afraid of Using the Minors
The Yankees seem to try to save their minor leaguers until they are 100 percent ready. One example that had fans raging was Luis Gil. He was a COVID replacement player and began his MLB career with three consecutive starts without allowing an earned run.
Now, did that performance allow him to be placed on the 40-man roster and get called up permanently? No. He was sent back to Scranton to their Triple-A affiliate.
This seems to be their philosophy, and instead of remaining the hot hand, they send them back to the minor leagues to continue their seasoning. I understand it not being the norm, but this could be something to strive for.
The 2021 New York Yankees are Still Competing
The Yankees could still be one of the teams that compete in the AL Wild Card game in October, but whether they make a run at the World Series championship or not, they need to make massive changes in their philosophy. They need to realize they are the New York Yankees and need to go out and show the rest of baseball that they are still the kings of this sport.
Read more 2021 New York Yankees News from Baseball Spotlight:
Derek Jeter is Officially a Hall of Famer
Should I Take The Yankees to Win It All?
