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| The backend of the Yankees' bullpen, featuring Dellin Betances, Aroldis Chapman, and Andrew Miller, has been lights out for New York recently, helping the team to five straight victories. Photo: New York Post. |
Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
Don't look now, but the New York Yankees, who had a very shaky first month+ of the season, are suddenly one of the hottest teams in baseball, and their pitching is a big reason why the team has won five straight, and 12 of their past 17 games.
The Yankees started their recent seven game road trip on a sour note, dropping the first two games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, they haven't lost since, salvaging one game in Arizona, before heading to Oakland, where they swept a four game series from the Athletics. In the process, the Yankees were able to pull themselves into third place in the A.L. East, just 5.5 games behind the division leading Baltimore Orioles.
The Yanks will have a real opportunity to move even further up the division ladder, over the next two weeks. The team will play 12 games against division opponents, in the next 13 days, starting Tuesday night, when they open a three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
When Aroldis Chapman returned from suspension earlier on May 9th, his presence provided a huge boost for the Yankees.Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances were doing just fine, holding down the backend of the pen, but Chapman has really put them over the top. Having, what essentially amounts to, three of the best closers in baseball on one team, allows manager Joe Girardi to shorten most games to six innings, reducing the strain on his starting pitchers, who were a big question mark coming into the season.
The big three in the Yanks' pen was expected to be the team's strongest area, and they haven't disappointed. In fact, they've probably been even better than most expected. As the New York Post's George A. King III points out, this might be the most electric bullpen in the history of baseball, and these three guys have the potential to shatter any existing strikeout records among relief pitchers. That being said, the Yankees are certainly getting contributions in other areas, as well.
Coming into the season, the Yankees' strength was in their relief pitching, while questions swirled about their starting rotation. Perhaps the answers to all of those questions are finally coming to light, because the starters have been very good as of late, and that has helped to catapult the team forward.
In their past five games, all victories, the Yankees' rotation, as a whole, are 5-0, all quality starts, that opened their door for their dynamic bullpen to do what they do. While the relievers are grabbing all the headlines, however, the starters have been equally as impressive, and have contributed immensely to the team's success. In fact, the Yankees' pitching staff is second in the league with 377 strikeouts, and their 99 walks, is the best in baseball.
However, the Yankees' staff also has an ERA of 4.19, which is higher than the American League average of 4.03. When asked why the stats aren't more reflective of the team's success, pitching coach Larry Rothschild was baffled, saying, "None of it makes any sense to me...some numbers are just hard to comprehend," adding, "we just need to consistently pitch better."
"Pitching better" is exactly what the Yankees have been doing, and it has paid off. This is all good news for team, because in case you haven't noticed, these aren't your parents' Bronx Bombers.
One area of concern coming into the season, was the Yankees' veteran lineup. While there are still a few guys with some pop in their bats, the lineup as a whole, isn't very intimidating. It's not like the old days, when the Yankees would just power their way to victories over less explosive lineups. In the long run, this too, should actually serve to help the Yankees down the line.
In the old days, the Yankees would overpower their opponents for 162 games, before their bats would disappear in the postseason, when they were faced with better pitching. The 2016 Yankees are more reflective of what baseball is becoming in the post-steroid era.
Take a look at the Kansas City Royals, who won the World Series last year. That wasn't a team with an overbearing lineup. They were a team that had outstanding pitching, could play very solid defense, and knew how to manufacture a run when they needed it. It's a formula that Joe Torre's Yankees used to great success in the late 90's, and sticking with it, is this current Yankees team's best option to return to October prominence.
Should the 2016 Yankees somehow find a way to make the playoffs, they should be well prepared for whatever opponent is standing in their way. And while less power may not be as sexy as the "Bronx Bombers," winning a championship is always satisfying, regardless of how a team goes about doing it.
