| Andrew Perna. 28th August, 2008 - 12:41 pm
 The Yankees made an amazing late-season comeback to qualify for the postseason in 2007, but a similar recovery doesn’t appear to be in the works this year.
Heading into their series finale against the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon, the Yankees trailed the Rays by more than ten games in the AL East. Things aren’t much better when looking at the Wild Card race as Boston holds a seven-game lead over New York with just thirty games remaining on the schedule.
The Yankees had a chance to get themselves back in the playoff picture by taking control of this week’s series against the Sox, but they have failed miserably thus far. They have been outscored 18-6 through the first two games at the Stadium, with Andy Pettitte (Tuesday) and the bullpen (Wednesday) getting knocked around in consecutive games.
Mike Mussina, New York’s most consistent pitcher this season, will attempt to stop the bleeding momentarily on Thursday as he battles Jon Lester on the mound.
But would a win just delay the inevitable?
At this point last year the Yankees were seven games back of the Red Sox for first place in the division and just one game behind Seattle for the Wild Card. The distance between New York and Boston might be exactly the same, but the success of Tampa Bay and the presence of the Twins/White Sox in the Wild Card race has put the Yanks between a rock and a hard place.
With thirty games left, almost nothing is mathematically impossible. In fact, the Mariners are the only team in all of Major League Baseball that have been officially eliminated from the postseason race.
New York has a host of important games remaining, but they’ll likely have to sweep most series just to get themselves back in the same zip code. The Yankees will face the Rays (six), White Sox (four), and the Red Sox (three) more than a dozen times beginning on Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
They haven’t missed the playoffs since 1993, well before the Diamondbacks and Rays were even teams, and the same year that the Rockies and Marlins were born.
Miley Cyrus wasn’t even a year old the last time New York failed to make the postseason, which is probably a great source of pride for both George Steinbrenner and Billy Ray Cyrus.
“As a player and a guy who backs up everybody in this locker room, you don’t want to think about that until you’re counted out by the numbers,” Johnny Damon told the New York Daily News. “We’re still going to go out there, play hard, and see what happens.”
That’s an admirable and predictable comment from Damon, who has actually been one of the team’s most consistent hitters this season. He’s hitting .313 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs as the team’s primary leadoff hitter. Perhaps the Yanks would be a little better off right now if he hadn’t missed two weeks in mid-July.
New York always has the type of offense that can get hot and lead them to a lengthy winning streak, but it’s the arms on the mound that are keeping them from winning those 8-6, 11-9 games this season.
Mussina and Pettitte are often capable of keeping the Yankees competitive, but no one knows what Carl Pavano, Sidney Ponson, or Darrell Rasner will bring to the table every fifth day.
Joba Chamberlain isn’t likely to return in time to make a difference, and Chien-Ming Wang won’t pitch in pinstripes until April of next year, which will keep the Yankees’ pitching staff from receiving a shot in the arm down the stretch.
Xavier Nady (.318 with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs in 29 games) has energized the offense, but no one on the roster seems to hit well late in games or with men in scoring position.
The Yankees have the fifth-highest batting average in the AL (.273) but have scored just the eighth-most runs (638). They are middle-of-the-pack in pitching as well, with their combined ERA (4.35) ranking eighth in the league.
After sweeping the Orioles this past weekend, the Yankees entered their three-game series against the Sox just five games back of their bitter rival. Heating up, and at home, New York had a chance to trim that lead with a few statement victories.
Instead, they are fighting to save face by taking the finale in the Bronx on Thursday.
A win would put the Yanks six games back of the Wild Card with twenty-nine games left while a loss would place them eight away.
We know what New York has to do in September, and that’s win as many games as possible, but what will they do in October when Yankee Stadium has closed and for the first time in fifteen years the Yankees are able to make tee times before it’s too cold in the Northeast?
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail with comments or questions on this piece: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
