Keys To Success For Yankees

Twitter @Yankees

By Brandon Biskobing

With Spring Training now underway, the New York Yankees begin their quest for their 28th World Series championship with one of their strongest teams in recent memory.

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With the addition of Giancarlo Stanton the Bronx Bombers become even more powerful in the middle of the order and look to dominate the AL East. As we move into spring training there are a few keys for the Yankees success.

The new Murderers’ Row needs to produce

The addition of Giancarlo Stanton solidifies a middle of the Yankees order that was led by Aaron Judge last season in his rookie year. Judge had a fantastic first full year in the majors, hitting an amazing 52 home runs. Stanton had his best year of his career last season with 59 home runs, and the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium should help Stanton even more. The key for both, along with Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird, who round out the projected heart of the order, is to stay hot and to be able to pick up the slack for slumping teammates. Another key for the home run happy heart of the order is to not be too one dimensional and be willing and able to hit doubles. This is a trait that has plagued Yankees lineups of the past; relying too much on the long ball. As long as the heart of the order can produce the Yankees will have a happy season.

The rest of the lineup needs to keep pace

While all the attention is focused on the new Murderer’s Row for the Bombers, they still have another five guys in the lineup. Brett Gardner is still a big speed threat at the top of the order, but he needs to get on base in order to be that threat. Brandon Drury adds some reliability to the third base position, but the rest of the lineup still needs to produce and get on base to allow the big hitters to do their work

Pitching needs to hold up their end of the bargain

While it would be very easy to say “With this dominant of an offense the pitching can relax” as we’ve seen before that’s not the case. Both the rotation and bullpen have to keep the other team’s offense at bay, especially against other powerhouse teams like the Red Sox, who some are saying even have a better offense than the Yankees.

Stay healthy

This one should be self-explanatory but as we’ve seen in the past with the Yankees the injury bug can hit fast and it can hit hard. While there is depth in a few positions, especially in the outfield, one big injury could derail the entire season.