Given the way this season has gone, this feels weird to say: the Yanks are hot, baby.
I know what some of you are probably saying. “These teams aren’t that good,” “they still have flaws,” etc. I get it. But the fact of the matter is that the Yankees haven’t consistently won the games they should this season. They’ve been able to do exactly that these past few weeks.
11-7 run (feat. bullpen blowups)
It started with taking 2/3 from the Mariners and Astros on the road before the All Star break. After a covid cancelled Thursday game after the break, the Bombers took 2/3 from the Red Sox. Two more wins against the Phillies before going 1-3 in a wild weekend at Fenway, and finally 2/3 wins against the Rays in Tampa. Add that all up, and that’s 11-7 against five playoff-contending teams. It just didn’t feel that way though when you consider the bullpen blew the last game in Houston and two games at Fenway. Which brings us to this current 10-3 run they’re on.
10-3 run (feat. COVID)
Compared to the teams I just listed, the Yankees’ schedule eased up significantly the past few weeks. The best team they’d face would be Seattle again, but at home this time. 13 straight games against the Mariners & a trio of last place teams in the Marlins, Orioles & Royals. I had a simple goal in mind for the Bombers:
Go 10-3. If you can go 9-6 against the Astros/Sox/Phillies/Rays including 3 bullpen blowups and missing Judge/Gio/Lasagna/Nestor for a chunk of it, you can go 10-3 against these teams https://t.co/oK4ATC5yOV
— Stanzo (@ncostanzo24) July 29, 2021
They traded for Anthony Rizzo & Joey Gallo and got reinforcements in Judge, Gio, Nestor & Loaisiga. It would be a better team. Well, since the beginning of the Miami series, the Yankees have lost these players to either Covid or injuries:
Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Gio Urshela, Anthony Rizzo, Aroldis Chapman, Domingo German
I mean that’s absolutely NUTS. The Yankees are missing half their lineup and 4/5 of their starting rotation and are still finding ways to win games.
Now what?
In what has seemed like a nightmare of a season, the Yankees are remarkably just two games out of a wild card spot. They’re six games out of the division, and just one back in the loss column to the Red Sox, a team who’s dominated the Yankees in 2021. Their work is far from over, but what the Yankees have done over the past few weeks has given them a fighting chance down the stretch. I’m excited to see what they do with it.
Yanks questions, comments, or concerns can be directed to me via Twitter @ncostanzo24
