Anybody else starting to get that déjà Yankees feeling?
You recognize, the one where they beat an AL Central team within the playoffs then lose to the Astros. After which we hearken to the way it is a crapshoot.
Except since 2015, the Yankees are 5-0 in postseason series vs. AL Central clubs and 0-4 against Houston. In some unspecified time in the future, it will not be a crapshoot, but déjà Yankees right right down to all of the postseason postmortems.
Cue: how they were a championship team that didn’t win the championship and next yr might be their yr and …
What could possibly be more of a nightmare season for the Yankees than losing to the Astros again after manhandling Houston by winning six of seven before the second week of May and seemingly leaving the Astros dead for the season. Except the Astros should not dead. They’re a looming Michael Myers — Halloween is in October in any case.
But that is getting ahead of the calendar. The Yankees have a fairly darn necessary September first.
I do know there’s numerous recent theorizing that getting a bye in the primary round might be debilitating as your team rusts while others play, since two wild card teams (Texas and Arizona) reached the World Series last yr and Philadelphia did because the No. 6 seed in 2022. But within the eight seasons from 2015-22, the AL was represented by the No. 1 seed six times and the No. 2 twice.
And for those who offered all 30 GMs the chance to play a best-two-of-three to open the playoffs or an automatic bye to a best-of-five Division Series, it will be 30-out-of-30 who would avoid the potential of two bad days wiping your club out of the postseason.
So the Yankees have to win the division since the AL East champ is a near lock to get certainly one of the 2 AL byes, thus making a road to a primary World Series appearance since 2009 somewhat less taxing.
But in addition they need to only win the division. They haven’t any excuses to not achieve this. You’ve gotten to maximise when you’ve gotten Ruth and Gehrig (Aaron Judge and Juan Soto), especially with no certainty that Soto might be back next yr.
You’ve gotten to win when the Yanks could be inside the week of getting back Luis Gil, Anthony Rizzo and Clarke Schmidt — and in the event that they want them, Ian Hamilton and Lou Trivino, too — and being as whole as they’ve been all yr.
Meanwhile, the Orioles have been operating without five starting pitchers (Kyle Bradish, Zach Eflin, John Means, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells, plus sending one other acquired on the deadline, Trevor Rogers, to the minors). Baltimore also has on the IL currently its starting corner infielders (Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg), key utilityman Jorge Mateo and have been going all yr without star closer Felix Bautista — and his substitute, Craig Kimbrel, has pitched himself into low-leverage spots.
Through Aug. 14, the Yankees were 72-50 and led the 71-50 Orioles by a half-game. Baltimore then began a 14-game gauntlet during which it played the Red Sox, Mets, Astros and Dodgers while the Yankees were playing the Tigers, struggling Guardians, Rockies and Nationals.
The Orioles were 6-7 going into the finale Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The Yankees, though, were just 6-6, thus gaining only a half-game in that stretch. This during a period of potential prosperity.
Now, the Orioles’ schedule flip-flops with six straight against the Rockies and White Sox — the second-worst team within the NL and maybe the worst team ever.
So some opportunity to open up a bit heading into Labor Day weekend already has been lost by the Yankees. The calendar will flip in the course of the holiday, and there might be lower than a month to the regular-season finish line. So now it’s a sprint to outdo the Orioles over the ultimate few weeks — which incorporates Baltimore in The Bronx for the next-to-last series.
Really, at this point, it will be unforgivable to complete second with a healthy Gerrit Cole, potentially a full rotation (and more if Gil and Schmidt each return) and the deepest-looking lineup the Yanks have had all yr around Soto and Judge.
And the person under probably the most pressure is Aaron Boone. Traditionally, you would possibly look to a giant free agent. But at this point, Soto can go hitless the remainder of the season and his free-agent floor might be a $500 million contract. He already has proven he’s the most effective 25-and-under hitters ever and now has done it in Latest York, and he already has a championship.
At this point, Hal Steinbrenner has shown no inclination to renovate his front office and take away Brian Cashman, who’s signed through 2026. But Boone has a 2025 option that has yet to be picked up. He finished first just twice in his first six years, and each times — by the best way — beat an AL Central team within the playoffs then was eliminated by the Astros.
In Yr 7, Boone has consistently insisted he has a special group, a championship contender — though that sounds familiar. In some unspecified time in the future, it’s just an countless loop of noise without deeds to corroborate those bromides. So on this all-in Yankees season, first things, first:
Finish first.
