The New York Yankees have really struggled in the second half.
They are 15-24 since the All-Star break, and the worst thing is that their struggles don’t seem to be ending soon.
They just finished one of their worst months in recent history, with a 10-18 August record.
A part of their issues stem from the fact they can’t win close games with any consistency.
“Yankees have 17 1-run losses since June 19. That’s the most in MLB over than span,” stats expert Katie Sharp tweeted.
Yankees have 17 1-run losses since June 19.
That's the most in MLB over than span.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) September 1, 2022
In a span of about two-and-a-half months, the Yankees have lost 17 games by a meager one-run difference.
This tells us several things: one is that their bullpen is not as sharp as it used to be, because some of those losses were, at one point, small advantages that the relievers couldn’t protect.
Roster Construction, Starting Pitching, Bullpen, And Offense Need To Step Up
This is largely because of injuries, but also because the Yankees kept quality arms in the minor leagues for some time (Ron Marinaccio is a clear example) for no reason.
And two, their offense has lost some punch and, as a consequence, the ability to build late-inning rallies with any sort of consistency.
We can say, however, that losing that many close games involves many factors: roster construction, starting pitching, offense, bullpen, and even managing decisions.
In other words, everyone has at least some responsibility or blame.
Turning their season around will require everyone to take a step forward and regain at least some of the level shown in the first half.
It’s easier said than done, but the Yankees still have some time to fix things before the postseason.
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