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| Photo Credit: Brad Penner USA Today Sports |
The past week has not been kind to the Yankees as they have
dropped 5 consecutive games and find themselves in last place in the division.
Though many attribute it to typical early season struggles, others expected the
team to get off to a much better start after the way things ended last year (a
hapless 3-0 loss in the wild card game to Houston). Here are 3 problem areas
that I feel are most glaring during this tough stretch.
RISP
The Yankees have a dismal .197 batting average with runners in scoring position, a telling statistic when looking at the club's overall performance in April. To make matters worse, the Yankees have left an average of 15.36 runners on base per game. If the team's situational hitting does not improve drastically, there will be no choice but to make big changes to the line up to spice things up.
Inconsistent Starting Pitching
This may seem unfair when considering the struggles of the offense, however the Yankees starters have had difficulty going deep into games. In fact, the starters average innings per game have been among the lowest in baseball for the past three seasons. The Yankees can ill-afford to overwork their talented bullpen as it would spell disaster for them in the latter part of the season, so it is imperative that the get much more from the rotation than they are currently getting.
Poor Performance from the Heart of the
Lineup
Teixeira (.170), Rodriguez (.156), and Headley (.189) are each having less than stellar start to 2016. The Yankees were really counting on them to be integral parts of the offense, but so far none of that has come to fruition. With $55.5 million between them this season, there is sure to be a growing level unrest that will fall upon them from if things continue to go this way.
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