How Hard It Is to Be Enthused

And yet, how hard it is to be enthused over it. The Yankees are at home, at Yankee Stadium II. For the 1st time ever, their opener is an Interleague game, against the San Francisco Giants. But they are still managed by Aaron Boone, who takes his orders from the general manager.

He is still Brian Cashman, who takes his orders from the Chairman and Managing General Partner, the member of the ownership group who exercises control over the team.

And he is still Hal Steinbrenner, who seems not to share his father George's stance that "Winning, to me, is second only to breathing," and is willing to do what it takes to keep the Yankees in the Playoffs, so that they will make a profit, but doesn't seem to care any further than that.

As usual, the Yankees open with several questions. Some familiar, some new. They include:

* Do they have enough starting pitching? Once again, the answer appears to be, "No." The rotation appears to be Gerrit Cole, who's great when he doesn't give up home runs, but tends to give them up; Carlos Rodón, who has injury issues; Nestor Cortés, ditto; Luis Severino, ditto; and Domingo Germán, who has been completely inconsistent since his 2019 suspension, to the point where his switch of uniform numbers for this season from 55 to 0 (zero) seems appropriate.

* Do they have enough relief pitching? We have plenty of it. How much of it is any damn good? Your guess is as good as Cashman's. The bullpen, not including likely potential closers, includes Schmidt, the injury-prone Tommy Kahnle, Albert Abreu, Scott Effross, Luis Gil, Ron Marinaccio and Lou Trivino.

* Who's the closer? The good news is, Aroldis Chapman is now the Kansas City Royals' problem. The bad news is, we don't have a clear replacement. Is it Clay Holmes, who looked like it last season during Chapman's injury, but not after? Is it Jonathan Loáisiga, another "consistently inconsistent" guy? Is it Wandy Peralta? Don't make me laugh. 

* Can the lineup avoid injuries? Based on experience, we have to presume that the answer is, "No." But keeping Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and especially -- based on last season -- Anthony Rizzo healthy would be huge.

* Do we have a bench good enough to fill the injury gaps? The infield has LeMaheiu, who can play 1st base instead of Rizzo, and 3rd base instead of Josh Donaldson; and Oswaldo Cabrera, who can play anywhere in it but 1st base. Anthony Volpe has been called up, and either he or Isiah Kiner-Falefa can play shortstop.

So can Gleyber Torres -- in theory, but that experiment, which truly solidified him as "Cashman's Jeter," has already failed once, but then, you know Cashman: If at first you don't succeed, bring back Javier Vázquez or Adam Warren.

The starting outfield is likely to be Aaron Hicks in left, Harrison Bader in center, and Aaron Judge in right, with Giancarlo Stanton as the designated hitter. It should be Stanton in left. Estevan Florial can play left and center, but not right; Stanton has also played right well; center, less well.

* Do we have a major-league quality catcher? The 1st choice is Jose Trevino, not a good hitter for average, but has some power, and may be the best defensive catcher in the game. But he might not be available to start the season, due to a wrist injury. Ben Rortvedt is injury-prone. That leaves Kyle Higashioka, good defensively, but a terrible hitter.

* Do we have a major-league quality shortstop? The starting job has been given to Anthony Volpe, whose grand total of regular-season major league plate appearances coming into today is exactly none. IKF is okay as a fielder, but can't hit. Torres can't play the position, and his hitting suffered while he tried. And Cabrera is still a work in progress.

* Was trading for Gleyber Torres worth it? As of right now, the answer is the same as it was when the trade was made on July 25, 2016: "No." He had a good season last year, 

* Has Aaron Judge accepted that hitting 62 home runs is a footnote, and that the real goal is to win the World Series? I believe he has. Presuming he stays healthy, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to put up another Most Valuable Player-quality season.

* Will the Yankees see the 2015, MVP version of Josh Donaldson? At either 3rd base or as a DH along with Stanton? Probably not. At this point, I'd settle for the 2019 version: .259, 37 home runs, 94 RBIs.

* What about the opposition? Let's start with the Yankees' own Division, the American League Eastern Division. The Tampa Bay Rays are always a problem, the Toronto Blue Jays also made the Playoffs last season, and the Baltimore Orioles improved significantly, to the point where they were in the Playoff race most of the way. The Boston Red Sox stunk last year, but isn't it about time for them to do what they always do when that happens, which is find a new way to cheat and win the World Series?

If the Yankees win the Division, the only other team in the AL that gives them trouble is the Red Sox South, the Chicken Fried Red Sox, the Houston Astros. The Asterisks will continue to cheat their way to victory until MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred does something about it. And, as long as the Astros' cheating is only hurting the Yankees, he won't. (He did after the 2019 World Series, because it had been proven to hurt a team he does like, the Los Angeles Dodgers.)

Here's what it looks like: The Yankees have enough to make the Playoffs, but not to win the Pennant. It's been 14 years since the last Pennant, and just 1 World Series win in the last 23 years. And yet, Cashman is never held accountable by Hal.

Brace yourself: A long season is here. How hard it is to be enthused.

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