Why The Yankees Have Struggled This Season

From Kevin Kernan -

IF the Yankees can’t beat the Devil Rays and Orioles, how in the world are they going to beat anybody in the playoffs?

That is, if they make it to October.

Last week’s sweep of the Red Sox was an August accomplishment, but these 2007 Yankees are inconsistent. It’s clear that this is a much different Yankees team than any other during the Joe Torre era.

Over the last five weeks, the Yankees have had three series against the dregs of their division. They dropped two of three in Baltimore at the end of July, lost two of three to the Orioles at Yankee Stadium in the middle of August and now have lost two of three to the Devil Rays, the team with the worst record in the majors. That’s six losses in nine games with two of those series at home.

The Yankees are 12-15 against TamBal this year.

This is not a team built for the long haul because its pitching staff is in transition. In the six losses against TamBal, the Orioles and Devil Rays averaged 7.7 runs.

Yankees hitters tend to disappear as a group. They best way to attack the Yankees is to throw them strikes. They worked only two walks yesterday.

Either the Orioles and Devil Rays have gotten a whole lot better the last five weeks or the Yankees are just not able to bring the same emotion and focus to every game.

The Yankees are 12-15 against TamBal this year.

For the record, the Red Sox are 18-8 against “TamBal” this year, so far, and the Blue Jays are 13-11 against them as well. How is it that Boston can beat them with ease, Toronto can hold their own against them, and, yet, New York has a hard time with the O’s and Rays? Maybe the answer is that these 2007 Yankees are not good?

With a win on August 12th, the Yankees got themselves within 4 games of the Red Sox - it was a great feat as New York was 9 games back of Boston on July 28th. That was a great run over a two-week period.

Since August 12th, the Yankees have gone 10-10 in their last 20 games. Yes, at a time where the Yankees put themselves right into the race for the A.L. East, and, it was time to make a push, they choked and became a just-five-hundred club.

Let’s face it, if not for the Seattle Mariners losing nine straight games, the Yankees would not be in the Wildcard lead at this time either.

As I’ve written before, the Yankees are 14-1 against the Pirates, Indians and Rangers this season. This means their 62-60 against everyone else. Again, just about a .500 team.

Why are the Yankees just a .500 team, when not playing teams that are struggling? The answer is Mike Mussina, Kei Igawa, and Carl Pavano. Brian Cashman counted on these three to be in his starting rotation and they all failed. And, their replacements, Roger Clemens and Phil Hughes, along with a gaggle of hurlers like DeSalvo, Wright, Karstens, Rasner, and Clippard, have not done consistently well.

When you don’t pitch consistently well, you’re going to be a .500 ballclub - even when you have a good offense.

When you boil it all down, all you have left is Brian Cashman. His pitching plan for 2007 failed. And, as a result, so have the Yankees, this season.

September 3, 2007 | Filed Under Embarrassing The Stripes

Comments

22 Responses to “Why The Yankees Have Struggled This Season”

Andrew on September 3rd, 2007 9:17 am

So, wait a minute. The New York Yankees are not good because they can’t beat bad teams. But wait! They beat the Pirates and the Rangers (and the White Sox, but that goes without saying)! Okay you say, so they are not good against good teams. But wait! They beat Detroit, and Cleveland, and the Red Sox!

The fact is, you’ve been the ultimate fair-weather fan. When the Yankees are going good, you have nothing but good words for them. But when they struggle, hell, over three games, then the “The 2007 Yankees are not a good team” Steve comes out of the woodwork.

The 2007 Yankees are not, I repeat, are not a .500 ballclub like you are implying. It doesn’t make sense, as they are currently 15 games over .500. Are .500 ballclubs 15 games over .500? No. They are 0 games over .500. I repeat: the 2007 Yankees are not a .500 ballclub. I want you to read that to yourself until it sinks in, because I really don’t think it has.

The Yankee bats also do not ‘disappear as a group.’ You don’t lead the majors in run production and average and OBP and SLG by having an inconsistent offense. The Yankees have a couple games here and there where they don’t score runs, true. But in general, they are going to score runs. Please do not run with the “Yankees have an inconsistent offense” garbage, it is one of the most untrue things in this post.

