What a difference a year and a half makes?
The Yankees, by strength of their history both distant and recent, have built themselves into an empire unseen in American professional sports. They boast of a regional sports network that might as well print money, a behemoth stadium that hosts myriad events in addition to ball games and the sort of brand recognition that is the envy of countless companies.
But as their “Core Four” era plods toward its conclusion — with Derek Jeter set to join Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera in retirement once the 2014 season ends — the Yankees find themselves in territory they haven’t occupied in a generation:
Extended mediocrity.
From Opening Day 2013 through the current All-Star break, the Yankees have posted a 132-124 record, an underwhelming .516 winning percentage — which ranks 14th, out of 30 teams, over that span.
They missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2008 and just the second time since 1994, when a labor disagreement wiped out October. Now they reside on pace to sit out a second straight postseason, a phenomenon they haven’t experienced since 1992-93. Moreover, at 47-47 and with a negative run differential of 375-412, they face the possibility of suffering their first losing season since 1992.
“The Yankees brand is built on the foundation of a couple of different things. One of the most important things is a winning tradition,” said Vince Gennaro, who has consulted for multiple MLB clubs. “When you couple that winning tradition with the performance of the team for nearly 20 years now, there’s a whole fan base that is conditioned to expect the Yankees to win. That’s what builds fans long-term, and the continuity of players helps, too.
“On top of that, the Yankees have, in a way, doubled down because they have built their financial model around winning. Their ticket-pricing and most of their revenue streams are geared to support — and are priced to support — a contending, championship-caliber team. It doesn’t mean it has to happen every year, but when there are breaks in that, it sort of makes it tougher to sustain that powerful revenue engine.”
Said Yankees president Randy Levine: “What I’m seeing, I think, is the strength of our organization and our brand. The fact that we managed to stay in this thing with the amount of injuries we’ve suffered, that is beyond comprehension.
“There’s no quit ever in the Yankees. There never will be quit in the Yankees. Anyone who writes us off does so at their peril.”
The Yankees indeed have suffered a cataclysmic series of injuries since late 2012, many of them to players who previously stood out for their durability. Jeter (in the 2012 playoffs), Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira went down for the bulk of last year, as did the increasingly brittle Alex Rodriguez. This year, the starting rotation has taken the biggest hits, with Ivan Nova (right elbow) definitively out until 2015 and the 2014 returns of Michael Pineda (right shoulder blade), CC Sabathia (right knee) and Masahiro Tanaka (right elbow) quite uncertain.
Yet their fans, accustomed to a very high level of success, have displayed little sympathy, especially since the team’s spending spree of last offseason hasn’t borne the expected fruit. Though Tanaka (seven years, $175 million) pitched brilliantly before going down, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (seven years, $153 million) has performed well yet hasn’t put up numbers commensurate with his salary, catcher Brian McCann (five years, $85 million) sputtered for most of the first half before heating up in July and future Hall of Fame candidate Carlos Beltran (three years, $45 million) has been a bust due to injuries and incompetence.
As a probable byproduct of both that spending spree and Jeter’s February announcement of his impending retirement, the Yankees’ attendance is up from last year by 1,902 per game, as per Baseball-Reference.com. Tanaka, prior to his injury, gave the Yankees the sort of buzz-worthy player they love — and largely have lacked in recent years, with the notable exceptions of Jeter, the now-suspended A-Rod and the now-retired Mariano Rivera.
“We have decades of credibility,” Levine said. “No matter what the obstacles are, the Steinbrenners and the organization have the will and the resources to fix it.”
The team’s farm system, after experiencing a brutal 2013, has helped keep the team afloat this season. Rookie relief pitcher Dellin Betances joined Jeter at the All-Star Game, and youngsters David Phelps, Chase Whitley and Shane Greene have boosted the decimated starting rotation. The big league club could use even more help, however, and general manager Brian Cashman actively is looking for assistance on the trade market.
The Yankees have another 68 games this season to surprise the baseball world and flip their script, and even then, they will have another winter to retool.
“I do not think it’s all gloom and doom for the Yankees by any means,” Gennaro said. “But a .500 team cannot sustain its revenues in New York for the long term. Is one year a blip? Is two years a blip? We don’t have a lot of experience with the Yankees not contending for a two-year period.”
“There’s no question, you always want the New York teams to be good and competitive,” Commissioner Bud Selig told The Post. “Look, [the Yankees] are competitive. They’re in third place [in the AL East]. They’re only five games out. … And that’s good.
“Obviously, the Yankees have been a critical part [of baseball’s rise], and there’s no question that they draw a lot of attention. And that’s good for baseball.”