WILL THE YANKEES RISE TO THE OCCASION?

I'm happy the Yankees won the series against the Braves. To say that we needed that is a massive understatement right now. The win is nice, but right now I am not exactly celebrating. I'm focused on what is happening next. I just hope I am not more focused than the Yankees are.

The Yankees are off Monday, and then the Blue Jays are waiting for them in Toronto. This is the biggest series of the season thus far. I'm not trying to make this extra dramatic, but fact of the matter is the Yankees are trailing the Blue Jays by three game in the AL East and the last time we played them we didn't show up and we were swept.

So now the Yankees need to bounce back from that last meeting. What we watched last time, can't happen again. We need everyone to bring their A+ games. We need Anthony Volpe (the guy many of us no longer believe in) to show up. We need his bat to be as alive as it was against the Braves and to not have any fielding blunders like we witnessed against the Cubs. There is no more room for regression. If he can't produce, the Yankees need to make a move. I can't listen to Aaron Boone defend him anymore. 

We need our starters to pitch deep into the game and not minimize runs surrendered. We need to see our starters continue the momentum we saw Marcus Stroman bring on Sunday. The bats also need to do their part, they need to make contact and not leave any runners on the bases stranded. We're getting into the dog days of summer, and the Yankees can't afford to sputter and limp toward the finish line.

We are only three games back, but we can't afford to pull a repeat performance and make that six back and worry about the Red Sox who are only two games behind us now. This has become more uncomfortable then it needs to be and now the Yankees need to rise to the occasion and show everyone that they are the team to beat in the American League.

I think the Yankees have been delusional, especially Baboonie thinking they are the team to beat in the American League. They aren't even the team to beat in the AL East right now let alone the American League. That can change if the Yankees make a good statement in this next series.

It's time to put up or shut up and I am tired of failures and mediocrity. Handle business, Yanks.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj