HOUSTON — In the 179 days between the merciful end of last season and Thursday’s opening day, the Yankees tried to distance themselves from an 82-80 disaster.
They had a frank organizational meeting.
They added Juan Soto, one of the best hitters in the game, along with Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham, and Marcus Stroman.
They focused on many of their homegrown players who had come through a tough season and continued to work hard throughout the offseason to come back stronger.
Now they will finally begin a 162-game journey to see if it all paid off.
“This is a time of great hope and that’s what we have right now,” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday. “I feel like we did what we needed to do in the spring to be ready,” he said. “Obviously a few key guys, especially Gerrit. [Cole] Missed the start and DJ [LeMahieu] No matter how long you’re out, you never want that. But otherwise, I feel like we’re ready to start rolling.
“[Thursday] We need to go and see how good we think we are. ”
The Yankees thought they were good enough in recent years, but each season they fell short of their ultimate goal.
With the exception of last year, when the Yankees had their worst season since 1992, disappointment usually comes when they lose a playoff series.
With multiple members of the organization describing the 2023 season as embarrassing, the Yankees tried to use that as fodder for offseason work to bring into this year.
But no matter how much we talk about improvement, we know one thing that ultimately matters.
“I can sit here and explain a lot of things, but I think ultimately it’s us going out there and doing it,” Aaron Judge said. “I can sit here and talk about our new offensive line, the players we’ve acquired, the new pitchers we’ve acquired. But what’s really important is that we go out there and do our job. We have to let our game speak for itself.”
Cole’s absence (expected to last at least two months) will extend even further, with Nestor Cortez playing for the Astros at Minute Maid Park on Thursday rather than the current AL Cy Young Award winner. will be on the mound.
The fact that LeMahieu isn’t the lead-off third baseman and hitter will also hurt no matter how long he’s out.
The Yankees frequently cited injuries as their biggest failure last season, the most significant being Judge’s freak toe injury – but many teams dealt with significant injuries.
A good team was able to overcome them. The Yankees hope to be in a better position this season, although his luxury tax salary is expected to be around $310 million.
There will be many things out of balance.
Boone is in the final year of his second contract with the Yankees, while Soto, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo, Clay Holmes, Verdugo and Jonathan Loaisiga are all in walk years.
“What I’ve been saying all winter is that I feel like our preparation, our players’ preparation, our preparation before the spring, early in spring training and throughout, has had a special impact. ” said Boone. “Today, even when we’re in high-level meetings as a group, there’s an edge, a focus and a commitment, and I think that’s where we need to be.”
The judges said this year’s group had grit and edge.
Now, the Yankees are trying to figure out exactly how that translates into victory.
“I think we have a great chance to do big things,” Giancarlo Stanton said. “This is like a broken record for me because it was there years ago but it hasn’t happened yet. I really have to go out and prove it. “This year It could be this year, it could be this year, it could be this year again” – we have to do it every night and put ourselves in good situations to get over that final hurdle. ”
