Yes, the Yankees have done very well so far without really superstar performances. Any other year, they would be blowing away the division but those darned BoSox . . .
Bird and Sanchez are disappointments at this point, season and careers. Who knows if they will put it together someday and live up to potential.
Gregorius was never that great, really. Now, don't get me wrong; he's a very good shortstop but there was no way that he was the powerhouse at the plate that he seemed to be earlier in the season. Now he has reverted back to norm and I think that's where he will stay.
Judge and Stanton, though, I think their norm is even higher than what we have seen so far. Much higher, especially Stanton. Look for explosiveness to come from him.
I tend to give up too early - good thing I'm not in charge - but Gray, Tanaka, and German are the weakness, the vulnerability that sooner or later is going to drag the team down. The bullpen has been great but those guys are going to get worn down the further we get into the season with starting pitchers like Gray, Tanaka, and German. And Sabathia is 37 and fat.
Look for a trade soon for at least one SP but please, please, not Andujar or Torres (I assume Judge is untouchable) in exchange. I see those guys as the foundation of the team's future.
So, who would I trade for a good SP? Here is the list [cover your eyes if you need to and skip to the next paragraph
]: Bird, Sanchez, Gardner, Hicks,
Walker, Austin, Wade, Drury, and yes, even Frazier. The guys in
italics I would offer as a two-fer if necessary.
The problem with De Grom? He would cost a two-fer plus one of the other guys and that may be too much to give away. What I would prefer instead is the team cutting bait on Tanaka and Gray and developing Montgomery and Loaisiga as their replacements. The problem with
that is, the BoSox have applied so much pressure (the Yankees win percentage this morning is .653 and they are 4.5 games behind!) that the team cannot wait for them.