N.Y. Yankees: Another Swing And A Whiff

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Back in the Bronx

GAME THREE

Houston Astros

vs.

New York Yankees

FROM

161 Street and River Ave.

New York Yankees: Fine Pitching Efforts Being Wasted Due to Lack of Contact at the Plate, Lack of Base Runners, and Non-Productive Outs

Just like that ... the Yankees are back home in Bronx County down 0-2 for a second straight series against a favored post-season opponent.

And for a second straight game against the Houston Astros, a play at home plate is being singled out as the primary reason why the Yankees find themselves having to climb out of a deepening hole.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, and the score tied at one, Jose Altuve singled off Aroldis Chapman.  Altuve then scampered from first all the way home on Carlos Correa's double to the right/center field gap.  With Altuve rounding third, Gary Sanchez was unable to cleanly pick Didi Gregorious' relay throw, which arrived in sufficient time, but on a short-hop, allowing Altuve to slide home safely for the win.

As a former catcher himself, Joe Girardi has never kept secret his displeasure with Gary Sanchez' defensive shortcomings behind the plate.  Game Two perhaps further demonstrates why Sanchez might ultimately be transferred to first base within the next few seasons.

For the moment, that's neither here nor there ...

If you missed it, I stand by my previous post, suggesting strikeouts will be the Yankees downfall - not Greg Bird being a half-step slow, or Gary Sanchez mishandling a rely throw (although both could genuinely be considered decisive plays).

Game One: Swing and a Miss

First of all, the Yankees are failing to stop Jose Altuve.  They can't even hope to contain him.  The Astros second baseman and MVP candidate is turning the Yankees away in the field with his glove, he's punishing them at the plate, and absolutely torching them on the base paths with speed.

That needed to be said.

But here's the real skinny ...

Too Many Strikeouts!

As a team, the New Yankees are hitting .159 (10 for 63) through two games, with just four walks, and two runs scored.  But, Houston is only hitting marginally better, batting .189 (11 for 58), with four walks, and four runs scored.

In other words, the Yankees are so far getting all the pitching they could have hoped for.  They also have almost as many hits as the Astros, but their prodigious rate of strikeouts at the plate is proving prohibitive.  They just aren't putting enough balls in play.  More specifically, I think they need more reliable contact out of the two spot, which means dropping Aaron Judge down in the order.

By keeping Judge in the second hole, I feel Joe Girardi is completely compromising and minimizing the affects of Brett Gardner hitting ahead of him, as well as affecting the at-bats of Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks later as the line-up progresses.

The Astros rarely strikeout, and are adept at manufacturing runs.  Jose Altuve went steaming from first all the way home because someone (Carlos Correa) put the ball in play.

The Yankees, on the other hand, are doing less living and doing more dying lately, as Joe Girardi continues looking through the preponderance of strikeouts in search of the team's next three-run home run.

In Game One, Joe Girardi batted Judge second, Sanchez third, and Didi clean-up.  The three combined to go 1 for 10, with no runs scored, no home runs, no RBI, one walk, and fanned six times.  Worth noting, Gregorious had only fanned four times in six playoff games prior to Game One in Houston, but fanned twice hitting behind Judge and Sanchez, and with Stalin Castro protecting him in the fifth spot.  Then in Game Two, Girardi batted Gregorious third, and Sanchez fourth.  With Judge, the three went 1 for 12, with no runs scored, no home runs, no RBI, no walks, and struck out another four times.

Added up, the Yankees two/three/four slots through the first two games against the Astros went 2 for 22 (.090), with no runs scored, no home runs, no RBI, one walk, and struck out ten times.  Houston's three and four hitters, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, have joined to go 8 for 15 (.533), with four runs scored, three RBI, one walk, and have struck out just once.

As a team, the Yankees have outpaced the Astros strikeouts at the plate by a rate of three to one.  Yankees batters have now struck out 27 times in 63 at-bats, fanning 14 times in Game One, and another 13 times in Game Two against Justin Verlander.  Meanwhile, the Astros have only fanned nine times in 58 total at-bats.

Said another way, Yankees batters are striking out 42.8 percent of the time.  The Astros are only fanning at a rate of 15.5 percent, which, not coincidentally, is below their MLB leading mark of 17 percent during the regular season.

Why stop there?

The Yankees have struck out 96 times through eight post-season games.  Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez account for 35% of those strikeouts.  In fact, Judge and Sanchez have combined to strikeout 34 times in eight playoff games, while the entire Astros team has only fanned 39 times though six playoff games.

In turn, the Astros feature a .358 OBP through six post-season games, while the Yankees lag behind with an inadequate .281 OBP through eight post-season games.

That's your real problem, Joe.

Lack of base runners, lack of making contact, unproductive outs/too many strikeouts, and too many strikeouts bunched together in the two through five spots in the lineup.

Then again ... what do I know?