TALKING US ALL OFF THE LEDGE

Source: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America

How many games do the Yankees and everyone else in Major League Baseball play each year?  Right, 162 games. That's a lot of games and a lot of baseball to win and lose.  Lately, it feels like we are dropping games left and right but in reality, there is still a lot of baseball and historically, for the Yankees, it has been a lot worse.  This is a feel good, talk us all off the ledge piece...buckle up for a late July pep talk.

 Forty years ago this month the Yankees were ten games behind the league leading Boston Red Sox.  Actually, prior to that, earlier in July we were even further back. And forty years ago this October 2nd, we beat the Sox and went on to win the World Series. I was nine.

Source: MLB.com

"On a crisp October afternoon in 1978, the Yankees faced the Red Sox in a winner-take-all tiebreaker game to decide the American League East. The game was played after the Yankees had come back from a 14-game July deficit to tie Boston in the standings," reported MLB.com.  We all know how that story ended. "Deep to left...."

Source: Michael Maher Photography 

"I didn't realize it when that ball went out of here, but that home run changed my life," (Bucky) Dent said. "Sports is all about moments," he said. "That was a big moment in sports history. Because it was a winner-take-all game between the Yankees and Red Sox, it meant so much to both cities," reported MLB.com.  This season ignited the fire back into the rivalry and there is a lot more drama yet to come.

Source: autographsignings.blogspot.com

Ron Guidry was on that team in 1978.  Many have compared him to Luis Severino, with his impressive numbers and of course his persistence and spark.  Sevi may have lost his step a bit over the last few starts, but he's still in it.  He will bounce back.  Guidry had his monumental 18-strike-out game in 1978, maybe Sevi is not far behind.

Source: NJ.com

It is not just about the Red Sox; it is about winning these other series with teams who are not in contention, like the Tampa Bay Rays (lost that series), Baltimore Orioles (41.5 out of first place) and most recently, the Kansas City Royals who are about 40 games under .500.  We need these games because we can't just put all of the pressure on Sevi, and newest Yankees Zach Britton and J.A. Happ, who have traditionally pitched well against the Sox and probably one of the reasons Brian Cashman picked them up.

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

With Aaron Judge out for at least a month, Gary Sanchez out until probably mid-September, and about sixty games or so left to go, we need to stay focused and remember that we can win again, game by game, city after city, pitch by pitch and run after run.  We can chip back, but it is going to take everyone to step up and contribute.  After all, a winning culture is not the job of one person in an organization, it is job of everyone.  Bucky may have contributed the last piece of the puzzle in October 1978, but the journey started long before that...we can do this, it's in our DNA.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof