Stamford, CT: Ahhh, the grass is greening, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are chirping. The baseball season is only two days away and another winter is in the rearview. The Yankees have had more than their share of injuries, cue the tears and sympathy here, but they’re going to be okay. The Rangers still have an outside shot at getting into the playoffs, but it’s not looking good. If you would be so kind, allow me to present my reasons the Yanks are going to be alright, but the Rangers will be playing golf before April is out.
Bronx 911
Sure, Cole went down and Giancarlo apparently has been walking around with torn tendons in both elbows. That dude needs to chill on the weights. And DJ LeMahieu has had his annual spring training injury. Someday the Yankees saintly patience with him will pay off. Or not. Two other starters, ROY Luis Gil and the up-and-coming Clarke Schmidt are also out. The leaves Marcus Stroman, who they were trying to jettison, as a key cog. Say it with me kids, you can never have too much pitching. Not good. But relax everyone, they’re gonna be fine.
First off, they have some nice breakout candidates. In case you haven’t noticed, Ben Rice put on some serious muscle and is blasting rockets with Stanton-esque exit velo. Expect him to be a mainstay in the lineup. Jasson Dominguez struggled early, but has been raking lately. And Austin Wells is looking like an All-Star behind the plate. Hopefully he worked on hitting the high heat in the off-season. Anthony Volpe looked good in the post season last year and may finally be ready to take the leap.
They might have lost their ace, but they have another one in Max Fried. Expect a big year there. Carlos Rodon needs to be a reliable number two, and he seems to be a key to their success every year. The aforementioned Stroman needs to hold the fort until reinforcements arrive, but he’s better early in the season. The back-end, with youngster Will Warren and oldster Carlos Carrasco, might be iffy, but the bullpen is going to be stout. They’ve had injuries there too, but they should have enough left to protect leads.
There is a lot of talk about third base, and the lack of a righty bat. It sounds like they’re comfortable with Oswaldo Cabrera vs righties, but are looking for a bat from the right side. I don’t think they need to have an above average hitter at every position. I think they’d be okay just putting the defensively sound Peraza there with Cabrera and hope for some offense. They could use another righty bat though, with Wells, Bellinger, Dominguez, Chisholm, Rice, and Cabrera all lefties, with just Judge, Goldschmidt, and Volpe from the right.
Ranger Danger
It’s been such a disappointing season for the blueshirts, will most of their main cogs all having down seasons or getting old at the same time. Management has been aggressive in making changes, but they don’t seem to have improved much. The power play, which they counted on in previous years, has completely disappeared. They aren’t good enough at five-on-five to have a mediocre power play.
Adam Fox is supposed to be one of the best D-man in the league, but he has looked slow and has not played good defense. At this point, he looks like a power play specialist. I get why they traded Lindgren, you don’t want to commit big years and money to a guy who takes such a beating – a la Dan Girardi and Mark Stahl. It always bites you in the later years. But Fox needs a stalwart defensive partner. Mika Zibanejad has played poorly, and a big reason is that he passes up too many shots. If he has the puck in a two-on-one, he will ALWAYS pass, even if the D plays the pass and gives him the net. He will try to get a pass through anyway – every single time.
At present, they’re only one point out of the second wildcard spot, but it is a crowded field, and they have played the most games. They still have an outside chance of catching the Devils for third in the Metro, as they have sputtered a bit without Jack Hughes. But it looks bleak as they are seven points back. They get outplayed for long stretches in most games, and Igor is the only reason they still have a shot. They start a three game West Coast swing tonight vs the red-hot Kings, then the Sharks and Ducks. They need to come home with at least four points. I hope I’m wrong, but this looks like a team that’s polishing up their golf clubs and getting ready for a new coach next year.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for some angry fella.
