3 Yankees Named All-Stars Before Recording A Season High In Hits And Exposing A Big Problem
Just like clockwork, once I think the Yankees are dead they come out and have a big game that includes our ace going 7 2/3 shutout innings and the offense recording 20 hits. Clearly it was a great game and gets the team closer to .500 but one game doesn’t erase the inconsistency that we’ve seen throughout the season thus far. I would love to say that this is the beginning of a run to close out the first half but in reality last night was just a look at a bigger problem this team has.
Tanaka was amazing last night and lived up to every bit of hype we heard before signing him. The problem is that he did that on 5 days rest, which is one more than the normal in MLB. In Japan he was used to pitching once a week, but the hope was that he would change his schedule and be able to adjust to that part of playing in the US. Unfortunately, not only has he partially torn his elbow since coming over, but has also shown that he cannot deliver on 4 days rest and the numbers prove it according to The Post.
On five days’ rest this season, in seven starts, the right-hander is now 4-0 with a 1.05 ERA in 51 ¹/? innings, striking out 38 and walking five.
On four days’ rest, in which he also has made seven starts, Tanaka has a 1-2 record and 5.28 ERA in 44 ¹/? innings, striking out 33 and walking eight.
Clearly this is an issue that the Yankees are going to have to take into consideration as they look at trades and free agents in the coming years. If Tanaka needs an extra day of rest most of the time, that really isn’t that huge of a deal because it only cost him a few starts each year. I would rather get 25 great starts than 30 mediocre ones and anyone else with a brain would agree, but the problem comes in the postseason. As we’ve seen in the past with guys like Schilling, Randy Johnson and recently Bumgarner, you want an ace the with the team’s back against the wall, will step up and pitch 3 times in a 7 game series. With Tanaka though, we would only see him in 1 game during a division series and twice in a 7 games series, if it got to 6 games. Now I’m not saying that Tanaka still isn’t the ace of this staff, but with all of this money being taken off the books and put aside for Bryce, maybe we put some aside for a new ace as well.
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Aside from that news The Yankees had 3 players named to the All-Star Game. Carlos Beltran was an easy pick with the season that he’s been having and hopefully this only increases his trade value for teams that are missing one big bat and a veteran presence. Andrew Miller was named to for the first time in his career after just missing out last year due to an injury and it’s well deserved. Since coming to NY he has been phenomenal and a total class act by winning the award for top AL reliever last year and then not complaining at all when a new closer was brought in. The 3rd Yankee named was Dellin Betances, who is headed to his 3rd straight All-Star Game. After struggling as a starter Betances has really carved out a big spot for himself on this team that he approaches with humility. For a local guy to not only get to play for The Yankees but to get this honor 3 times is amazing and doesn’t get nearly enough press. I just hope we can hold on to him for his entire career like a Jeter or Mariano.
Now lets go trade some guys!