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Yankees End Historic Streak

The New York Yankees‘ chaotic season reached 9-straight losses prior to last night. An inglorious feat as it was their longest losing streak since 1982. Yesterday, Aaron Judge saved it from being double digits thanks to a 3-Homer night. After being swept back-to-back by the Atlanta Braves, then the Boston Red Sox, they finally won the middle game of their series against the Washington Nationals. How low can they go this year? Well, their train is off the rails now. The Yankees put an end to their historic losing streak but recriminations remain as to this spiral.

For those who didn’t see those teams in the 80s, that was one of their lowest ebbs as a franchise. The fact the Yankees are heading for their first losing season in 30 years tells its own story. Let’s touch on the main reasons why they reached that indignity. Looking at how GM Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone have combined to make this season a chaotic mess. Starting with Cashman’s roster building.

Yankees End Historic Streak

Cashman’s ‘Championship Caliber’ Operation

When GM Brian Cashman said in a presser earlier this year that this is a ‘Championship Caliber operation,’ it seemed like he was trying to convince himself rather than anyone else. Frankly, there is nothing about the way the Yankees Front Office behaved this offseason, and the regular season, or the season prior, which depicts anything close to that. Especially with roster-building decisions, and sitting out this trade deadline. By sitting it out, not only did the Yankees end their 2023 hopes, but hindered 2024.

He spoke to the media yesterday and surmised that ‘no one could have predicted’ the Yankees would miss the playoffs. There is some truth to that. Although few would have predicted them to be a losing team, this roster was thin and built on a flimsy foundation. Whilst it was the perfect storm in terms of injuries this year, there are far bigger reasons for this season’s chaos, than passing it off as mere bad luck.

No Left Fielder a Big Part of the Historic Losing Streak

It starts with going into the season without a left fielder, a truly incomprehensible decision. Platooning three infielders Oswaldo Cabrera, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Jake Bauers along with journeymen DH’s Willie Calhoun and Franchy Cordero to try out in leftfield is hard to fathom. None of them provided a league-average bat, let alone defense for the position.

As to why they decided to leave left field essentially vacant this season, it is apparently due to budgetary reasons having reached their luxury tax threshold on Aaron Judge‘s blockbuster contract, and Carlos Rodon‘s contract. This does not feel like an adequate excuse from ownership or the Front Office.

Owner Hal Steinbrenner talks of wanting a competitive, title-contending team. He should have allowed flexibility to add a left fielder. But by the same token, Brian Cashman has no excuse. Somehow, for almost $300 million of payroll, there wasn’t one league-average left fielder he could fit in that budget. If push comes to shove, he should have moved some of those nasty contracts he took on or given out, for instance, Josh Donaldson‘s or Aaron Hicks, to make sure he can field an actual outfield.

Everson Pereira has moved up two levels to be in the Majors in August. Which is great, and there is no doubt that he will be an exciting prospect moving forward. But this was never the Yankees’ plan or he would have been up sooner. Had they designed a path for him to be up sooner, perhaps it would have made more sense.

Judge Clearly Holds Yankees Offense Together

Judge’s 3-homer night last night, shows not only how generational he is, but also how he holds the whole offense together.

Aaron Judge had a season for the ages last year by breaking Roger Maris’s AL home run record with 62, plus almost taking the triple-crown. As incredible as it was to witness, the Yankees Front Office shouldn’t have rested on their laurels. Relying on that each year is fool’s gold. There were still major problems in the lineup which Judge covered up by himself. They lacked contact, depth, speed, and athleticism on the roster. Plus, power from the left side. All of which were key reasons for their embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Astros last October. Cashman decided to leave the offense as it was. This is a big reason why they’ve struggled this year.

This decision blew up in management’s faces as soon as Judge hit his toe on the concrete at the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ rightfield wall. With him out for the summer, the Yankees had no idea what to do or where to turn. In his absence, it was blatantly clear what type of team this was: a bad one.

There is no excuse for being so reliant on one player. As great as Judge is, Baseball teams in a non-salary-cap sport shouldn’t rely on one player to hold the foundations together. It’s not like a QB in the NFL or Lebron James in the NBA. That speaks to poor roster building. Furthermore, even with Judge starting this season on a similar trajectory as last, they were only sitting in third place. So the injury excuse is moot.

Aaron Boone a Part of the Worst Losing Streak Since 1982

By all accounts, Boone is a likable ‘players manager.’ He has their backs to a fault. He leads the league in ejections for arguing balls and strikes; he’s certainly passionate in defense of his players. Until now, his regular season record has been okay. However, his postseason record is nothing short of poor. Incidentally, this is normally what Yankees managers are graded upon.

He also feels like a one-trick pony in many respects. He doesn’t have a “Plan B.” If “Plan A” of trusting the players isn’t working, he doesn’t seem capable of holding his guys to a higher standard. His press conferences are repetitive and devoid of answers or passion. His bullpen management is often shoddy. Therefore, it’s fair to wonder just how much respect Boone commands in the locker room since he is unable to arrest this team’s decline.

As for this season, this team looks totally ill-prepared, unmotivated, and lost. No matter which roster is out there, losing nine straight is hard to do. Boone surviving this long as a manager speaks to how largely unaccountable the Yankees have become. Defeats are excused, and there are more conversations about the process than actual results. This is a new era for Yankees fans. A team that prides itself on October success hasn’t reached a World Series since 2009, and the fans are being sold a process rather than tangible improvements. Boone is very much a mouthpiece to how Cashman and his analytics guys like Mike Fishman like to run their organization.

This team could do with a stronger leader at the helm. One that can push back from time to time from Front Office tampering. By the same token, Cashman has to accept that.

If any other outcome apart from Boone being let go at the end of the season happens, it will be a further indictment on the club. Whilst Cashman is certainly the architect of this chaos, Boone has done the club few favors lately.

Injury Bug

For sure, the injury bug has hit the Yankees particularly hard aside from Judge’s killer injury. Giancarlo Stanton has had multiple IL stints with his balky hamstrings. Josh Donaldson has been hurt and terrible most of the year. Anthony Rizzo‘s concussion over the summer took out a huge chunk of their lineup. Carlos Rodon has been mostly hurt and ineffective, as has Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino. Not even to mention Frankie Montas and Scott Effross being out all year. This has definitely played a part in the Yankees’ worst season in 30 years. However, this was an injury-prone roster from the jump.

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Few Plans for Their Farm System

This is a key reason for the Yankees worst losing streak since 1982. New York waited far too long to give their prospects a real chance. It always felt like they were caught in between. In truth, the time to take a look at their farm system was very much when Judge went down earlier in the summer. There was nothing to lose. Choosing to ride with journeymen veterans who had no future, and then peddle a narrative that the current flawed roster was going to magically go on a run whilst Judge was hurt, was a huge misjudgment.

By far the best idea would have been to have a definitive plan for their prospects. Everson Pereira should have been up in July. Oswald Peraza their speedy, flashy infield glove should not have been treated like an afterthought all year. By many accounts, Austin Wells’s bat is Major League-ready. Having a plan for him to upgrade the offense at catcher would have been beneficial. There was nothing to lose and much to gain from trusting their farm.

By ignoring their farm it exposed the lack of depth on the Major League roster.

All in all, thanks to Aaron Judge’s temporary reprieve, the Yankees put an end to their historic losing streak. However, expect many questions to be asked the rest of the year.

Main photo credits:

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Donald Stewart

Donald Stewart

Donald Stewart has written for LWOS Hoops for 4 years. Also writes for Lets Talk Knicks_ Co-Host for Pinstripe Chronicles Podcast on Youtube

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