The Yankees’ return to the postseason didn’t last long, but, because most people didn’t expect them to make the playoffs, even a brief cameo in October can be considered an over-achievement. However, just because the team exceeded diminished expectations doesn’t mean that over-achievement was a success.
Under the old Yankees’ standard, it would have been blasphemous to even consider this year a success, especially after blowing the largest division lead in franchise history. Not too long ago, it was World Series or bust for the Bronx Bombers, so 87 wins and a wild card would have probably been labeled an embarrassment. Truth be told, that was always an unrealistic standard to uphold, but by pursuing perfection, the Yankees still left room for real achievement even when they missed the mark. Now, however, the franchise seems to be taking the opposite tact. Instead of living up to its legacy of greatness, the bar has simply been set lower…so much so that being eliminated in a wild card playoff could be deemed a success.
I don’t think there was a lot of people who thought we were going to play this game. So yes, it was a success.” – Carlos Beltran, quoted by Washington Post
A common theme from the Yankees’ postgame clubhouse was that because no one expected the team to make the postseason, simply playing in the wild card game was a moral victory. Although most players didn’t go beyond saying they were proud of the team’s effort, some, like Carlos Beltran and Brett Gardner, actually called the season a success. Joe Girardi wasn’t as explicit, but he also rallied around the notion that the team had overachieved. “When the season started, no one thought we would be here,” Girardi said. What he didn’t explain was why that should be thought of as a good thing.
Another Girardi comment in the postgame was just as telling. According to the Yankee skipper, his team “gave [him] everything they had every day,” and, judging as a distant observer, he’s probably right. But again, that’s not a good thing. Before the year, the Bronx Bombers looked like a team capable of finishing anywhere from first place to last, but most people, including team executives, acknowledged that a lot would have to go well for the team to be competitive. Well, it did, and they were, but it still wasn’t anywhere near close to being good enough.
What about the general manager’s thoughts? After the game, Brian Cashman summed up the Yankees early exit from the postseason by saying “the team that we saw earlier wasn’t the team that finished.” At first glance, the comment seems like an attempt to deflect criticism away from Cashman’s inability to bolster the roster at the deadline, but the statement has more bearing on next season than what occurred in the final two months of this one. By touting the team’s earlier success, Cashman seemed to be saying the Bronx Bombers’ season was inexplicably derailed. He also appeared to be greatly exaggerating how well the Yankees had played before the final two months. Although the Yankees had a great July, what came before was much less impressive. The Bronx Bombers had peaks and valleys throughout the year, and even within periods when the offensive was scoring a lot of runs, it was still very inconsistent. Contrary to Cashman’s assertion, the “bulk of the season” was not much different from how the year ended.
Yankees Month by Month Record
Source: Baseball-reference.com
In addition to overstating the Yankees’ performance prior to the final two months, Cashman also seemed to dismiss the predictability of the season-ending malaise. When the Yankees were riding high at the end of the July, several players were greatly exceeding their career norms, so some reversion should have been expected, especially considering the advanced age of the position players on the roster (and that’s not a second guess). After all, while Brian McCann, Alex Rodriguez, Gardner, and others, struggled down the stretch, they still ended up close to or even above their norm. Unless the Yankees were banking on career years across the board, it would have been myopic to look at the team in July and expect that level of performance to continue for the rest of the season. But, that’s exactly what Cashman did.
It’s one thing for the Yankees’ GM to have been fooled by his team at the end of July, but his inability to either recognize or acknowledge the mistake two months later is a bigger concern. Is Cashman really comfortable moving forward with the same team in 2016, as he stated after yesterday’s loss? If so, it’s hard not to wonder whether the organization would also be comfortable with a similar outcome.
Yankees’ Position Players: 2015 OPS vs. Career OPS
Note: Includes players with 300 or more plate appearances.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Although some have made the Yankees’ 2015 demise a referendum on what the team didn’t do at the trade deadline, the real culprit was the organization’s inactivity over the past few winters. By continuing to significantly decrease investment in payroll, the organization’s actions have spoken a lot louder than the recent comments by Cashman, Girardi and select players. Their sentiment is merely a reflection of the complacency expressed by ownership, both in words and, more importantly, the lack of deeds.
So, with success now defined as three years of mediocrity punctuated by a wild card defeat, there really is no longer a debate about whether the Yankees have lowered their standards. If that wasn’t clear before the end of this season, it should be evident now. What remains to be seen is whether the failures of the recent past will be a wake-up call for the organization, or if the perceived “success” of this season will become a blueprint for the future.
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