To the Yankees’ front office, the notion of either buying or selling at Monday’s trade deadline remains daunting and bewildering, but for the men on the field, the hot stove talk has apparently boosted morale.
On Friday afternoon, manager Joe Girardi spoke with Marc Malusis on WFAN radio, claiming that the Yankees’ latest win streak has been motivated by deadline rumblings, with the understanding that the season could be over if performance doesn’t improve within the next few days.
“I think everyone wants to feel that you always have a chance to win, and you could make up some ground,” Girardi said. “And if you think about it, if you were to win every series … you’d put yourself in a pretty good spot. And we’ve played better and have been winning series.”
New York (52-49), who sits six games out of first place in the American League East and only three and a half games out of a Wild Card spot, have won three of their last four series since the All-Star break, largely in credit to a starting rotation which has won seven games since July 15.
“It starts with our starting pitching,” said Girardi. “I think it’s been very good, and our bullpen has obviously done the job. And offensively, we’ve had some timely hits. We haven’t scored a ton of runs in some of those, but we’ve gotten enough, and we’ve made it hold up.”
While efficient pitching has kept the Yankees afloat, Girardi has commended veterans Carlos Beltran and Andrew Miller for keeping the team’s focus on the task at hand, even though both players are considered potential trade targets this weekend.
“It’s hard not to think about because you want to know where you’re going to be at,” Girardi said. “Everyone wants to know where they’re going to be at. But I think they’ve done a really good job of whatever it is they’re thinking about before the game that during the game they’re extremely focused, and they go out and do their job.”
Although trade decisions aren’t under Girardi’s authority, he believes that keeping the team intact thus far has kept confidence levels high.
“If you’re together as a team, that means you’re doing good things, and you’re going in the right direction, and that’s what we all want,” he said.
New York begins a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Friday night, before returning to New York for a home-and-home Subway Series with the Mets on Monday.
