Reading the play by play account of the Yankee Miami game Eovaldi got over like a big dog. And noted the Yankees "stars" did not put up good numbers. Gonna be a miserable summer in the Bronx this year.
...Eovaldi could be so much better. He's got the stuff but allows way too many base runners. Today he allowed 11 base runners in just 5.1 innings but somehow escaped with allowing only 1 run. ...but yeah, the Yanx offense needs to be better...ARod and Tex need to repeat last year while Headley, Gardner, and Ellsbury need to be better than last year.
Eovaldi is (imo) simply a knucklehead who leaves way too many fastballs over the fat part of homeplate. I think he (and McCann) should consider pitching backwards more often - that is throwing his splitter earlier in the count more often. No doubt Arod and Tex must put up at least very decent numbers and obviously stay relatively healthy. The Yanks might be expected to be getting more consistent production from SS and 2b. Gregorius (hopefully) should be more comfortable and more consistent from the opening bell and I see no reason not to expect Castro from providing much better and more consistent offense from 2b as compared to last year's 2b situation. I'm not worried about Ellsbury, he just need to stay healthy (ugh) - if he stays on the field he'll put up "good" numbers, it's as simple as that- we shall see. I expect Headley to improve some offensively and he BETTER improve significantly on defense. The kid Sanchez, had a lousy ST, unless he had an eye popping ST and even that probably wasn't going to prevent him from being sent to AAA just for clerical/money reasons. In order to delay Sanchez's free agency a full season, the Yankees must keep him in the minors for at least 35 days. Gardner- I think he may have a stamina problem and wears down over the full season. Might be a good idea to give him some EXTRA days off especially vs LHP where the Yanks can plug in Hicks who batted .307 with an OPS over .800 last season vs LHP.....and the Yanks will lose nothing defensively- Hicks is an outstanding defender, hardly makes errors and gets ALOT of assists.
Oh, by the way on a light-hearted note, did you notice the Yanks have gotten younger as 23 year old Ronald Torreyes made the team as a backup infielder after cousin Brian signed him off waivers.
..."getting younger" is all well and good, but it's not necessarily a formula for success ...besides, the Giants and Red Sox are among the oldest teams and they are favorites this year. ...and thought the Yanx have added some youth recently they are still an "old" team because vets like ARod, Tex, CC, and Beltran, are still taking up roster spots and if those guys don't produce it collectively hurts the team and whatever the younger players may achieve will be minimized. And McCann, Gardner, Ellsbury and Headley are not exactly youngsters anymore either...and they are all under contract for another few years, so while the team may try to get younger they will be getting older at the same time. ...teams need to have a blend of younger athletic players as well as a core of seasoned vets who not only lead by example but also greatly contribute to the team's success. ...and fwiw, before we stand in awe of Cashman's managerial skills, "Torreyes, 23, came over from the Dodgers in a very minor trade over the winter. The Yankees actually designated him for assignment a few days later, lost him on waivers to the Angels, then re-claimed him on waivers a few days later after the Angels designated him for assignment. Got all that? The poor guy has been with five teams (Astros, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Yankees, Angels) in the last 12 months." ...He's not a platoon player, he's strictly a backup who won't see much playing time unless Headley goes down with an injury...so unless an acquisition actually plays most every day it doesn't really make the team better. And the only reason Cashman was able to pick him up off of waivers was because he allowed Torreyes to be lost on waivers in the first place...yeah, brilliant strategy, Brian.
