By Marvin A Azrak
The 2022 New York Yankees season has ended. They were swept in the American League championship series by the Houston Astros, who’ve become their nemesis and have eliminated them for the fourth time in eight seasons. Houston improved to 7-0 this postseason and booked their second straight trip to the World Series, where they will face the upstart NL champion Philadelphia Phillies, with game one being Friday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston. This ALCS sweep likely means the baby bombers era is over, as they’re not good enough to win a title, let alone beat Houston. For a franchise that prides itself on championships, it’s an inditement to everyone in the organization, one that needs to be rectified. The Yankees woke up on June 24th, 52-18, on pace to set a significant record. The two winningest teams in Major League Baseball history are the 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners, both of which won 116 regular-season games but lost in the playoffs. When you’re talking about the greatest team ever, that would be the 1998 Bombers, who won 114 regular seasons games, and 11 more in the playoffs to finish 125-50(.714), reaching the top of the mountain, and nobody has come close to them since. These 2022 Yankees were projected to hit 120 in the regular slate alone, led by their muscular offense that would pace the league in homers all year, a healthy and stifling starting rotation, and a heap of flamethrowers at the backend of the bullpen. Then came that night’s game against the Astros in the Bronx, where the Yankees fell 3-1 before being no-hit 3-0 on their home turf the next day. Suddenly, nothing felt special anymore because they couldn’t overcome the real beasts of the AL. One they knew had made baseball last four the last five years running, had won the pennant in 2021, would hunt them down with every fiber of their being as they looked to do it again. New York tried to make moves months in advance of their inevitable American League championship series showdown, acquiring relievers Scott Effross and Lou Trivino to patch up a leaky bullpen, Frankie Montas to shore up a rotation decimated by injuries, Harrison Bader for defensive depth, and reliable hitter Andrew Benintendi to balance the lineup between power guys and contact ones. But over the next two months, injuries plagued them as DJ LeMahieu, standout relievers Micheal King and Ron Marinaccio, Efross, as well as Benintendi all suffered season-ending IL stints.
Furthermore, Clay Holmes, the closer who, In place of an infective Aroldis Chapman, had set the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings with 29 leading to his first all-star appearance, was a shell of himself in the second half, leading to an almost-collapse of epic proportions. The team would rebound towards the end of September and win the AL East, with Aaron Judge setting the AL(And non-PED) record with 62 bombs, captivating the baseball world with the most preeminent contract year we’ve ever seen. Ace Gerrit Cole set the franchise record for most strikeouts in a season with 257, also pitching the team to two of their three victories in the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians. But despite all that, you could see it coming. New York was in the ALCS again but had glaring flaws, and Houston was the one that exploited each one through a dominant 36 innings of baseball. They silenced Judge and All-star game MVP, Giancarlo Stanton, holding them homerless, which forced Harrison Bader to beat them with the long ball instead. Of the 108 outs Astros pitching recorded, 50 were strikeouts, while their hitters only whiffed 25 times. This 4-1, 3-2, 5-0, 6-5 defeat culminated a season that ended like so many have before it, without a championship, and it’s been that way since 2009.
So now what? What must the Yankees do over the offseason to fix their wrongdoings? Let’s dive in.
ADMIT DEFEAT:
As currently constructed, this team won’t be doing much winning come to the playoffs anytime soon. The “Baby Bombers” era, as the last six years have been referred to, resulted in six playoff appearances and three trips to the LCS, where Houston thwarted them thrice. Put an asterisk next to 2017 because the Astros admittedly cheated their way to victory. However, that doesn’t excuse falling in six games in 2019 and being swept this past season. The reason for Houston owning New York better as of late is something that begins at the very top with the front office and trickles down to the players on the field. It’s no secret the game has changed, and teams are more reliant on analytics and the use of modern technology than ever before. To the Astros’ credit, they’ve adopted this new philosophy beautifully, with not one of their six senior office positions(GM, two Assistant GMs, President of baseball ops, advanced scouting, President of player development) containing people who’ve all been appointed within the last seven years, which is ironically when the franchise became competitive.
Meanwhile, the Yankees haven’t changed their office leaders since 2007. It’s impressive they’ve been there for so long, no doubt, especially GM Brian Cashman, who’s held that position since 1986. But at some point, you need to recognize what you have is no longer sustainable, and that doesn’t just go for the players on the field but the people who run the organization. I’m not saying these long-tenured members of the Yankees should lose their jobs, and I think it’s important to note the Bombers haven’t finished with a losing record for 30 years.
However, it’s a team that prides itself on trophies. If they want that to happen again, they need fresh brains keen on the new developments and nuances of baseball evolution today compared to that of yesteryears.
The Yankees must understand their competition because being swept by Houston didn’t happen by accident; instead, it magnified the fear that this team is adamant about philosophical adjustments. That needs to change.
SPEND BIG:
How did former owner George Steinbrenner respond when the Yankees failed to win a World Series? He spent big in the ensuing offseason. The Yankees have a $265 million payroll and must use it to their advantage. In years past, they’ve failed to go the extra mile for stars such as third baseman Manny Machado, who’s been worth every Penny of the decade-long $300 million deal he signed with the Padres in 2018. Meanwhile, the Bombers haven’t had a cornerstone at third base since Alex Rodriguez, and although they tried to address matters by landing veteran Josh Donaldson last year, saying they were willing to swallow the $50 million over the next two seasons, that hasn’t worked out so well.
Additionally, the shortstop position has been a revolving door since Derek Jeter retired in 2014. Didi Gregorious staffed the job for a few seasons, but the Yankees let him go to free agency in 2019. They tried to put second baseman Gleyber Torres there, but that was a bust, and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa fared no better this year, even being benched a couple of times in the postseason. There’s a famous phrase, “Defense wins championships,” and it’s no different in baseball. The seventh inning of game four was a microsome of how incompetent this current infield is.
Leading by 5-4 thanks to a home run by center fielder Harrison Bader, Yankee’s second baseman Gleyber Torres tossed the ball wide of shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base, allowing Jose Altuve to advance and Jeremy Peña to reach base. So instead of an inning-ending double play, Yankees reliever, Jonathan Loáisiga had to keep pitching.
The next batter, the Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, smacked a game-tying single to right field. The following hitter, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, sent a pitch from the right-handed reliever Clay Holmes into right field to give his team the winning difference.
In the stable, the Yankees now lack a reliable closer as manager Aaron Boone spent the season piecing it together with what he had. Ultimately, it led to a dozen Yankees relievers recording saves this year. One of their Achilles heels was that they were short on bullpen depth, and it haunted them in their season finale, as they allowed the go-ahead runs in game four while Houston turned New York’s bats away with ease.
This free agent class Is stacked with closers like Edwin Diaz and shortstops/third basemen like Carlos Correa and Trea Turner, not to mention Aaron Judge. He will deservingly command expensive compensation for his future services. The Yankees have the money, though, and there’s no salary cap in baseball, meaning there’s no excuse not to pay up.