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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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It's been well over a month now, but the New York Yankees are still dealing with the fallout of their American League Division Series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
It wasn't just that the Blue Jays beat the Yankees, as they did in eight of the 13 matchups between the two sides in the regular season. They seemed far better equipped for postseason baseball, constantly battling to make contact with two strikes, driving in runners when they got into scoring position, and playing superior defense.
Because every season comes with overreactions in New York, the Yankees' entire approach to roster-building has been called into question, considering they were the top slugging offense in the majors during the regular season, but failed to measure up to a division rival in the playoffs.
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But are the Yankees truly overdependent on the home run ball? Owner Hal Steinbrenner addressed that very question on Monday.
"Well look, I think balance in life is everything," Steinbrenner responded, per Mike Petriello of MLB.com. "They slug the ball too. It's not just putting balls in play. They definitely slug the ball. Hitting strikes hard, particularly in the air, ... you have a better chance of success when you do that. We tried to become more balanced, picking up guys like Jazz (Chisholm Jr.), guys that can put the ball into play.
"They (the Blue Jays) had a great year. I'm curious to see next year how well they do, with that roster, assuming it stays mostly intact, but they're a great team. They definitely played better than us, they slugged better than us, they hit the ball and put it in play better than us, and they pitched better than us, and that's why they won."
On one hand, Chisholm does strike out a lot (27.9% K rate), but on the other, that's a pretty impressive display of baseball knowledge from an owner. It shows Steinbrenner is listening to the specifics what general manager Brian Cashman and his baseball operations department are saying, but it also shows the Yankees aren't always trying to live and die by the long ball.
With that being said, the Yankees are bringing back center fielder Trent Grisham, who struck out in 10 of his 32 playoff plate appearances but belted 34 home runs in the regular season. If making more contact is the goal, New York will largely have to find solutions for the guys who were swinging and missing when it counted.
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