New York Yankees universe is seeing visions of a championship contender

The New York Yankees think they have assembled a championship caliber club and even neutral observers see big things for the Bombers. But the fans can see things casual observers might have missed.

New York Yankees fans are spoiled.

Once meant as an insult, the accusation is now worn as a badge of honor by some. They take it to mean that fans of the Yankees expect their team to be committed to winning every year and that the team they root for holds itself to the highest standards.

Such fans would argue, what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t every fan of every team want the owners to invest each year in a winning product? Especially in an age when planning to lose is de rigueur?

Perhaps they’re right. Annoying, but right.

Okay, maybe no one has to walk around with that Yankees coat with all 27 titles on it, but being fortunate enough to be a fan of the Bronx Bombers comes with certain perks.

Like your team winning almost as many World Series’ as the next three clubs combined (Cardinals, 11; Athletics, 9; Giants, 8).

And Now We See Hal

It also means having the Steinbrenners as the owners since the early 1970’s. They have consistently invested in the team–even when it meant taking a net loss–in an effort to put not only a winning team on the field but also a championship one.

Certainly, they have failed more times than they have succeeded. But the Yankees have not only won more titles than any other club since Big George bought the team (7) but also they have won more in that time then most teams have in their histories.

The Pirates, for instance, have won five, and they were founded in 1881. That should give Yanks fans out-sized expectations. It should also give them a better perspective on what a championship-caliber club looks like.

And they think they are looking at one right now.

Everyone knows that the young Yankees won 91 games last year, unexpectedly made it to game seven of the ALCS, and then went out and added NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton; those are the headlines.

But there are more reasons than these that have fans and close observers seeing visions of the Bronx Bombers playing deep into October.

They had Pride and Pinstripes, as Well

The Yankees power was alive and well in 2017. They led baseball with 241 home runs—16th highest of all time—and posted a run differential (plus-198) higher than those of the Red Sox, Astros, and Dodgers.

But while it takes a team to create a home run record, the offense revolved around three men: Didi Gregorius (25 HR), Gary Sanchez (33) and The Judge (52). To these, the Yanks added Stanton.

Slashing .281/.376/.631 while hitting a world-leading 59 homers was only the first of his two MVP performances, though. The second was manipulating the Marlins for his, and the Yankees, benefit.

Here’s a quote from the fantastic SI article by Ben Reiter I assume everyone is reading this has read by now:

On Dec. 5, Stanton met the Marlins’ new owner, face-to-face, for the first time. He flew to Miami and sat down in the manager’s office in Marlins Park across from both [Owner Derek] Jeter and [GM Michael] Hill. He told [Agent Joel] Wolfe to stay home. “I didn’t want any proper business talk, any buffering,” he says. “Let’s just get it out, raw, the real s—.” They told Stanton he had two options. They had worked hard to come to terms with the Cardinals and the Giants. He could pick one of them, and soon, or he could stay in Miami as they traded away all of his friends and teammates. “This is not going to go how you guys think it will go,” Stanton said. “I’m not going to be forced somewhere, on a deadline, just because it’s convenient for you guys…This may not go exactly how I planned. But it’s definitely not going to go how you have planned.”

Strong Stuff

All of which led to this two days later:

As he stood on the beach on Dec. 7, his phone rang. It was his agent, Joel Wolfe. “You’re not going to believe this, G, but we got a deal,” Wolfe said. “The Yankees.” “Let’s do it,” Stanton said. “You sure you don’t need a night to sleep on it?” “If you want me to take a night, I’ll take a night,” Stanton said. “The answer’s going to be the same. Do it.”

His addition has the baseball world agog and rightly so. It is fair to think his presence in the line-up will further deepen it, making it that much more dangerous. But the fans know a secret: The Yankees offense is not just adding Stanton’s power bat, but Greg Bird’s.

This is something far too many outsiders are failing to see.

A Smooth and Easy Motion

Bird, as a reminder, has been called the best hitter in the system since at least 2014. Here is GM Brian Cashman saying just that, as relayed back then by John Harper of the Daily News:

“That’s wrong,” Cashman said. “Greg Bird’s by far the best hitter (among prospects) in the organization.” Bird, whose power separates him from Pirela, is the Yankees’ first baseman of the future. He’s part of a prospect blueprint for, say, 2017 that could include Aaron Judge in right field, Luis Severino in the starting rotation and either Rob Refsnyder or Pirela at second base.

