Are the Yankees a true World Series contender?

On the most recent Baseball is Dead podcast, the crew — minus Dallas Braden — discuss Max Scherzer’s slow start, let Cardinals fans vent with voicemails and ask an important question: Are the Yankees legit World Series contenders?

The Yankees have been RAVAGED by injuries thus far, with notables including Aaron Judge (hip) and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) as well as pitchers Carlos Rodón (elbow/back) and Luis Severino (right lat strain) on the injured list. Of course, Yankees GM Brian Cashman says not to count his team out, noting that luckily for them it’s a long season and they have a championship-caliber organization. OK, but Jared asks, true or false: The Yankees are a championship-caliber organization in 2023?

Joey says false and that he doesn’t think they’ve been true championship contenders in a while. He says their lineup isn’t as beastly as people assume, especially with the injuries, especially to Judge. He argues that they had 1 ¹⁄₂ good months last season but we all knew they were going to lose to the Astros and that was probably their best season in the past five years roster-wise. Jared points out that the Yankees are 24th in runs per game and that doesn’t surprise Joey given some of the names they’re filling out on their lineup card (Oswaldo Cabrera? Jake Bowers? Jose Trevino?).

Jared says what scares him is that if it were a little hammy pull then alright, but a hip injury on a guy that big? Jared’s not a doctor, but as a fan, given the size of the athlete and the nature of the injury, the hip really concerns him. Especially for a guy who depends so much on torque. How Judge brings value to the New York Yankees is his power and his hip and lower half deliver that power, so if you’re a Yankees fan that’s not something you want to hear. Jared also agrees with Joey that if you lose Aaron Judge for any significant amount of time it’s not like they’ve built a lineup that can withstand that sort of absence. And unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, while Stanton is more than capable of picking up the slack for Judge you don’t have him either right now.

Let’s not forget about those pitching woes either, with their prized offseason acquisition Rodón has yet to throw a pitch and we still don’t know when Severino will be back. And given his injury history, Jared asks how will Severino perform when he does return? Will he be able to stay healthy? Where are the reinforcements coming from?

Jared says Brian Cashman can say whatever he wants about not giving up on the Yankees, but they’ve got real problems in the Bronx. He points out that Gerrit Cole is only one guy and he just can’t drag the Yankees along all by himself. Especially when he only takes the field once every five days.

Jayhay pushes back a bit, however, on the idea that the Yankees haven’t been contenders recently, noting that if you make the ALCS you’re a true contender. He also points out that the guys are re-writing history a bit when it comes to what people’s expectations were for last season’s ALCS vs. the Astros and whether the Yankees had a shot at beating Houston. He’s fine with the idea that the 2023 version of the Yankees roster is diminished relative to where it was in 2018/19 and maybe even last year, but he says if you’re saying that they have not been recent World Series contenders then you are judging them by a standard that is completely different than every other franchise in baseball. He says we’re probably never returning to the 1990s version of the Yankees, but to him they have been one of the inner circle World Series contenders for the last half-decade, no question about it.

Joey remains somewhat unmoved, however. He maintains that the Yankees are overrated every year and they’re really not that good. And, while noting that the Yankees have been good for at least 90 wins every season in our lifetimes, Jayhay concedes that this 2023 roster does indeed have serious issues.

Meanwhile, Cardinals fans are in their feelings these days and the crew has thoughts ...

Listen to the podcast or watch the video below for the full discussion!

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Scherzer Struggling + Cardinals Voicemails

• Dallas has the day off today after a longggggg night at the Coliseum so we got Jared, Joey, and Jayhay holding it down. Today we’re talking about Scherzer’s struggles to start the year and whether anything is to blame besides his age. We also opened up the voicemail lines for Cardinals fans to vent about their 10-21 start. Jayhay has zero sympathy for them. Other topics include the importance of Verlander being effective for the Mets, Ohtani’s 13 K outing, whether the Yankees are legit World Series contenders, Max Muncy’s walk-off grand slam, and Craig Kimbrel’s decline. Enjoy and see you next week!

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