Anybody else starting to get that déjà Yankees feeling?
You recognize, the one where they beat an AL Central team within the playoffs then lose to the Astros. After which we hearken to the way it is a crapshoot.
Except since 2015, the Yankees are 5-0 in postseason series vs. AL Central clubs and 0-4 against Houston. In some unspecified time in the future, it will not be a crapshoot, but déjà Yankees right right down to all of the postseason postmortems.
Cue: how they were a championship team that didn’t win the championship and next yr might be their yr and …
What could possibly be more of a nightmare season for the Yankees than losing to the Astros again after manhandling Houston by winning six of seven before the second week of May and seemingly leaving the Astros dead for the season. Except the Astros should not dead. They’re a looming Michael Myers — Halloween is in October in any case.
But that is getting ahead of the calendar. The Yankees have a fairly darn necessary September first.
I do know there’s numerous recent theorizing that getting a bye in the primary round might be debilitating as your team rusts while others play, since two wild card teams (Texas and Arizona) reached the World Series last yr and Philadelphia did because the No. 6 seed in 2022. But within the eight seasons from 2015-22, the AL was represented by the No. 1 seed six times and the No. 2 twice.
And for those who offered all 30 GMs the chance to play a best-two-of-three to open the playoffs or an automatic bye to a best-of-five Division Series, it will be 30-out-of-30 who would avoid the potential of two bad days wiping your club out of the postseason.
So the Yankees have to win the division since the AL East champ is a near lock to get certainly one of the 2 AL byes, thus making a road to a primary World Series appearance since 2009 somewhat less taxing.
But in addition they need to only win the division. They haven’t any excuses to not achieve this. You’ve gotten to maximise when you’ve gotten Ruth and Gehrig (Aaron Judge and Juan Soto), especially with no certainty that Soto might be back next yr.
You’ve gotten to win when the Yanks could be inside the week of getting back Luis Gil, Anthony Rizzo and Clarke Schmidt — and in the event that they want them, Ian Hamilton and Lou Trivino, too — and being as whole as they’ve been all yr.
Meanwhile, the Orioles have been operating without five starting pitchers (Kyle Bradish, Zach Eflin, John Means, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells, plus sending one other acquired on the deadline, Trevor Rogers, to the minors). Baltimore also has on the IL currently its starting corner infielders (Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg), key utilityman Jorge Mateo and have been going all yr without star closer Felix Bautista — and his substitute, Craig Kimbrel, has pitched himself into low-leverage spots.
Through Aug. 14, the Yankees were 72-50 and led the 71-50 Orioles by a half-game. Baltimore then began a 14-game gauntlet during which it played the Red Sox, Mets, Astros and Dodgers while the Yankees were playing the Tigers, struggling Guardians, Rockies and Nationals.
The Orioles were 6-7 going into the finale Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The Yankees, though, were just 6-6, thus gaining only a half-game in that stretch. This during a period of potential prosperity.
Now, the Orioles’ schedule flip-flops with six straight against the Rockies and White Sox — the second-worst team within the NL and maybe the worst team ever.
So some opportunity to open up a bit heading into Labor Day weekend already has been lost by the Yankees. The calendar will flip in the course of the holiday, and there might be lower than a month to the regular-season finish line. So now it’s a sprint to outdo the Orioles over the ultimate few weeks — which incorporates Baltimore in The Bronx for the next-to-last series.
Really, at this point, it will be unforgivable to complete second with a healthy Gerrit Cole, potentially a full rotation (and more if Gil and Schmidt each return) and the deepest-looking lineup the Yanks have had all yr around Soto and Judge.
And the person under probably the most pressure is Aaron Boone. Traditionally, you would possibly look to a giant free agent. But at this point, Soto can go hitless the remainder of the season and his free-agent floor might be a $500 million contract. He already has proven he’s the most effective 25-and-under hitters ever and now has done it in Latest York, and he already has a championship.
At this point, Hal Steinbrenner has shown no inclination to renovate his front office and take away Brian Cashman, who’s signed through 2026. But Boone has a 2025 option that has yet to be picked up. He finished first just twice in his first six years, and each times — by the best way — beat an AL Central team within the playoffs then was eliminated by the Astros.
In Yr 7, Boone has consistently insisted he has a special group, a championship contender — though that sounds familiar. In some unspecified time in the future, it’s just an countless loop of noise without deeds to corroborate those bromides. So on this all-in Yankees season, first things, first:
Finish first.
