Notes: Thames on offense; Lou Gehrig Day

NEW YORK -- Down the steps from the Yankees’ dugout, the underground batting cage that serves as hitting coach Marcus Thames’ laboratory remains a positive environment, despite the offensive woes that have seen his team score two or fewer runs in nine of 12 games entering Tuesday.

Thames continues to believe that the names in the lineup are too talented to underwhelm for much longer, though he acknowledges several players have been swinging outside of their game plan. Well aware of the outside criticism, Thames said that he has experienced restless nights trying to correct those issues.

“Look at my eyes; I’ve got bags under them. I don’t sleep,” Thames said. “I tell the guys this all the time: I’m in every single pitch with these guys. You feel it because you know how hard they’re working and how much preparation they’re doing. Of course it wears on you a little bit, but that’s what we signed up for. That’s what you sign up for to be the hitting coach in New York.”

The Yankees managed just a .352 slugging percentage in May; only the Pirates (.342), Brewers (.346) and Mariners (.350) were lower, and if you remove Aaron Judge, the Yanks would be last at .328. First base and center field remain glaring issues -- Yankees center fielders have a Major League-low .563 OPS, and their first basemen are third lowest at .540.

“It needs to turn around. It hasn’t been pretty at all,” Thames said. “That’s the big elephant in the room everywhere -- the offense, the offense, the offense. I know that and [assistant hitting coach] P.J. [Pilittere] knows that. The players know that. They care. They’re working their tails off to try and get this thing turned around.”

Thames was quizzed for his views on a selection of the Yankees’ hitters:

Miguel Andújar: “We saw what the kid can do when he played a full season in 2018. The more at-bats he gets, the more comfortable he's going to be in the box. He's a really good hitter. He's going to expand at times, but also he's going to hit the ball hard at times and he's going to have some success.”

Clint Frazier: “Hitting is feel and he’s a guy that it’s all about feel for him. He’s had success in three different stances, so he’s just trying to get to a point where he’s feeling strong and he’s in the ground and can have some consistent swings. His work has been good … he’s a talented guy and he’s working his butt off.”

DJ LeMahieu: “When he goes, we go. His numbers are decent, but they're not DJ LeMahieu numbers right now. He’s starting to expand a little bit and I just think that comes with the overall offense struggling; he's just trying to put the team on his back instead of just being himself. We talked about it earlier; just get your pitch and don't miss it. When he does that, he's going to get back to normal.”

Giancarlo Stanton: “He’s a competitor and he's working hard to get his swing back. He was doing pretty good there for a while and then had the leg injury. I believe in the guy and he believes in himself. I know he'll get back to where it needs to be.”

Gleyber Torres: “There have been some mechanical things that we've been looking at [trying to keep him behind the baseball in his lower half]. He’s working hard at it. He's just got to trust it once he gets in the game. It plays in the cages and in batting practice. Once we get in the game, guys start trying to do a little bit too much and start pressing and rushing, chasing pitches they don't usually swing at.”

On deck: Lou Gehrig Day
Major League Baseball will celebrate the inaugural Lou Gehrig Day on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the date in 1925 when Gehrig became the Yankees’ starting first baseman, as well as the date of his passing in 1941 from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

At Yankee Stadium, the Yankees will recognize special individuals who are both part of the fight against ALS and those who were part of the committee to make Lou Gehrig Day a reality, including:

Dr. Rodney Howell and John Howell -- Dr. Howell is the son-in-law and John the grandson of Lou Gehrig’s personal physician, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Sr.

Pat Quinn’s family -- Pat was one of the founders of the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Pete Frates’ family -- Pete was the other founder of the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Kevin Heller’s Family -- Kevin passed away in January from ALS. Prior to his passing, he was an active member of the Lou Gehrig Day Committee advocating and pushing for Lou Gehrig Day throughout all of MLB. In February, he was posthumously presented with the ALS Association’s National Hero Award.

Additionally, the Yankees will help raise funds for ALS research through a “Text To Donate” to the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. The team will run a special video with members of the Yankees reading Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech, while a virtual pregame ceremony will feature individuals living with ALS -- Jerry Tolve (virtual national anthem) and former New York Yankees batboy Neil Herbst (virtual first pitch).

This date in Yankees history
June 1, 1992: The Yankees used the sixth overall selection in the MLB Draft on Derek Jeter, a high school shortstop from Kalamazoo, Mich. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer was taken behind No. 1 overall pick Phil Nevin (Astros), as well as Paul Shuey (Indians), B.J. Wallace (Expos), Jeffrey Hammonds (Orioles) and Chad Mottola (Reds).