The saying “it’s a long season” is common in baseball, a staple of the lingo typically meant to spice up morale when occasions are robust. Whether a crew or participant buys into the concept is a unique story, although.
Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo didn’t throughout his early years with the Cubs, who completed in final place from 2012-2014. Chicago turned issues round in 2015 and received its first championship in 108 years in 2016, however the Cubs averaged simply over 66 wins throughout Rizzo’s first three seasons in The Windy City.
“No, I didn’t believe it,” Rizzo advised the Daily News of the timeless expression at the beginning of his profession, “because I was realistic about where we were as a team.”
Yankees nearer Clay Holmes echoed related sentiments when discussing the majority of his keep in Pittsburgh. The Pirates received 69 video games in 2019, 19 in the course of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and 61 in 2021, which is after they traded Holmes to New York.
“If it’s a bad team, you look around and there’s no reinforcements,” Holmes advised The News of these Buccos rosters. “We’re not playing good. It’s just like, this is kind of who we are. The phrase ‘it’s a long season’ is not so comforting.”
See, the Bombers make use of a number of guys who’ve performed for actually terrible groups and endured 162 video games of constant dropping. They know what it’s prefer to be dangerous. Really dangerous.
It’s that perspective that tells them the last-place Yankees, 21-18 getting into Friday, aren’t as sorry because the standings recommend.
With the crew coming off a sweep of the lowly Athletics and a one-sided loss to the first-place Rays, there’s no denying the Yankees haven’t met expectations. But that understanding elements into what units them aside from the legitimately horrible, in response to gamers who spoke to The News.
Outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun, for instance, mentioned among the Rangers groups he performed for from 2017-2022 would have been “ecstatic” and “jumping for joy” if they’d the identical file as these Yankees at this level within the season. Texas completed final in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. The Rangers completed under .500 in 2017 and 2019.
“It’s different here because this is considered bad and we’re still over .500. The Rangers, at this point, we would be 15 under .500. The sense of urgency to win here is a lot more important. And I’m not saying it’s not important [in Texas],” Calhoun mentioned, however he is aware of what the Yankees have finished is deemed “unacceptable.”
Calhoun famous that these Rangers groups had been younger, and gamers had been typically targeted on remaining within the massive leagues. Utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a teammate of Calhoun’s in Texas and New York, mentioned that “everybody kind of just started going for their own numbers and their own accolades” as soon as the Rangers discovered themselves caught within the basement, however that’s not the case within the Bronx.
Holmes additionally talked about various requirements, as merely ending the season with a successful file was a “goal” in Pittsburgh because of a stretch of 20 straight dropping campaigns that simply barely overlapped with the beginning of his professional profession in 2012.
“Here, the team’s built to win, and built to win now,” Holmes mentioned. “We know that, and we anticipate to win each night time. And that’s the way in which it needs to be.
“Just a winning season has never been a goal here.”
Speaking of how the Yankees are constructed, Holmes additionally acknowledged that the Yankees don’t have the identical monetary restrictions because the Pirates, which may theoretically assist them patch holes earlier than the commerce deadline. The Yanks are additionally lacking a handful of stars because of accidents. Aaron Judge returned Tuesday night time, however Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino and Carlos Rodon, amongst others, stay on the shelf.
That doesn’t justify how the Yankees have performed. But it’s a motive why the crew believes higher days are forward.
“Not everyone’s healthy right now, but in general, it’s a very talented roster,” mentioned infielder DJ LeMahieu, whose Rockies groups averaged 69.4 wins from 2012-2015. “I don’t think there’s really much comparison to the roster we had in Colorado.”
Added Kiner-Falefa: “On the bad teams, we were full strength when we were going through that [in Texas]. Right now, we’re not at full strength, but we got to deal with it, and it is what it is, and there’s no excuses in this league for injuries. It happens to everybody.”
Kiner-Falefa and Rizzo additionally famous that the Yankees have confronted a troublesome schedule whereas enjoying shorthanded. The Giants, whom the Yankees opened the season in opposition to, have a dropping file within the loaded National League West, and the A’s aren’t precisely making an attempt to subject a aggressive product. But Rizzo mentioned that each different crew the Yankees have performed has “realistic expectations of being in the playoffs,” and he identified that the Yankees play in a robust division.
The Yankees are conscious that some have a pessimistic outlook for the crew, however that’s not the case inside their clubhouse. Rizzo mentioned the season is just too younger to begin panicking, and he nonetheless expects the Yankees to achieve October. That wasn’t the case initially with the Cubs.
“We have a really good group,” the primary baseman mentioned. “We have a lot of guys hurt, which is no excuse. But we will fight and claw and end up where we need to be, as far as making the postseason and putting ourselves in position to make a run.”
Added LeMahieu: “I can’t wait for those guys to get back and get on a roll.”
Whether they’re confirmed proper or improper stays to be seen, however different Yankees really feel the identical means. Some even discover themselves trusting one of many sport’s age-old truisms because the crew hopes for a protracted scorching streak.
“Here, there’s some sense that you can trust the phrase, ‘It’s a long season,’” Holmes mentioned, “because you know that we have better players and can play better than we’re doing right now.”
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com