When you boil it all down, the 2007 Steve Lombardi is an inconsistent Yankees blogger. He shows flashes of great writing, but his inner cynicism and what can only be bitterness, unfortunately, always comes out in the end. It makes him skew facts and reasoning. And, as a result, it ruins his writing.
Joel on September 3rd, 2007 9:17 am

That’s it! Sound the alarm bells! The Yanks are inconsistent! They stink! They can’t beat Tampa and Baltimore on a regular basis! Folks, we’re on the verge of a disaster!

Quick–get me Steve Phillips!

I mean, after a 21-29 start they are only two games in front in the Wildcard race and on pace to go 72-40 and win 93 games.

Just awful, right?
dave24s on September 3rd, 2007 9:51 am

Okay, so while I don’t 100% agree with Steve, will you people who completely disagree with him explain to me why the Yanks can’t beat “TamBal” this year; why the Yanks can go on great stretches and beat great teams; why as soon as the Yanks finish that run they lose a bunch of games to put them right back where they were; why the Yanks aren’t leading the WC by 6 games; why the Yanks started so terribly and now have to struggle to win the WC?

Look, it’s hard to take, I know. But the 2007 Yankees, though they are 15 games over .500 and have the best offense in the league, are just not that good. It’s weird, a paradox of sorts. They are so great yet so bad.

But all is well. IF they make the playoffs they’re in luck as we all know the playoffs aren’t set up to reward the best team - they are set up to reward the best three man rotation and I’ll take Pettitte, Wang, and Clemens over any 3 any day.
Corey on September 3rd, 2007 9:53 am

In a short series, where the yankees can pitch wang pettite and clemens all 5 games, and have joba and mo pitch you’re telling me that they can’t win?
Andrew on September 3rd, 2007 9:59 am

The way dave and Steve talk, you’d think the Yankees would have to win 162 games to officially be a ‘good’ team.

You people are completely ridiculous. No, the Yankees aren’t going to win 114 games. I guess the only ‘good’ Yankee team in recent years were the ‘98 Yanks. All the others were horrendously, irreperably flawed, if only Cashman had traveled to the future and seen what would have happened, because, I guess, that’s what counts as ‘foresight’ these days. Anything less is utter failure.

This is the ‘entitlement’ everyone who hates Yankee fans talk about. Entitlement to have an unflawed team, and if it isn’t, well, it’s just not acceptable, damn it! We are YANKEE FANS HEAR US ROAR!

Ugh.

Every team in baseball is flawed. The Yankees are right among them, but it doesn’t make them ’so bad’. The fact that on any given day, they can demolish any pitcher in the league, and yet still have guys like Wang and Pettitte to shut down offenses, seems pretty good to me. No, they don’t have five Johan Santanas in the rotation, but hey, what’re you going to do.
Chuck May on September 3rd, 2007 10:17 am

Aren’t we being a little panicky right now? Isn’t there a team or two, every year, that the Yankees can’t seem to beat? I remember that the Yankees had a horrendous time against Texas in the mid-90’s, outside of the playoffs. They have never been able to beat Anaheim in the Joe Torre era, whether Anaheim has been good, bad or indifferent. If the Yanks can pull to a roughly .500 record against TamBal, that’s okay - as long as they keep beating the Seattles and Bostons and such.
Mike NYY on September 3rd, 2007 11:09 am

Forgetting of course the many games that terrible 5th starters have made that won’t matter moving forward. Is the pitching as good as Anaheim or Boston’s? No, but its still pretty good.
Steve Lombardi on September 3rd, 2007 11:13 am

~~~When you boil it all down, the 2007 Steve Lombardi is an inconsistent Yankees blogger. ~~~

Inconsistent? Yes. True. It’s because I’m flawed - or, have been flawed. My flaw has been allowing myself to have hope that the Yankees would go on a run and prove themselves to be the best team in the league, like I hope them to be…and every time they *start* to go on a run, and where you think they’re about to catch Boston or take the Wildcard and nail it down, I get too excited and start blogging about how great they are…and then they start to choke, like they did against the Rockies and Giants, and against the Angels and Tigers, and, now, the D-Rays…and then reality sets in again, and I blog about that….so, sure, yes, I’ve been up and down this season…inconsistent…but, it’s been lock step in place with the Yankees’ play. So, get on me for being inconsistent, sure, that’s fair. But, the Yankees are the reason why…it’s them, fooling me, and fooling everyone else, or at the least, many, too…
Steve Lombardi on September 3rd, 2007 11:17 am

