CAN THE YANKEES REALLY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

After the last three games, you have to wonder. Do the Yankees have it in them to make it to the playoffs? After powering through serious playoff contenders and going 18-8 in their prior 26 games, the Yankees have endured three straight losses to the Red Sox and are on the verge of getting swept. And not just losses – absolute back-breakers! Games they should have won. Can they rise again from the hapless team they look like right now to the team that went 18-8? 

Here is what I think. This team CAN make the playoffs. If you look at that 26 game stretch prior to the Boston series, they allowed an average of 4.2 runs per game. Essentially, the pitching did its job. There were games that got away from them, but they had solid pitching. The bullpen was reliable and relied on often, and they generally delivered. The hitting was very streaky, and there were times when it seemed like it required everything they had just to score a run. When they had it all going together – starting pitching, the bullpen, and timely hitting – they won very consistently.

I think it comes down to this; The Yankees have the hitting to beat good teams. They have the starters to silence good teams. They have the bullpen to hold down good teams. They just cannot seem to get those things done with any kind of consistency. If Joe Girardi and his coaches can do something with his players – who have proven they can win (see the previous 26 games) – to get them to perform with consistency, with a little bit of luck, they can make it. In the 26-game winning stretch, they took 2 out of 3 against the AL East-leading Red Sox in Fenway, 2 out of 3 at home against the NL Central-leading Tigers, 2 out of 3 at home against the Orioles. That shows they can win. The personnel have not changed that much, September call-ups notwithstanding. 

The Yankees have 20 games left after tonight, and there is a 6-way race for two wild card spots and a division spot. Oakland, Texas, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Cleveland, and the Yankees are all within 3.5 games of each other. Eleven of those 20 Yankees games are against Boston, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay. Baltimore, and Tampa have tough schedules, Cleveland and Oakland’s schedules are a cakewalk. Essentially, they have to put these losses behind them and get it together, fast. They may get some help from other teams, but it will not be enough without a serious win streak. The time is now.

 
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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