The Yankees Are Alive - Sort of
No one in their right mind can deny the fact that the Yankees are back in the minds of all the American League contenders right now. The Red Sox have kept the Yankees in their rear view mirror since about the 2nd month of the season, but with the Yankees 9-2 victory at Rogers Centre last night coupled with the Red Sox 10-4 loss in Anaheim, the Yankees are now only 5 games back of their division foe. The Yankees also see themselves only a game out of the AL Wild Card behind the Detroit Tigers. Since the All-Star break the Bombers have the best record in the majors going 20-7. And you have to be impressed with the offensive numbers the club has been putting up in the second half of the season....even though I"m not.
All the Yankees have proven is what we"ve known all along. They have a dangerous batting order that can tear the cover off the ball when they face mediocre pitching, and I don"t know if the pitching they faced even measures up to mediocrity. Since the All Star break the Yankees have faced no team over. 500. Let"s look at the list of quality opponents they have played shall we: Tampa Bay 8 times, Toronto (tonight will be number 7), Kansas City 7 times, Baltimore 4 times, and Chicago 3 times. In these games they Yanks put up 5 or more runs, 21 times, and 10 or more 4 times. Very impressive stuff, but it"s hard to overlook the fact they were essentially a big league club playing a little league schedule.
Now the Yankees are the buzz of baseball, and everyone is talking about them playing for October. It"s time to face facts, the Yankees will more than likely be in the post season, but honestly I hope they do win the Wild Card. Sure they have made up some ground on the Red Sox, but in the same time the Yankees have been on the Tier 2 circuit of Major League Baseball, the Sox are in the midst of the toughest part of their schedule, a ten game road trip to the west coast, playing Seattle and Anaheim, both of which look to be playoff contenders. But when the Sox get back to town, they get to play 20+ games against the cellar dwellers in the East, while the Yankees play the powerhouses. No one in Red Sox Nation should be worried, the Yankees aren"t catching us.
Look at their very formidable and sometimes scary rotation of geriatric studs Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte, "ace" Chien Ming Wang, and rookie Phil Hughes. I get worried just thinking about that group of guys... And if you can name one guy in their bullpen besides Mariano Rivera you deserve a pat on the back. This team is built to beat up on the Tampa Bay"s of the league. They win games 15-9. If you"re giving up 9 runs to the Devil Rays, yea you may be able to pull it out, but if you give up 9 to the Red Sox, Angels, Mariners, Indians, etc. probably not. The teams that win in October are the teams that get hot at the plate, and the teams with great pitching, especially a strong bullpen. The Yanks don"t have it with, let me drop some names: Ron Villone, Luis Vizcaino, Jeff Karstens, and Kyle Farnsworth. The Yankees are going nowhere in a hurry, but at least for their fans...their making it an interesting process.
Author: Chris W. King
Chris King is a graduate of Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, and an avid New England sports fan.
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