~~~In a short series, where the yankees can pitch wang pettite and clemens all 5 games, and have joba and mo pitch you’re telling me that they can’t win?~~~

This where the Wildcard will hurt the Yankees. Wang on the road is not the same Wang. Check the stats. And, with Clemens, you never know if it’s going to be 6 innings and 1 run or 5 innings and 6 runs. Plus, don’t forget, the other team gets to use their 3 best only in a 5-game set too.
mehmattski on September 3rd, 2007 11:28 am

First of all, it always strikes me as odd that you lump in the performances against the Pirates and Rangers (last place clubs) with performances against the Cleveland Indians (in first place by 5.5 games).

I can’t imagine a more inconsistent team than the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals. Imagine if this blog were “I Can Believe What I Just Saw” (a tribute to Jack Buck rather than Phil Rizzuto), and Steve was a lifelong Cardinals fan. Can you imagine the same types of things being said about the 2006 Cardinals that are said about the 2007 Yankees? I can: they were 8-11 against the Cubs, 7-9 against the Astros… but they could sure beat up on the Marlins (5-1), Dodgers (7-0) and Padres (4-1)! They led the division by 5 on June 20, and it was tied by June 30… up by 4.5 on August 7, tied again on August 24… up by 7.0 (!!) with two weeks to play and practically blew the division.

The question is… could a fan like Steve have truly enjoyed a World Series victory from a team like the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals? They’re so flawed! They’re so inconsistent! Or would, secretly, Steve want to see failure so the GM he hates and the star players he hates can be gone? Or would that all go away when the manager he also hates hoists the trophy at the end?
Travis G. on September 3rd, 2007 11:40 am

