Bird, just another flash in the pan who couldn't stay on the field. I am seeing a recurring theme with a lot of these current players and this team/organization.
Time for a reset and change in philosophy. This all or nothing swing for the fences approach has not worked, PERIOD.
I think StatCast and all this exit velocity crap has HURT some players. I don't care that Stanton has the hardest hit ball the last 4 seasons in a row. I want him and his teammates to hit the ball to all parts of the field and in the clutch, not garbage time.
Last nights win was a joke, a passed ball and a bases loaded walk. You notice what they did before that? Nothing, notice what they did after that? Nothing. Pop out and a K.
Boone needs to stop being the players friend and realize he is not one of the boys anymore. He needs to lead, which seems to me he struggles with. He let that team coast last year at the end of the year and they squeaked into an expanded playoffs. He needs to toughen up and be the man or he needs to go. You can't be the man and a leader and want everyone to like you, it doesn't work like that.
Excellent post. Some of my thoughts.
Bird's downfall was his injuries. I thought he was going to be the first baseman of the future, almost Mattingly like with that smooth swing perfectly positioned to the short right field porch. A huge disappointment for me.
This team was unprepared from the start. I made a comment a week or two before the season began complaining how poorly the Yankees were hitting in preseason. This continued to date. The batting coach should be replaced immediately if this does not turn around quickly.
Not sure how much we can blame on Boone. His first two seasons resulted in 203 wins. If 2/3 of the team hit under .200 it's more a testament to the general manager's inability to put clutch players on the field. And of course the unmotivated millionaires that wear the pinstripes. Yes, Boone's part to blame but it really is the entire organization.
The past ten years has seen a consistent theme of early post season exits due to a lack of offense. Not long ago, you had A-Rod, Cano, Swisher batting 3-4-5 in the order look absolutely awful for a period of years. The same remains of the current core.