THE YANKEES WILL RISE TO THE OCCASION

The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles staged an epic race over the last month of the season.  If not for heroic efforts of some of the Yankees stars, the “Birds” might be sitting as the AL East champions.
The young, energized Orioles showed baseball fans everywhere that they weren’t going to fade away.  On July 17th they stood 10 games behind our Bronx Bombers and could have easily taken their usual spot on the doormat of the division.  Instead, they went 25 – 14 over the next month and a half, and entered a key series with the Yankees just three games back on August 31st.

Baltimore would take two of three from the Yankees and for the rest of September were never more than two games back - actually tying for the division lead with three games to go.

But, they never passed us because, as the saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. After squandering that 10 game lead in a little over a month, Yankees fans began wondering if perhaps Bobby Valentine’s subtle prediction about their team would come true.  Of course, he is now the “ex” manager of our rivals from Beantown and we own the best record in the American League, so we know how that worked out.

A number of players who had been struggling suddenly found their game and carried the men in pinstripes to the division title.  At the forefront was Robinson Cano. This season has been a series of ups and downs for the Yankees second baseman.  In addition to foolish false rumors of PED use, Cano battled extended batting slumps and his average on September 24th was .293 – the lowest point it had been since June 9th.   At the time, the Orioles had climbed to within a game of the Yankees and had won 7 of 8. 

Then Cano did what the truly great ones do, and over the final nine games of the regular season hit a jaw-dropping .615 with three HR and 14 RBI.  He didn’t have less than two hits in any of those games and on the final day of the season – a game in which the Yankees either had to win or hope for an Orioles loss to secure the AL East crown – went 4 for 4 with two home runs and six RBI to carry the team to a 14 – 2 pounding of the Red Sox.

Cano wasn’t the only Yankee to raise his game down the home stretch. Other Yankees who truly showed the mettle they are made of were:

• Curtis Granderson who in the crucial final four games of the season went 7 for 17 (.412 avg) with three HR and eight RBI.  This after struggle all season long with consistency.  

• CC Sabathia had his worst season in a Yankees uniform, but when it counted most he showed everyone who the real “ace” of the team is by going 3 – 0 with a 2.24 ERA and a miniscule 0.71 WHIP in his final three starts.  He struck out 28 batters in the 24 innings he pitched during that time.

• Russell Martin struggled with a low batting average and inconsistent play behind the play all year, but he proved manager Joe Girardi’s patience with him to be worthwhile as he hit .292 over the final seven games.

• David Robertson did not allow an earned run from September 20th on – his final seven appearances.  After battling injury and ineffectiveness throughout the season, he allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out 10 in the 6 1/3 innings over that span. He solidified his role as the Yankees eighth inning specialist.

• Ichiro Suzuki became the player everyone had come to know and love when he joined the Yankees.  Down the stretch he became the team’s spark plug and hit .394 with 14 runs scored and eight stolen bases over the final 16 games. 

All of these players, along with several others, helped the Yankees stave off the surging Baltimore Orioles to win the AL East and secure the best record in the American League.  Each contributed in their own way and proved that as a team the Yankees are able to overcome even the most dire of circumstances, and just when things look their darkest, the boys from the Bronx are at their best.


 
--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer

Twitter: @oswegos1

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