Steve, if there’s anything we’ve learned since the inception of the wildcard is it doesn’t matter HOW you make the playoffs, just that you DO make it. from there, it’s practically a crapshoot, e.g. 2006 (both teams), 03 Marlins, 98 Pads, as prime examples.
Steve Lombardi on September 3rd, 2007 12:23 pm

~~~Can you imagine the same types of things being said about the 2006 Cardinals that are said about the 2007 Yankees?~~~

IIRC, the ‘06 Cards were beaten about as being a joke team, and one lucky to make the playoffs, etc.

The got lucky in the LCS when Suppan and Weaver pitched like wild. Otherwise, they never make it to the World Series to face a flat, and partied-out, Tigers team.

This would be like the Yankees facing the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS and having Mussina and Hughes winning 3 games for the Yankees. You want to count on that?

Can it happen? Sure. But, the odds are slim.
dave24s on September 3rd, 2007 12:33 pm

I don’t WANT the Yankees to lose. If they win the WS, fantastic. If they make the playoffs, awesome. I’m just saying I’m not getting my hopes up because just as soon as they START to show something, they take two or three steps backwards. It’s frustrating and I do the same as Steve when talking to my friends, when they win I get excited, but when they lose it gets tough because they can be SO good and yet SO bad.

How can any of you defend losing two of three to the Rays - in several 3 game series? As steve said, why is it the Sox can handle the Rays and the O’s but we can’t? Why is it we can beat the crap out of Cleveland yet let the Angels walks all over us?

Reality sets in eventually for all of us, some sooner than others. This Yankees team is SO good yet SO bad.

If they make the playoffs, like I said before, I will take Pettitte/Wang/Clemens over ANY teams top three ANY day.
RICH on September 3rd, 2007 1:02 pm

I looked at Boston’s, Cleveland’s, Detroit’s, the Angels’, and Mariners’ team vs team records to see if any of these teams have struggled against other teams. I picked these teams because they seem to be the best of the league though I know you don’t think Seattle and Cleveland are good.

I didn’t include interleague because I couldn’t find an easy listing, feel free to update the list:

Boston had trouble with Detroit (3-4), NY (7-8), Oak (2-4), and Seattle (4-5).

Cleveland had trouble against Boston (2-5) and NY (0-6)

Detroit had trouble against Chicago (4-8), Angels (3-5), Oakland (4-6), and Tampa (3-4)

Angels had trouble against Boston (4-6), KC (2-5), and Oakland (5-8)

Mariners had trouble with Cleveland (1-2), Detroit 3-4), Angels (4-11), Twins (3-6), and Toronto (4-5).

EVERY TEAM HAS PROBLEMS WITH SOME OTHER TEAMS.

I think you’re making more of this than it is.

And then you go back to your old “Blame Cashman” because of Igawa and Pavano. But you evidentally thought it wouldn’t be a big problem that couldn’t be overcome since you predicted the Yanks would win the division.
Steve Lombardi on September 3rd, 2007 1:58 pm

RICH - this is what I wrote, back then:

http://www.waswatching.com/archives/2007/03/predicting_the_3.html

“New York replaced Randy Johnson with Andy Pettitte and is hoping that Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa can be winners.”

“I’m also forecasting Pavano to tap out around 100 IP this season. While I’m not 100% sure on what Igawa will provide, the Yankees should get 160 IP and a dozen wins from him.”

So, sure, I was fooled, by what the Yanks said about Igawa and Pavano too. But, if the Yankees don’t plan on those two, then I would not be listening to what they’re saying about them. And, then I would not be fooled. Shame on me, for being fooled. But, it was Cashman who fooled me. It won’t happen again.
Jeb on September 3rd, 2007 2:32 pm

“When you boil it all down, the 2007 Steve Lombardi is an inconsistent Yankees blogger. He shows flashes of great writing, but his inner cynicism and what can only be bitterness, unfortunately, always comes out in the end. It makes him skew facts and reasoning. And, as a result, it ruins his writing.”

That’s simply ridiculous. Steve is reporting on what he sees. The Yankees have played inconsistent all year, but his writing has been wholly consistent. When they’ve won, he’s dissected why, and when they’ve lost he’s told us why.

I suppose you want a Rah-Rah blog that doesn’t raise any problems or hints of concern when the Yanks lose 12-0, 18-9 or 16-0. Steve could write, “hey, the Yankees lost 16-0 last night to the Tigers, but Melky actually got one of the Yankees three hits! Way to go Melky!” Who wants to read that kind of drivel? As for me, I’ll take Steve’s writing as it is….Excellent.
dave24s on September 3rd, 2007 3:59 pm

And now, 3:57pm, the Yanks are losing 7-1 to Seattle.

Someone tell me, those of you bashing Steve for his opinions, how you see the Yanks as anything but so good and yet soooo bad.
RICH on September 3rd, 2007 4:25 pm

Your prediction was based on what the Yankees said about Pavano and Igawa? You surprise me since you’ve often written that Cashman is not a good judge of pitching.
Steve Lombardi on September 3rd, 2007 7:07 pm

~~~Your prediction was based on what the Yankees said about Pavano and Igawa? You surprise me since you’ve often written that Cashman is not a good judge of pitching.~~~

Hey, Cashman said they would help. I believed him. Again, my bad.

Dave, Jeb - thanks for the support. At times, I think I’m alone on this stuff. Nice to see that’s not true.
brockdc on September 3rd, 2007 8:23 pm

You’re not alone Steve - not at all.
dave24s on September 3rd, 2007 10:21 pm

Steve, I enjoy your blog whether I disagree with you or not. You do a great service to us fans by providing statistical insight and honest opinion.

Thanks for that.

Onto another topic, since I know you get too many emails:

Your thoughts on Robbie Cano? I dislike him. To me, he just seems lazy and flat and interested only when he wants to be.
Steve Lombardi on September 4th, 2007 9:33 am

Cano? I don’t know.

He has talent. No question there. Lots of talent. I’ve heard reports that he’s a great kid. And, I’ve heard reports that his attitude is not always 100% on the game, at all times.

It will be interesting to see which way his career goes…it could be like Carlos B. back in the day with the Tribe, or, he could be a HOF’er. Time will tell.