The New York Yankees have made it through the first week of their schedule, but what should be taken away from their 3-3 start?
Expectations are high in the Bronx, as always. It is World Series or bust for the Bombers in 2021. While a Championship cannot be won in the first week of the regular season, fans are anxious to see their team play the first few games that actually count.
Sometimes, they overreact to the first contests.
Giancarlo Stanton Can’t Hit
Yes, Stanton got off to a very rough start on Opening Day, going 0-5 with three strikeouts. But, there is no reason for the fans to boo him this early in the season. He literally carried the offense last October when he hit six home runs in seven games. They seem to have forgotten that.
Stanton is usually an extra-base hit or strikeout type of hitter, so he might take longer to get going than most. With that said, when he is on there is nobody better, and Stanton showed why on Monday night when he hit a 471-foot grand slam to put the game out of reach.
Yankees fans understandably have been frustrated with the overall performance that they have seen from their designated hitter. However, it is mainly because he has not been able to stay on the field as he did in 2017 with the Miami Marlins when he won the MVP and hit 59 home runs.
If Stanton can stay healthy, there is a feeling that Yankees fans will not be mad at Stanton’s performance when all things are said and done at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
Gary Sanchez is Back
Sanchez got off to one heck of a start, homering in each of the first two games of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays. Fans overreacted like Sanchez is back to the guy he was in 2017 when he was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award.
Two good games cannot fix a full two-month stretch in 2020 where he hit .147 and seemingly could not hit a fastball. Sanchez was eventually benched in favor of Kyle Higashioka in the postseason.
On Sunday and Monday, Sanchez combined to go 0-8 with four strikeouts before recording two hits on Tuesday prior to being replaced by Higashioka again. He would hit a game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning.
The Yankees Bullpen Is Great
A big positive for the Yankees over the past week was how great the bullpen performed, regardless of when they had to come into the game. Case in point: No reliever gave up any runs the entire week except for Lucas Luetge, who allowed three runs. The bullpen has combined for 27 innings pitched and surrendered eleven hits, five walks, and three earned runs.
Before the season began, one of the concerns was whether the bullpen was going to be able to survive while Justin Wilson and Zack Britton were sidelined. It meant that Jonathan Loaisiga (who hasn’t pitched in more than 15 innings in any season), and Luis Cessa, who has pitched in more than 17 games once in five career seasons would have to take on more high-leverage innings.
And after losing a series against Toronto and having another series against a non-contender in the Baltimore Orioles, no one is ready to say that the Yankees bullpen is great. Maybe good, but not great.
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