Now that is seeing things clearly; well, mostly. Still, when healthy, Bird has as dangerous a bat as that of Gary Sanchez, and that’s saying something.

He won the Arizona Fall League’s MVP back in 2014, capping what turned out to be his last full season in the minors. The next season saw him hit 23 home runs and 32 doubles between the majors and minors in just 129 games.

Bird was only 22 years old then, well before players develop their power.

Pre and Post

The possible production of Bird’s bat became even more evident in the postseason. Seven Yankees hit home runs during the playoffs, but only four hit more than one, including Judge with four, and Didi, Sanchez, and Bird with three apiece.

Yet, because of an improperly diagnosed foot injury sustained days before the opening of the 2017 season, Bird was a shell of himself as a hitter when he played in April. He finally returned to form right before the end of the regular season, but still only managed to account for nine of the Yankees 241 bombs.

This year, chiseled and determined, Bird is healthy.

If he plays most of the season, he is likely to have at least one of those six-week hot streaks he put up in last year’s spring training (.451/556/1.098 with eight home runs and seven doubles). And he certainly seems likely to hit more than nine home runs for the season.

Bird looks likely to do a lot of damage this year and that the Bronx Bombers have added two middle of the order power bats. That’s a tantalizing sight to Yankees fans…as is their revamped infield.

Third was So Much Older Then; It’s Younger than that Now

The 2017 Yankees started the season with a man of great character but declining skills, Chase Headley, at the hot corner. This version of the Bombers will start with Brandon Drury, freshly acquired from the Diamondbacks.

While Cash and the Yanks see big things in Drury, all fans can see is his stat line. Brandon hit .267/.317/.447 last year, while Headley hit a very comparable .273/.352/.406. Some would say the Yankees swapped one okay player for another.

But there are three essential differences for 2018, the most notable being slugging. Drury showed that last year by hitting 13 home runs in 445 AB’s; Headley hit 12 in 512 AB’s. And he did it at a younger age: Brandon is 25 while Chase is a few days from 34.

However, there is now depth at the position. If and when Drury struggles, the hot-hitting Andujar is waiting in the wings. All told, the infield looks like a more complete, competent, and even dangerous unit than the one that started last season.

And so does the DH spot…finally.

But No One Was Doing Much Hitting

The one position that has haunted the Yankees for more seasons then fans can remember is DH.

Most AL teams count on their designated hitters to be among their most potent producers. Yet, this is how much production the Yankees have gotten from their DH four of the last five seasons:

2017: Matt Holliday, .231/.316/.432, 19 HR;

2016: A-Rod (to start the season), .200/.247/.351, 9 HR;

2014: Carlos Beltran, .233/.301/.402 with 15 HR;

and, 2013: Split between A-Rod (.244) and Travis Hafner (.202), who combined for 19 HR.

In all fairness, A-Rod had a very good year for a DH in 2015, hitting .250/.356/.486 with 33 HR but that is an outlier for the position.

This year almost has to be better as DH duties look to primarily be shared by Stanton, Sanchez, and Judge. With those three, Yankees and Yankees fans think they will see another offensive weapon added to an already powerful arsenal.

Which brings us to a peek at roster construction.

Moving at the Speed of Baseball

After years of tying himself to aging and one-dimensional players, GM Brian Cashman has finally crafted a modern, interchangeable team. Last year, first base-only players Carter and Garrett Cooper, along with past-his-defensive-prime Holliday, clogged the roster. And the base paths.

This year, Neil, Wade and Ronald Torreyes can each cover every infield position. Torreyes, who was chosen over the bigger bats of Austin and Billy McKinney, is also the emergency catcher. That’s roster flexibility.

At the same time, both Torreyes and Wade bring energy and speed. They can be deployed throughout games in ways that were unavailable when Cooper, Carter or Holliday was on the bench.

Fans know it takes a lot of moving parts to make a championship club, and now the Yankees have the pieces to move. That makes the Yankees look powerful, deploy-able and deep, all upgrades on the 2017 ALCS-attending team.

But pitching wins titles, and here again, the fans think they see championship-level talent.

Stealing the Scene

The Yankees might have five starters finish with ERA’s in the threes, or lower; that would paint a pretty picture.

The 103-win 2009 Yankees, for instance, saw three of their four most prolific starters end with ERA’s over four: A.J. Burnett, 4.04; Andy Pettitte, 4.16; and, Joba Chamberlain 4.75.

