Year in Review: New York Yankee's

It's time to look back at every team from around the MLB and what they each showed us during the 60 game sprint! We are going to explore a few things for each team: Review in-season transactions, what we learned, what we loved, what we didn't love, the most significant need(s), and lastly, the biggest takeaways. Let's jump over the AL with the NY Yankees today. We talked about the Padres, A's, and Marlins so far; you can find all posts below on the homepage.

Before we get too far into it today, let's take a recap through ALCS Game 5. This was another thriller. The Rays pitching struggled through the first 5 frames giving up 3 runs, and one was from the first pitch of the game HR by George Springer. Brantley hit a nice single to score Reddick and Maldanado. The Ray's then climbed back in this one in the 5th with an Arazarena HR and then in the 8th tied it on a Ji man Choi BLAST and a great bat flip. . Correa then called the game in the 9th with an HR. The biggest factor for the Ray's was the 0-6 with RISP; leaving 9 on base hurt the Rays in this one as all 3 runs were solo shots. The bullpen effort for the Astros worked while using 7 different pitchers. To take game 5. Being able to go 1-5 with RISP and only leaving 3 on base can go along way. The Series now is 3-2 with another possible clinching game on the slate. I imagine Ray's face a tough choice here to throw out Snell here or hold him for a possible game 7.

Shifting over to the NLCS game 4. This game right here was great. We saw a punch counterpunch with a Rios HR for the Dodgers followed with an Ozuna blast for the Braves, tying it until the 6th. Then the 6th inning happened for Kershaw, and the Braves bested him, rallying for 6 runs in the 6th was a lot of fun to see. I loved this a little more than usual because it was fundamental baseball with the team getting hits to Center Field mostly and picking each other up. Ozuna and Freeman didn't let up going later into the game as Azuna homered in the 7th and then drove in Acuna on the 9th. Bryse Wilson pitched 6 great innings of 1ER ball, allowing 1BB and getting 5K's. The pen did the rest in this one. The Braves now are one game away from a possible WS Ticket. The Dodgers I would expect to throw Walker Bueler out for this one possibly.

To the dugout, we go.

What moves did the Yankees make in 2020? This season wasn't the typical year for any team as we, the Yankees not make any big moves before the trade deadline. They made a lot of roster moves to battle injuries and lackluster performances. The most significant movement of the year for the Yankees was signing Gerrit Cole to a mega-contract.

What did we love about the Yankees in 2020? We love how the team got healthy at the right time, and we saw how great this team could be when healthy and when the rotation is pitching to above-average numbers behind Cole. We loved the breakout from Luke Voit. I had been following this young man in the Minor's, and I knew he would be useful, but I had no idea he would become the Yankee's catalyst. I am loving how the Yankee's are growing their talent in-house with Frazier, Voit, Sanchez, Urshela, Torress, Hicks, Tauchman are all becoming key contributors for the Yankee's and are helping them create a dangerous 1-9 offense. I am sure we are all loving the youth movement's continued development mixed with the vet talent established as MLB talent.

What did we not love about the 2020 Yankees? I did not love the injuries to LeMahieu, Judge, Stanton that help this team back from winning more than the 33 games they did. Of course, we didn't love the exit from the ALDS in a loss to the Ray's. Other than that, we saw a lot more good than bad out of the Bronx in 2020

What do I personally not love? I don't love that you aren't using the extra storage space you have in the garage, the shed, the attic, or basement. You could be making money off of it. You could buy 1 $20 storage rack at Lowes and then rent that space out. Do I need to say no more, great! My friends over at Stash-It Self Storage has you covered; use the promo code "YOUNG" when you're done posting to let them know I sent you.

What did we learn from the 2020 Yankees? The biggest thing we learned was how good Luke Voit is at hitting home runs and being an emotional leader for the Yankee's. We knew that even if you get a huge contract, you are still human and can struggle in your debut season yet have an above-average year because you are Gerrit Cole. We learned that they need to get Judge and Stanton a good rotation going between DH and playing the field if they want to keep these two off the IL and play a full, healthy season. We learned that LeMaieu is good at baseball, which we knew as he took home and AL batting title while missing games still.

What do the Yankees need to go further in 2021? To me, the Yankees need health from Stanton and Judge if they want to compete in this improved AL East. We saw the great ball from the O's, Ray's, Jay's, and this division aren't getting easier by any means going into 2021. I would expect the Yankee to keep Tanaka around and possibly go and get a big fish free agent or trade piece like Lindor or Bauer to come and help take this team over the top. The Yankee's rotation will be missing Tanaka, Paxton, and Happ next season and looking for new options at Catcher with JT Realmuto available.

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What was the biggest takeaway? The Yankee's need a new trainer or something to help keep this team healthy with Severino, Paxton working through injuries this winter. Stanton and Judge both to be doing some rehab as well. Whatever is needed, the Yankee's need to pay for some top tier training and medical staff. Luke Voit may be the face of this team over Judge and others because, well, he was on the field and made significant impact plays when they mattered. I believe he is the emotional leader of this team going forward.

Thank you guys for being with me today. I hope you have enjoyed the blog today. Please stay tuned through the winter; we have more Around the Horn, Yearly Reviews, Ball Boy Talk, and of course, the Podcast. Don't forget to share with a friend and until next time Ball boys & girls.