WOODBURY – Yankees fans have been talking about the hot start to the season and the recent upcoming of starting pitcher Cam Schittler and his record breaking start that began the season in April last month. The Yankees have three dominant pitchers; Rodon, Cole, and Schittler, so could this possibly be the rotation they need to have something to show for the money they have spent?
As the season started, the Yankees began by sweeping the Giants and losing one game to the Mariners; they batted in runs and held up opponents from scoring also. With past seasons, they have struggled with the bottom half of their lineup and have struggled defensively but that has not been the case this season.
Now although their start has been efficient, the Yankees have realistically started the same the past two seasons with them sweeping the Brewers then losing 2 out of the 3 to the Diamondbacks and finishing the first 10 games 6-4 and the season prior swept the Astros and started off 8-2; they seem to have an excellent two month stretch where they slow down near and after all-star break.
They had a deep playoff run in 2024 making it to the World Series and losing 4-1 to the Dodgers where they defensively fell apart throughout the series especially in game 5 of the series where captain of the team Aaron Judge dropped the fly ball that was nearly in the pocket of his glove.
One major problem, and cause for inconsistency along with their brief playoff runs, is their players’ inability to produce during high pressure situations, and some players, like Aaron Judge, struggling throughout the whole postseason. With his postseason numbers being significantly lower than his regular season, like his OPS dropoff being .250 while the league average is .018, in 2025 he batted a surprisingly low .184 for him although it is not terrible his standard is higher especially being the captain.
The Yankees recent struggle has been a point of contention for NHS students.
“Pitching is something the Yankees really have improved throughout the recent years, ” said Jacob Ciarlegilo, sophomore and Yankee enthusiast at Nonnewaug. “They also have built their offense past just power and added some contact to the lineup”
These are big improvements for the team and could finally be the adjustments they need to be able to push for a ring and be able to make all the money they spent worth it. They need a big achievement to show as their franchise is not the big championship farm it used to be.
Cross city rival fan Zach Santopietro comments about both teams recent struggles while being big spenders.
“The Mets and Yankees have similarities with spending high spending habits with low accomplishments in return,” said Santopeietro.
The Yankees and Mets are ranked the second and third biggest spenders since 2022 and have little to nothing to show for it. The Yankees made the world series in 2024 and lost 4-1 to the Dodgers and the Mets have made the playoffs in 2022 and 2024 since then.
“The Yankees have lacked a well rounded lineup with an even spread of contact and power and baserunning,” said Joshua Kornblut, teacher at Nonnewaug. “The depth of the pitching has tremendously improved over the years.”
Many fans have similar views on the team this year seeing this as possibly the season that could lead to something. It seems the team really has every piece to the puzzle.
“The team kind of reminds me of the 98 Yankees,” he also added.
Many fans really do see this team as an all around powerhouse and could it possibly be the team to finally put an end to the number one spending team and defending champions the Los Angeles Dodgers.
