I'm not sure ownership, nor the fan base, has the stomach for a rebuild. And there's no guarantee going that route would ultimately bring greater postseason success.
Agreed. However, I don't see how the recipe that we've used for the last decade will likely lead to a WS. We barely got out of the divisional, even with a player having an all world type of season.
Oh, I get the frustration. But that was hardly the circular lineup envisioned when they reached the postseason. Too many weak and/or slumping hitters going up against teams with strong pitching depth isn't a good recipe.
I think the randomness of the postseason is a real thing (obviously look at the Phillies) but it looks a little less random with the Yanks. Ten consecutive trips to the postseason and no visits to the world series with the culprits consistently being an inability to manufacture runs and a lineup with a very high strikeout rate. I know that Benintendi and DJL probably would have helped to address the issue but it seems to be the same problem every postseason.
Yeah, they would have made a huge difference. I also think the young guys will make a difference in the coming years. I think with Bader, Benintendi, DJ and a few others, there are guys that balance out the lineup.
Randomness is definitely a thing. However
Injuries are bound to happen. We still had our big players. It's not like Cole, Holmes, or Judge were hurt. All in all, I think that we were pretty healthy.
Who is taking any of those guys at their price?
What do you propose to do with Stanton? Give him away? Eat his salary?
The starting lineup was a shell of what it was in the first half, with few good options to shake things up. By the end, they were rolling out vastly different lineups every night out of desperation.
At the rate of 2 less per game they would have been at -0- in game 2 of the World Series. Or is this one of those asymptotes?
I don't think there's anything random about continuously getting dominated by the Astros. They always have better pitching and aren't nearly as reliant on home runs.
Agreed.
We'd have to eat a chunk/all of their salary, yes. Depending on what we'd get for Stanton, maybe we keep him still. However, Hicks and Donaldson are worthless. I'd rather see the youngsters who will improve get PT.
But--
Good luck with ditching the 5 you mentioned. Stanton has a full no trade clause and is owed $160mm. Donaldson has a 5 team no trade clause and is owed $27mm if you flat out release him. He also comes of as sort of a so I don't think many teams will be interested in taking that phone call. Hicks is owed $30mm good luck moving him. IKF is arb eligible still and estimated to cost $6mm and he did put up some value with roughly 3 WAR and he does not K as much as the rest of the lineup so I'm not sure he is the problem. Cashman would be hired in a nano second if he were fired. Who is going to replace Cashman that the Steinbrenner family is going to trust?
Agreed on all those contracts. However, what does the fact that the Yanks have so many immovable contracts say about Cashman's job, with not even an WS appearance to show for it?
I think the Astros are better than the Yankees. I just don't think there is a magical formula to succeed in the postseason. The contact > power arguments aren't supported by data. High contact and three-true-outcome teams have had about the same levels of success in recent years. For example, the Phillies have a K% nearly identical to the Yankees. All you can do is fill your roster with good players, win a lot of regular season games, and hope your players don't slump in the postseason. It helps to be the best team, but it does not guarantee success.
Judge 10 year 500 million would end when he is what 40?
He's not getting that number of years at 50 million from the Yankees or any other team. Five or six years, yes.