twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees in Spring Training (2016) – Update 1

Posted on March 18, 2016 by twilightdawning

(up to and including March 16th)

Spring training hasn’t brought any huge revelations for the Yankees – no huge “ups” but, thankfully, no huge “downs”. This is not to say that things have gone entirely to plan or that Training has been easy. Of their first 15 games, they won 5, lost 8 and saw 2 games called at a tie. 17 players were reassigned but of those only Jacob Lindgren and perhaps Matt Tracy had much hope of making the 25 who would see service on Opening Day. And there have been no players breaking down to major injuries and only Brett Gardner suffering a major delay to his first appearance because of prior ailments.

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in September and October (2015)

Posted on October 31, 2015 by twilightdawning

Well, that is in the little bit of October the Yankees were actually involved in this year. They made it to the playoffs but only by wildcard qualification. And then in the one-game wildcard playoff, they failed to produce a single run in their game against the Houston Astros. Let’s look at what went wrong… and one or two things that went right and look bright for the future.

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in June (2015)

Posted on July 7, 2015 by twilightdawning

At the end of May, the Yankees were tied for first place in the American League East. By the 9th of June they were 2.5 games clear at the head of that table. By the 23rd, they were 2 games behind. As June turned into July, they were poised to take the lead in the division again.

June was a mixed month for the New York Yankees. June was a very streaky month for the New York Yankees.

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in May (2015)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by twilightdawning

April 2015 was a bizarre month for the New York Yankees. They started with a 3-6 record and were bottom of the table. From there, they sprinted to 10 wins out of their next thirteen games, ending April one game ahead of the American League East and setting a pace which meant they should then relentlessly open up a gap ahead of all-comers.

And indeed, by the 11 of May with 8 wins out of their next 11 games, they opened up a 4 game lead. Journalists, experts and pundits were staggered as the Yankees’ bullpen and offense led them to performances that were far beyond anything that was predicted or anticipated — or even imagined by the most rabid fan.

And then the team returned quietly to the form of the early weeks of April as they crumbled against opposition from outside the division. The four game lead disappeared as they won 5 of their next 18 games. Will the real New York Yankees please stand up?

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The New York Yankees Off Season Update 5

Posted on February 2, 2015 by twilightdawning

Well, the New York Yankees have had a weird off-season and it just keeps getting weirder. As we walk through the trades the Yankees made in January, I just keep hearing warning bells ringing that tell me that unless almost everyone who had an injury or a downturn in their career last year encounters a significant upward surge than this team looks worse on paper then the one which won 84 games last season and missed out on the post-season. Unless they give their manager Joe Girardi the right tools to work with, he doesn’t have a hope of turning this team into a winner.

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