BOSTON — We could persecute and prosecute Giancarlo Stanton, scapegoat him and just, well, make him the goat.
But there would be a little Buckner in that, some Bartman too.
In those instances, a groupthink focused blame and venom on a singular person, when in reality those 1986 Red Sox and 2003 Cubs were eliminated for many reasons.
And there are a lot of reasons the Yankees are underachieving through 11 games that have nothing to do with Stanton. This is not exoneration of Stanton. Heck, in most at-bats he has looked hapless, hopeless and helpless — so large are the holes being exposed up in the zone with fastballs and away with breaking stuff.
If Stanton were performing well, the Yankees probably would have another win or two. But the same is true of the touted Yankees bullpen and Gary Sanchez. Aside from Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge and — at times — Brett Gardner, a lineup projected to be a merciless force has lacked quality at-bats.
The Yanks are not under .500 (5-6) for the first time this year only because of Stanton. And they were not humiliated 14-1 in a series opener Tuesday night at Fenway Park only because of Stanton.
Their ace, Luis Severino, failed. Tommy Kahnle and Chasen Shreve were atrocious. The lineup went 1-for-20 with men on base (1-for-14 against Chris Sale) and the only Yankee to reach third came when Judge homered in the fifth.
“It was a crappy night all around,” Aaron Boone said. It certainly was a brutal way to make his managerial debut in The Rivalry.
Stanton contributed to the malfeasance with two more whiffs with men on in his first two at-bats (before a single and a double), but his biggest contribution to date for his Yankee teammates is providing cover for their failure. This is what happens when you are the huge star addition with the largest contract ever. The target goes on your back. However, this does not mean the rest of the team skates.
“We obviously have a number of things going on,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “We have to grind through this, stabilize. But when you go through it, it sucks.”
Even before this debacle, Boone was asked what concerned him and he cited “some more outs on the bases than I’d like” — and you can add that to the demerit list because the base running has been amateurish. Overall, though, Boone praised his club, stating, “I think guys are going into the game really prepared. We’ve been banged up, obviously, with the injury situation the last couple of weeks where we had some guys go down that’s created a little bit of a challenge for us, but that’s part of it. There’s nothing that’s sounding off an alarm that doesn’t make me think we’re gonna be a really good club once we can get to full strength.”
But Boone should be careful in his maiden season with such statements. First off, being prepared is par — not anything special. Plus, the injury absent include Greg Bird, Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks, who are all kinds of fragile. Is there anything more Ellsbury-ian than while rehabbing one body part (obique), injuring another (hip)? The idea that the Yankees will ever be at “full strength” is probably folly.
Plus, what remains should be producing more. But Sanchez has two hits in 36 at-bats, his .056 average the worst in the majors. Neil Walker, whose spring addition felt like offensive gluttony, has one extra-base hit in 34 at-bats. Miguel Andujar, with a chance to seize playing time while Brandon Drury is on the DL, is 3-for-24 without an extra-base hit and booted a ball against Boston.
With this docile offense against the brilliant Sale, the Yanks needed a peak Severino. Instead, perhaps because of a game-time temperature of 38 degrees, he lacked a feel for his staple slider. He allowed as many hits (six) in two innings as he did in his first 13 (two starts) and twice as many runs (four).
The deficit was 5-1 when Kahnle and Shreve teamed to allow nine runs in the sixth. Kahnle, who averaged 97.9 mph in 2017, was at 93.9 against the Red Sox. He insisted his issues are mechanical, not physical. But he continues to be a problem in a pen — expected to be among the majors’ best — that has let in runs in nine of 11 games and allowed an inherited runner to score in one of the other two games.
“Our pen is still nasty, I don’t care what they have given up,” Austin Romine said.
Stanton does not pitch in relief. He is not Bugs Bunny playing all the positions. He is one large man failing big right now.
But the Yankees are not under .500 only because of him.