The second part of our update will look briefly at one change to the infield group and then moves on to survey the outfield and designated hitters. Since our last report, both the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays have made upgrades to their roster whilst the Yankees have been slow to make moves. The outfield looks like one of the few areas that is reasonably well set.
Well, here we are in November. The San Francisco Giants deservedly won the World Series and the Kansas City Royals made a very creditable run from a wildcard slot to fall at the last hurdle. It was a great season and a fascinating season to follow and write about the Yankees who overcame adversity to finish with a reasonable record.
The question now is, can they turn those problems and strengths into a team that can challenge for the post season in 2015? Let’s take an overview of their roster at this moment in time and see where it looks like they’re going.
As we move on to the second half of our survey of the Yankees’ performance in September, we find a fairly surprising picture amongst the pitchers. Whilst the team averaged giving up between 3 and 4 runs a game which is pretty competitive, more surprising was that those who had been successful prior to September struggled and some new faces were successful.
September was never going to be an easy month for the Yankees. On one hand, they had to contend with the grand parade that was associated with the retirement of the Captain, Derek Jeter. On the other, they had to make up sufficient games to challenge for a wildcard. It would have proved too much for most teams but for the Yankees who were already over-performing given the weakness of their batting lineup, it seemed impossible. And so it was, they achieved a 14-13 record on the month whilst giving Jeter the send-off he deserved. One target achieved, the other not. But perhaps this was for the best – they would have probably embarrassed themselves in the post-season. Let’s look at who did what:
As the 2014 season draws to its conclusion and the Yankees role in that season has already ended, it merely remains for us to look at the month of September. In our next two articles, we will look back on individual performances but first let’s summarise those changes which took place after the trading deadline and the roster expansion.
A visit to Elland Road these days requires that you buy a matchday programme. Not for some interesting half time reading … but in order to identify the players. The team (indeed the squad) has changed beyond recognition and many of the players are new to the UK. So being able to pick out the numbers on the shirts and check them against the list in the programme is the only way forward.
So with the batting line-up dying a slow death, the Yankees needed their pitchers to continue to bolster the ship as it rolled in stormy seas. On the whole, through August, they did – although the bullpen suffered a knock and a setback here and there which can come with the overuse it has had this season. On the whole, the Yankees can thank their pitching for, surprisingly, keeping them in contention.
So the Yankees had made it into August still in the mix for a possible place in the playoffs albeit by a wildcard slot. By the trading deadline, they had brought in Chase Headley, Martin Prado and Stephen Drew to try and fix their anaemic batting line-up. Now Stephen Drew wouldn’t be everyone’s idea of how to fix a low batting average and so to nearly no-one’s surprise August proved to be one of the 2014 Yankees worst months at the plate.
As the end of the month passes let’s just round up the changes that happened to the Yankees roster after the trading deadline and before the close of August.
The Yankees’ pitching is still threadbare. However, surprisingly, bringing in a few starters who were struggling elsewhere and coupling them with a bullpen that has been performing consistently seems to be working. Let’s see who was doing well in July:
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