The Yankee rebuild can’t be this easy, can it?
There needs to be some pain when a team is rebuilding, right?
It just can’t be this easy.
Look, it took the Mets five good years to rebuild and the Cubs had to tear it all down to build it back up. Kansas City built from within, as did the Astros.
It’s the way baseball wants it. You need pain, so you can enjoy the good times even more.
Not the Yankees, though.
After selling at the deadline this year, the Yankees were punting on 2016. They were bringing the kids up, so they could learn to win at the big league level. That meant, some excitement, but also a number of losses.
Remember, in Rob Manfred’s MLB, you have to crawl before you can walk and then sprint. It was time to be terrible and wait for money to come off the books, as these kids mature.
Apparently, no one told Gary Sanchez what the script was supposed to be.
The rookie catcher did it again tonight, becoming the third player in Major League history to hit 10 homers in his first 22 career games, joining Colorado’s Trevor Story, who did it this year, and Boston’s George Scott in 1966.
The homer and two other hits for 4 RBI tonight led the way in the 14-4 laugher over the Orioles.
“(Sanchez) continues to swing the bat extremely well,” said manager Joe Girardi. “He continues to center every pitch he hits. He’s patient and he’s not missing them right now.”
Sanchez, for his part, said through the Yankee interpreter Marlon Abreu, a hot streak happened like this last season in the minors, and he seems to be enjoying this streak.
All of this is great, but you have to wonder if and when the Sanchez gravy train will end. Baseball is a game of adjustments and you know as you are reading this column, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter is looking at the tape on how to get this kid out. And if he can’t solve it, then John Gibbons will or John Farrell or Terry Francona, because that’s what baseball does.
And if he can adjust to what’s thrown at him, then he has a chance to be a solid big league player.
Last season, Michael Conforto had a solid stretch run with the Mets, but the league figured him out this season and he’s in Triple-A. Kevin Maas and Shane Spencer are historical Yankee flashes that fizzled out and every fan base can point to their shooting star.
So like Bill Parcells said, “Let’s not put him in the Hall of Fame, yet.”
But this Sanchez streak is putting a lot of relief on the rest of the lineup, which is now clicking on all cylinders. Even Mark Teixeira got into the act tonight with a two-run homer to open the scoring.
And a good offense is making it easier for a young pitcher like Luis Cessa to just go out there and throw strikes. Five innings of three-run ball gave him the win.
There’s still a lot of season left as we close August. The Yankees have a chance to make the Wild Card or even win the division. They just have to win games. If that’s going to happen, then the Yankees will need to ride this hot Sanchez bat until it cools down.
Once he slumps, they better hope the catcher can make the adjustments or his shining star in the Bronx just might fade.
And the rebuild will get a little trickier.
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