Keidel: The Bronx Isn't Burning, But It's Getting There
By Jason Keidel
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It's amazing how sports work. At least the fan side of things.
Surely you've heard the term, "Rooting for the laundry." If you don't know its etymology, it's sports Latin, meaning you root for your team regardless of record or personnel, no matter the standings, the past, or present.
You attend games in any amalgam of weather -- cold, wind, rain. You're a part of those freckling of fans sticking around in the eighth inning of a 10-0 game. You see gold in garbage time, and light in these dark times.
So that kind of blind loyalty is what explains a few things. Like why anyone, from the media to the masses, can't just state the truth about the Bronx Bombers, who are bombing like a speechless, standup comic right now.
When I stated last year that the Mets were better than the Yanks, I was vaporized as a closet Mets fan planted at WFAN/CBS by some secret cabal. Likewise, when I asserted that the Mets were again Gotham's team this year, calls for my vocational head echoed up and down Twitter.
Anyone who watches our two baseball clubs can sense the difference. Whenever Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, or Steven Matz takes the mound there's some palpable sense that something special can happen. Especially with Thor, who's dropping his hammer on the sport.
When you have that kind of pitching it serves several purposes. You can toss a shutout any night or stop a losing streak any time. And it ripples down the rotation, with each young, hungry pitcher competing, trying to toss a better game than the one we just saw.
Do you get any of that when a Yankees starter assumes the mound? Do you get excited when you see Michael Pineda (1-1, 5.29 ERA)? Goosebumps when you watch Nathan Eovaldi (0-2, 6.11 ERA)? While we all root for CC Sabathia on a personal level, his professional days are coming to an end.
Not even their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, can give you the kind of electricity you see in Flushing. Tanaka feels like a six-to-seven inning, three-run pitcher -- a walking, quality start, which is fine. But it's not really why you give someone $155 million.
Indeed, it feels quite fitting that the Yankees' hardest thrower plays in the outfield. Aaron Hicks just broke radar guns by throwing a baseball 105.5 mph. It's a shame he doesn't do it from a pitcher's mound.
For all the talk of the Yankees' anemic lineup, they're eighth in the AL in runs scored (56), while their 4.32 ERA is 12th out of 15. Their nuclear bullpen won't amount to much if they can't grab a lead.
Ever since the Joe Torre dynasty, the Yankees made a living out of buying their talent, rather than growing it. It's a great formula for a while, but clearly couldn't sustain them forever. It's no coincidence that the Yankees have struggled over the last few years, now that the Core Four is officially gone. Indeed, Robinson Cano is the only certified stud spawned by the farm system over the last decade.
The Yanks have professed a new, monetary prudence. Cut back on luxury tax, and make the farm as fertile as possible. That's the way to do things -- just ask the Cubs and Cardinals, though the Bombers are rather late to the party and it will take a few more years for them to fix. They still boast a payroll north of $200 million, and must wait for a few, final contracts to expire before they can put their reckless ways behind them.
In the meantime, the Oakland A's just swept the Yanks (5-9) out of Yankee Stadium. New York has dropped seven of its last eight games. Maybe the Bronx isn't burning, but the seats are pretty warm right now.
Granted, you're never quite as bad as you look at your worst. But if you see a silver lining in the lineup or rotation, you may want to call Brian Cashman, because there's nothing about the 2016 Yankees that reminds you of the 1996 Yankees.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