Also, last year’s Astros used seven pitchers, primarily, and three had bloated ERA’s: Mike Fiers, 5.22; Lance McCullers, 4.25; and Joe Musgrove, 4.77.

That wasn’t the Yankees problem in 2017. Four of the five Yankees pitchers ended with ERA’s in the threes or better, including CC Sabathia (3.69), Jordan Montgomery (3.88), Sonny Gray (3.55) and third in the Cy Young voting Luis Severino (2.98).

Masahiro Tanaka was the odd man out at 4.74, but his age (29) and experience makes him more likely to return to the Ace he was before, as well as on many days last year and in the playoffs. That could give the Yankees one of the most consistently dominating staffs to start the season.

Anyone can see that is an improved outlook over 2017. When that season started, Sevvy was coming off of a disastrous 2016, while Monty was in the minors and completely unproven.

Meanwhile, Michael Pineda was in the starting rotation. It is not that he was abominable last year, as he finished with an ERA of 4.39. It’s just that he was always unpredictable and usually underperformed to his talent. His appearances filled fans with hope, but never outright confidence.

Today’s staff is much more reliable and predictable. And could be one baseball’s best.

But if the team falters in any area, the fans can see reserves and replacements on the path to the Canyon of Heroes.

Going All the Way

Yankees fans seem well aware that one of the most significant indicators of sustained, season-long success is organizational depth. Here, again, the Bombers outlook is bright.

We have already seen how the Yankees have not only reserves at second and third, but also upgrades. While there is still some shred of doubt about Miguel Andujar’s defense, none remains about his bat.

And the 21-year old Torres is unquestionably being groomed to take over for the 32-year old Walker, and soon.

The recovering Clint Frazier provides a sixth outfielder, while Austin and McKinney have their big bats waiting at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Both of them, by the way, can play first, corner outfield, or DH — again, that gives the team depth and flexibility.

Last but not least is the also-recovering UI Thairo Estrada.

He is one of the best all-around players in the Yankees system, as he proved both last season and in the Arizona Fall League that followed. If he continues to play as he has, he will supplant either Wade or Torreyes in New York, or at least provide a valuable trading chip.

A Marathon, Not a Sprint

That is perhaps the final piece fans see a championship puzzle: The team’s ability to acquire more big league talent. And that’s good because starting pitching depth is the one real area of concern, as it was last year.

The 2017 Yankees began the season with five good starters, Pineda being one of them. When he went down to injury, the team made do with Luis Cessa for five starts (4.75) and Caleb Smith for two (7.71). Perhaps not so coincidentally, the team’s record suffered at the same time.

But because they had prospects to trade and money to spend, the Yankees were able to replace both of those with better pitchers: Sonny Gray (3.72) and Jaime Garcia (4.82). The added benefit for the 2018 team is that Montgomery was allowed to go back to the minors, conserving his pitch count.

Now the Yanks have a battle-tested player, instead of a battle-fatigued one.

Time to Pony Up the Dough

More germane, though, is that they will be able to trade for more pitching again this year. Frazier, McKinney, Austin, Chance Adams, Estrada, and Wade are all pieces that could be turned from spare parts to fuel injectors.

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Cash, meanwhile, is as good as his name and so has 10-15 million dollars to spend at the deadline.

All of that will ensure trusted arms arrive in the second half. But it will also allow the team’s young pitchers such as Justus Sheffield, Domingo Acevedo, and Dillon Tate to either mature into starters on their own timetables, which could mean later this year or at least get big league experience out of the pen.

Either way that means more arms for the race are already in the fold.

The fans have seen this before. What looks like a thin pitching staff now will likely grow into something more fulfilling by the end of July. And a strategy that carried last year’s team to the ALCS might take one with a vastly upgraded offense to the World Series.

Next: How the Yankees Stack up against other win-now teams

That might be especially true as the New York Yankees do not exist in a vacuum. The Red Sox have won the division the last two seasons, while the Astros won the 2017 WS. But neither club has the resources to fortify their teams at the level the Yankees do.

In fact, almost no other contending team does, which might end up the ultimate reason this is the last team standing at the end of the 2018 season. The inhabitants of Yankees universe can see that happening. And they should know.

They are, after all, the only ones who have seen it 27 times before. Some even have the jacket to prove it.