Proving the critics wrong: How the 2017 Yankees reached the postseason
Coming into the 2017
campaign, the New York Yankees had already been written off before a single
game had even been played. Everywhere you looked, the Bombers were being billed
as a .500 team at best. They were too young, too inexperienced, and played in a
division where they MIGHT be the
third best team. The team used the negativity as a driving force, and courtesy
of last Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees find
themselves in a familiar place, albeit one that has eluded them since 2015; the
postseason.
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| Photo Credit: @TheJudge44/Twitter |
When talking about the Yankees’ starting
rotation, there was an overall sense of uncertainty about how effective the
pitching would be. The general thinking was that Masahiro Tanaka would be the
one arm the team could rely on, while everybody else was a question mark.
Ironically, the exact opposite came to pass. Luis Severino dominated all season
long, turning into one of the best pitchers in the American League. Sonny Gray
has been solid since his July 31st arrival in the Bronx, even though he
has received very little run support. Jordan Montgomery has given the Yankees
more than they could have hoped for out of a rookie pitcher in the back end of
the rotation. CC Sabathia has put together another very reliable year at age
37. Even Michael Pineda, who has been inconsistent at best since joining the
team in 2012, was enjoying one of the best seasons in his career before Tommy John surgery brought his season to an abrupt halt.
Masahiro Tanaka, however,
had easily the worst year of his career, going 12-12 with an ERA close to five.
He has become a home run machine, allowing 35 long balls, which averages out to
1.2 per start. The results (or lack thereof) are baffling, even more so when
you look at the dominant Spring Training that he enjoyed. In 23.2 innings,
Tanaka allowed only one run, and overpowered seemingly everybody that he faced.
Come the regular season, all those stats are meaningless, but it is perplexing
how quickly things went south for the 28-year-old. With just a week until the
playoffs begin, it will be interesting to see how Girardi uses Tanaka in the
postseason, if at all.
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| Photo Credit: Frank Gunn/AP |
The Bombers have also
enjoyed a season of offensive success. The team ranks second in the AL in both runs
scored and run differential, while also hitting the third most homers in the
league. They’re led by two of the Baby Bombers, both of who are enjoying unbelievable
campaigns. First we’ll talk about Aaron Judge, who is putting together one of
the greatest rookie seasons in the history of Major League Baseball. He is
slashing .283/.417/.620 to go along with 108 RBI, 124 runs scored, and 120
walks. He has hit 50 home runs, passing Mark McGwire for the most in a rookie
season in MLB history. Judge still has six games left to add onto his
record-breaking mark. Judge is the runaway favorite for the American League
Rookie of the Year award, and is in the thick of MVP race.
Next up is Gary Sanchez.
The 24-year-old is leading all major league catchers in HR (33), SLG (.535),
OPS (.881), and WAR (4.0), despite missing a month of the season with an
injury. Along the way, he broke the Yankees franchise record for most home runs
hit in a season by a catcher. Joe Girardi has been batting the two
consecutively, giving them an intimidating one-two punch in the lineup. The
team has enjoyed success from Didi Gregorius as well, who is also having a
career year. He broke the Yankees record for HRs in a season by a Yankees
shortstop, passing future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter. They’ve also seen a revitalized
Jacoby Ellsbury in the second half, who has produced many timely hits that
helped the team reach October. When the team is clicking, they send out a
lineup that no pitcher wants to face.
The bullpen was thought to be the team’s biggest
strength going into the year. Some days, that looked to be the case. Other
days, however, it couldn’t be further from the truth. For about a month and a half
in the middle of the season, the bullpen blew lead after lead, regardless of
who was on the mound. The faltering arms over that stretch are a contributing
factor to the Yankees 17-25 record in one run games. Over the last several
weeks, the bullpen has looked much more consistent and dominant. Most notably, Aroldis
Chapman looks focused and appears to have his swagger back after struggling
mightily in July and the beginning of August. A prime example is his outing
against the Twins on September 19th. Chapman entered the game with one out in
the eighth and the bases loaded. Girardi was asking him to get a five out save
to protect a 2-1 New York lead. He did that, recording all 5 outs using just 16
pitches. He had the look of a man who was in a zone, and blew away whoever
stepped in front of him. With a bullpen that consists of David Robertson, Tommy
Kahnle, Chad Green, Dellin Betances, and a soon-returning Adam Warren, the
Yankees wouldn’t need more than five or six innings from their starters come
playoff time.
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| Photo Credit: Kathy Willens/AP |
With October quickly
approaching, the Yankees have not only silenced the doubters and reached the
postseason, but the team is clicking in a way fans haven’t seen since the first
two months of the season. This is not a team anybody can afford to look past
during the most crucial part of the year. The Yankees have built the type of
club that thrives in the playoffs. They’ve got good hitters throughout the
lineup, and this team can put up gaudy numbers in the blink of an eye. They
have the starters to pitch well and keep them in the game, even if the offense
is having an off night. And when needing to protect a lead, Girardi has a
bullpen at his disposal that can shut down any lineup in the league. The rest
of the MLB should take note.
Simply put, this is a
dangerous team. This is a hungry team.
And most importantly for Yankees nation, this a young team who will only
continue to improve and enjoy plenty of success in the coming years.
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