The Yankees’ post-All-Star break opening didn’t go as well as they hoped, flailing around for three games offensively against the Dodgers and walking away with just a narrow last-minute win in the finale. The offense that didn’t do much until the terrible Nationals bullpen let them back into each of their games continued to do nothing of note against competent pitching, and even an outright bullpen game with a doubleheader challenged them to just two runs of offense overall. I suppose that isn’t
too surprising though, because I can’t remember the last time the Yankees faced a bullpen game and actually took advantage of an opponent needing six-plus pitchers to be on their A-game.
That’s a whole lot of worrisome results, and there’s not a lot of time left to fix it from outside the organization. Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but the Trade Deadline approaches and the team is unfortunately still in the earliest stages of feeling like there’s a pulse on the hot stove. Granted, the field is in chaos right now as teams like the Red Sox and Astros have resurrected their playoff hopes and the Twins remain relevant despite playing mediocre the entire season, so no one’s sure who is supposed to be selling. There’s a lot on the line, but with the team still chasing Tampa Bay and now with a red-hot Boston closing in from behind they can’t afford to waste any time in getting back on the right track.
So that leaves us with plenty of questions still on the table. Should the team be bold enough to overpay to get the deadline deals moving early, hoping to salvage a couple extra games that might matter in the end? Can they do enough to this offense to keep themselves afloat until Aaron Judge returns? And where is the urgency? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.
Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of July 23rd will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
