"They’re like the two and seven dwarfs” - MLB podcaster Mike Francesa scorches Yankees 'two-man lineup' after team's recent tailspin
Former sports radio host Mike Francesa gave stinging criticism to the New York Yankees, calling their batting lineup "two and seven dwarfs." Francesa was pointing to the excellent offensive production from its two biggest stars, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, which stands in stark contrast to the rest of the team.
Mike Francesa is a retired sports radio talk-show host from New York City. In 1989, he launched Mike and the Mad Dog alongside Christopher Russo, which ran until 2008 and was one of the biggest talk shows in the history of American sports radio.
Presently, he produces his program called Mike Francesa Podcast. He dove into the recent slump that the Yankees are going through in the latest episode of his podcast on Friday.
“They’re like the two and seven dwarfs; it’s awful,” Francesca said.
“On a day-to-day basis they’re putting forth an MVP performer in Soto, who is having an MVP season. And then behind him, you have Judge who is having an otherwordly season,” he added.
Juan Soto has been a tremendous addition to the Yankees line-up, and he currently has a .300 batting average with a 1.001 OPS and 21 home runs. Aaron Judge owns a .310 batting average while leading the MLB with 32 home runs and a mind-blowing 211 OPS+. However, nobody else in the lineup is hitting more than .260, and other than Giancarlo Stanton, none of them have an OPS over .700.
"They’ve missed Stanton dramatically": Mike Francesa
Mike Francesa also stated that placing Giancarlo Stanton on the IL has dramatically exposed the holes in the Yankees lineup. Francesa feels that not having Stanton's explosiveness at the plate has considerably hampered the offensive production of the team.
“They’ve missed Stanton dramatically. He can explode games with his power,” Francesa said.
Aside from that, Francesa also pointed out other sections on the roster that are deeply concerning. He thinks that the Yankees do not have a genuine leadoff hitter following the recent struggles of their shortstop, Anthony Volpe. He also said that the bullpen's continued failure to hold leads and close out games has been costly, and it will continue unless the issue is addressed swiftly.