The New York Yankees have played strong as of late, winning 8 of their last 10 games en route to an impressive 9-5 record. Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox ended their torrid eight-game win streak.
The narrative associated with the Yankees heading into this season was mostly centered around the idea that the team was in the middle of a rebuild and was purely focused on developing it’s young players.
In other words, the Yankees were “ok” with the idea of building now to win later.
Yankees veteran pitcher CC Sabathia had some choice words when he was asked about that.
“Nobody cares about that s—,” Sabathia said to reporters (h/t ESPN).
“Sorry, but nobody cares about two years from now. We want to win games today. Nobody in here is thinking if they are going to be here or not. There is too much turnover in baseball. If anyone is thinking about that, then they are in the wrong spot.”
Yankee veterans such as Sabathia were viewed as placeholders in a sense, simply there to act as a bridge to the future stars in the organization.
“The older guys have been doing their jobs,” manager Joe Girardi said.
“We hear it,” third baseman Chase Headley said. “I’ve said it, that the expectation here is always to win the World Series. That is the only way we can look at it — that the goal doesn’t change, understanding that certainly there are some young players, but they are talented young players. We think we can do some things with them.”
Sabathia knows that if the Yankees are in contention in July, the team will do what it normally does and add pieces to make a playoff push.
“One thousand percent, that is a part of who we are,” Sabathia said. “If we are in the mix at the All-Star break and we need something, they will go out and get it, like they always do.”
So the idea that the Yankees are “fine” with a plan to win later is far from the truth.
“I don’t think the young guys are fine with not winning,” Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner said. “That is one thing about the Yankees; they stress winning in the minor leagues, too. These kids are accustomed to winning.”
“There is no excuse for us to not try to get in the playoffs and win the World Series,” Sabathia said. “That is the ultimate goal here, and I think the team that is constructed now, we have a chance to do that. I think the Yankees do a good job to make sure that we are always in the mix, no matter what.”