Yes, the start of the Yankees season has been ugly, but there are several reasons why fans should not be panicking just yet.
Yes, the start of the Yankees season has been ugly, but there are several reasons why fans should not be panicking yet.
The New York Yankees start to 2019 has been less than ideal.
New York dropped two out of three at home to two of the worst teams in baseball in the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers and saw three of their everyday starters join an already crowded injured list.
With all of that the Yankees sit at 3-4. That’s less than ideal, but with the season only seven games old Yankees fans should not be panicking. Here are five reasons why:
1. The injury bug is hitting earlier rather than later
Every season all 30 major league teams are hit by the injury bug. The season is long, and it’s impossible to keep all 25 players healthy for 162 games.
Luckily for the Yankees, they’re getting hit by the injury bug now rather than in the dog days of summer when they’re fighting for playoff position.
In addition, the Yankees should be getting Aaron Hicks, C.C. Sabathia, Giancarlo Stanton, and Dellin Betances back before the end of April.
The injuries are hurting the team right now, but it’s better to have them in April than September.
2. The starting rotation has been phenomenal
The Yankees may not be swinging the bats, but their starting pitching is keeping the team in every game.
Outside of J.A. Happ, each of the Yankees starters delivered fantastic starts the first time through the rotation including two quality outings from Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton.
With Luis Severino and CC Sabathia, both expected back from injury sooner rather than later, and Gio Gonzalez likely to arrive in the Bronx by mid-April the rotation is in great shape and will be able to buy the Yankees lineup time to wake up.
3. DJ LeMahieu looks to be exactly what the Yankees needed in the infield
Yankees fans were livid when the team chose to sign DJ Lemahieu instead of Manny Machado this offseason.
They were so upset they failed to realize the Yankees signed a two-time all-star, a three-time gold glove winner who plays multiple positions and a former batting champion.
LeMahieu has put those fans on notice as he’s hitting .438 through the first seven games while providing the Yankees solid defense at the hot corner.
4. The Red Sox are struggling too
With the Yankees struggling no one’s talking about the fact the 2018 world champions are 2-6 Why? It’s too early to worry.
However, it is positive for the Yankees that Boston is struggling. Boston’s hot start in 2018 put the Yankees in too big of a hole to climb out of.
Thus not being buried earlier will make for a more competitive AL East race this summer.
5. It’s April 5th
Yankees fans please relax.
We’re only seven games into the new season. Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino and Dellin Betances haven’t even appeared in a game yet. The Baltimore Orioles currently have a better record than the Yankees?
Does that mean they’re going to win the division? Absolutely not. Stop panicking and let the Yankees wake up.
Being a Yankee fan forever I’ve seen good players cast aside. They almost did it to Gardner but he prevailed. I’m afraid for La Mahieu. I like watching him play. I hope they don’t cast him aside. Sounds unbelievable but it’s been done before. Somebody please say “ it’s gunna be alright”