Can The Yankees Offensive Offense Be Fixed?

“Get us to Memorial Day, and the reinforcements will come.”

That was the general message for the New York Yankee offense heading into Opening Day, which entered the season with an already injury-depleted, old, un-Yankee looking lineup. Although the offense has been a problem since day one, the first 83 games have yielded results that tell the tale of two different halves:

1^st Half – an upstart group doing just enough to support a great pitching staff, featuring rejuvenated veterans and unexpected, timely contributions.

2^nd Half – a feeble failure of patchwork fill-ins, dejected by the failure of the reinforcements to come back and STAY back, whose luck has apparently caught up to them.

They did their job in that first half of the 83, but were immediately asked to duplicate it beyond what was expected and forced to reach beyond their capabilities.

The Yankees entered Memorial Day, the finish line for “the replacements”, with a record of 30-19. Curtis Granderson had just suffered yet another bad “break” two days earlier, but the team was feeling good after hitting their high water mark for the season just one day earlier. All reports also indicated Mark Teixeira was progressing nicely and would be riding in on a white horse to do his best Tywin Lannister impression to save the day.

Since Memorial Day, here is what has taken place:

• The Yankees have gone 14-20 (winners of their last 2)
• Mark Teixeira has come and gone, for good this time
• Kevin Youkilis has come back and gone back, for good this time as well
• Eduardo Nunez has fallen deep into the injury abyss for the second straight year
• Alex Rodriguez joined Twitter to do his best to take our attention away from what was actually happening on the field – Brian Cashman took his bait
• Derek Jeter may or may not have ran from 1^st base to 3^rd base… and this is “major progress”

 

Beyond their lengthy credentials and proven track records, these players all have something else in common – they’re all right handed hitters. The Yankee lineup looks positively anemic against left handed starters, and they are also extremely vulnerable against the lefty specialists that occupy every team’s bullpen for late inning situations. The offense has been an issue all season long, but there was always the hope of an end date in sight… not anymore.

The permanent absence of Teixeira and Youkilis is crippling to this roster, as is the failure of Eduardo Nunez to seize a golden opportunity to be a regular. The black cloud representing a 50 or 100 game suspension that hangs over the head of Arod, coupled with the soap opera drama surrounding his ability to even rehab and get back to the majors, dilutes our only main organizational threat from the right side of the plate. Yankee third basemen have hit 4 home runs and driven in a total of 23 runs in 83 games this season. I’m sorry, but Arod WILL be an upgrade to those numbers regardless of the extent that his skills have eroded. Look at all of those who have come through and played third base this season:

(numbers ONLY as a third baseman)

Player	Average	HR	RBI	OPS
David Adams	.189	2	7	.547
Jayson Nix	.267	0	7	.621
Alberto Gonzalez	0/11	0	0	.000
Chris Nelson*	.222	0	2	.521
Kevin Youkilis**	.266	2	7	.759

* no longer on team

** out for season

Lyle Overbay has done an admiral job filling in for Mark Teixeira this year. His numbers come in underwhelming (.240/9/34), but they are watered down by his production against lefties. There is absolutely no way he should be playing against lefties, but honestly, there’s noone else! Overbay is hitting .260/8/24 against righties, with 12 doubles, which is acceptable when paired with his great defense. His numbers have also dipped lately due to decreased playing time in June when Teixeira made his brief appearance.

Along with Overbay, Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner played starring roles in the team’s early success. Unlike Overbay, Wells and Hafner have completely disappeared. 

• Travis Hafner since May 1:  .174 (25-144), 6HR, 19RBI, .256OBP
• Vernon Wells since May 16: .147 (19-129) 0HR, 8RBI, .160OBP

These numbers are completely unfathomable. I honestly don’t even know how to comment on them. These two guys have spent the majority of the season protecting Robinson Cano. Clearly Cano is getting nothing to hit, and this is why. Hafner and Wells did everything they could over the first six weeks of the season to get us off to a good start, but they have rapidly descended to the depths that made them bargain investments in the first place.

So, what is the solution? There seems to be a litany of problems with this lineup, and I think the front office needs to look outside of the organization to find a solution. Even if Arod comes back, remains healthy, and gives us solid production, the Yankees still have at least one glaring hole to fill in order to make a run at the postseason. After all, Arod is going to need regular rest and will probably be spend a lot of time DHing when he comes back. 

With the addition of the second Wild Card last year there are more teams in contention as the trade deadline approaches, thus thinning the market and allowing the few sellers to raise their asking prices. Here are a few players the Yankees should at the very least take a look at.

Michael Young (Phillies) – I have said throughout his entire career that Michael Young is among the most underrated players in baseball. Of course he’s 36 now, but year in and year out he produces. He brings a wealth of experience, along with rare production from someone with such versatility; he has the ability to play all four infield positions. With the uncertainty surrounding Jeter and Arod, coupled with the ineffectiveness of Overbay against lefties, Michael Young seems like a perfect fit. If the Phillies make him available I fully expect the Yankees will try to acquire him.

Kendrys Morales (Mariners) – Morales has come a long way since the infamous walk-off broken leg that dropped a bomb on his budding career. A switch-hitting 1B/DH may be a good fit.

Chris Carter (Astros) – Absolutely the cheapest option on this list. A power hitting, right-handed first baseman, his addition could create a 4-way 1B/DH platoon with Overbay, Hafner, and Wells. It would also give Girardi at least 1 option off the bench to pinch hit late in games – a luxury that has not been available this year. Carter would also provide the Yankees with a definitive right-handed power bat, something that has been absent this season.

Paul Konerko (White Sox) – This is a very remote possibility, since he is practically married to the White Sox and has been one of the faces of their franchise since Frank Thomas left. However, there will be a massive firesale in Chicago sometime very soon, so you never know. Konerko would be a more permanent fixture at First Base for the remainder of the season; he is not splitting playing time with anyone. This is a longshot, since he is so beloved in Chicago that he was actually briefly discussed as a possible player-manager candidate before the team hired Robin Ventura. Perhaps Jeff Keppinger, a player the Yankees pursued in the offseason, would be a better option (although he has had a dreadful season).

Clearly this offense needs a pick-me-up. Whether it is a healthy Arod and/or Jeter or the addition of a player via trade, there needs to be a shakeup on this offense before it’s too late. The Yankees currently sit at 44-39 and are 6 games out of first place (5 in the loss column), with the Wild Card safety net within 2.5 games. The playoffs are certainly within reach, but they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. There must be an improvement on these American League rankings:

(of the 15 AL teams)

AVG	RUNS	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	OBP
13th	11th	11th	12th	12th	12th	13th

 
After being swept this past weekend in Baltimore, the Yankees began a stretch of 14 winnable games this past Monday, against Minnesota (7), Kansas City (4) and Baltimore (3). They must use the next two weeks to gain some momentum heading into the All Star break, before hitting another rough patch in the schedule immediately thereafter. Although two months follow July, the tenuous state of this lineup gives July a make-or-break feel.

It's your move, Mr. Cashman.