From the other dugout: Houston manager A.J. Hinch sizes up the Yankees

Heading toward the final month of the season, the Yankees remain a team in search of consistency. Their pitching can be terrific on any given night, but the staff still feels vulnerable. Their lineup has been productive overall, but the lineup has largely disappeared for significant stretches. Even this late into the season, it’s difficult to have a great feel for what to expect going forward.

But that’s perspective from having watched closely day after day.

What’s the outside opinion? What does a team in contention make of the Yankees?

Before yesterday’s game, I sat in the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium and asked Astros manager A.J. Hinch for his take. After taking two of three at Yankee Stadium, the Astros finished their season series having won four and lost three against the Yankees. The teams split four games in Houston in late June, and the Astros’ pitching staff largely shut down the Yankees offense these past three days.

Here’s audio of my conversation with Hinch. For those not interested in listening, there’s also a transcript.

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What do you make of this Yankees team?

“You know, in watching them for, now, two different series, they obviously have a ton of experience. They have a ton of balance. They’re very threatening as a lineup. And more than anything, their switch hitters, the power that they have, the experience that they have – they’re just a very calm team to play against. You know they’re always sort of explosive, explosively dangerous. And I’ll tell you, probably the most difficult thing to think about when it comes to the Yankees is if they have the lead and they turn it over to that bullpen, they can create some very, very difficult matchups for you.”

You didn’t run into Severino, but what do you make of the rotation here? Obviously Tanaka and Pineda, on their best days, they’re really good. Do you see this as a dangerous rotation? Do you see it as a vulnerable rotation?

“The stuff they have in their rotation is something that our guys talk about. When you look at Eovaldi, you look at Pineda, you look at Tanaka, when these guys are on – like most Major League pitchers – when these guys are on, they’re very difficult to center up. Their pitches move. They have velocity. It seems like the split over here is a popular pitch. This rotation, there’s not a glaring hole. Severino I’ve seen in the past as a young kid, a lot like our guys McCullers and Velasquez, high upside with velocity, with fastball/slider. They’re not easy to matchup against because they all have out pitches (and) they all have experience with the exception of Severino. And it looks like the way they work with McCann and Murphy to control the running game, they just don’t give you extra opportunities.”

The offense, we’ve seen it disappear at times.

“You should come to Houston. Our’s disappears sometimes too.”

But with you guys, I think a lot of it disappears because you do have so many straight power hitters and you know there’s a give-and-take with that. This team has a lot of power, but they have guys who should be hitting for average as well. Why do you think a team like this offensively can disappear at times?

“Well, first off, I don’t think that you ever feel like they’re disappearing. You can look at the numbers all you want. When guys are walking up to the batter’s box with the type of resumes that they have, it still feels like a very threatening situation. Sometimes I think, in general, teams get into this rut of at-bat quality vs. run production. Trying to strike that balance between, patient enough to draw your walks and create your own opportunities, with being opportunistic and hunting fastballs. At least in the series that we’ve had, it’s been interesting to watch them have a little bit of both. Maybe that’s something that has impacted them. Maybe it’s just a six-game sample size for us. They are a team that you know can conduct at-bats, you know they’ve got experience, that the moment is never going to be too big for them. You’ve got to pitch well to get them out.”

They have Ellsbury and Gardner at the top who obviously have high-end speed, but they haven’t run a lot. Do you game plan the Yankees as a team that runs?

“You know, they don’t run a ton just on the sheer numbers. I think you always have to be careful with guys with speed regardless of what the bigger number (suggests). They’ll be opportunistic. If you fall asleep and you’re at the top of the order, guys are going to steal bases. So, while on paper they don’t run a lot, they have guys that can run and they have a manager who’s always searching for the opportunity to beat the opponent at what they’re giving you. We game plan against their strengths and against their capabilities, despite maybe the numbers being a little bit lower.”

What do you make of the middle of the infield? It’s kind of an unusual one. Didi is the young guy who you probably saw quite a bit when you were in San Diego, and Drew having this kind of bizarre year in which he’s hitting for power but not much else.

“First off, to look out at the middle infield and not see Jeter, for everybody – obviously (for) me the least of people in New York that are both saddened by it, but also it’s noteworthy – I think it’s changed. I think the athleticism that they have up the middle has been good. I think they’re all learning on the fly a little bit more, but what makes it more unique here is you’re so used to seeing Jeter and Cano, the more established guys that have been Yankees for a long time. It looks a little bit different out there, but they’re very capable and very explosive as they get more comfortable playing in New York.”

Have you seen enough of Didi to see any different between what you saw all those years that he was in Arizona and what he is now?

“He’s under control a little bit more now. His arm. His defense. Things are starting to smooth out for him. His athleticism is very good. I haven’t seen him a ton to see swing mechanics and any adjustments he’s made at the plate, but he looks more experienced and more calm in the field than maybe he was as a young player, which is not uncommon.”

Drew, with the low average and the high power, has been a big topic here. You have a lot of guys in your lineup who are low-average, high-power guys. What is the thinking or the experience when you have guys like that in the lineup? Why is it OK to give one to get the other?

“Well, some of our guys, that’s their strength. It’s nothing that you seek (thinking), hey, I’m going to make a lot of outs but I’m going to hit a lot of homers. That’s not something that you talk about. But it fits a lot of the strengths of the players that we have. What’s interesting about Stephen is that I had Stephen in Arizona, and he was a little bit more of a complete hitter with not as much power, but this ballpark will probably do that to you down the right-field line. He’s got a professional approach, he’s more than equipped to handle whatever at-bats that Joe gives him, but as guys get into their seasons and their seasons start to get shaped, I’m not sure why he’s become more of a power threat than maybe an on-base threat because the on-base skills are in there.”

Managing against Girardi, he has a reputation as a very by-the-book manager. Looks at numbers. Plays matchups a lot. What do you expect from him when you’re managing against him?

“I expect him to always look for our weakness or look for their competitive advantage to try to either matchup or exploit something that we don’t do well. I know he’s going to play his opponent, and I try to pattern myself after that as well. You play the game, but the game within the game is trying to attack your opponent’s weakness, and I know Joe well enough to know he’s going to try to do that every day.”

If you matchup in the playoffs, how do you beat them?

“We have to play sound baseball. This team doesn’t beat itself. It doesn’t give you more opportunities. They don’t cave in at-bats. They’re a difficult team because they’re very consistent when it comes to how they approach the game. To beat them, they’re difficult because you’re going to have to maximize all your opportunities.”

Associated Press and Getty photos

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