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Hey Red Sox! Check in that rear view mirror…yeah, you know, the one that says “objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” WHAT’S THAT!?! THE YANKEES?
Weren’t the Yankees finished?
Weren’t the Red Sox punching their tickets to the World Series? WEREN’T THE YANKEES FINISHED?
Apparently not. All of a sudden, the Yankees are up 4 1/2 games in the AL Wild Card over the Tigers, and just 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East race.
Wait, wasn’t it just a few months ago that the Yanks were under .500 and 14 1/2 games behind the Sox?
Yes, yes it was. Back on May 29th, New York was being written off by just about everyone, when they were 14 1/2 back of Boston and 8 games under .500 with a 21-29 record. But how have they shaved 12 games off the Sox lead in 112 days?
It’s not been due to the poor play of the Red Sox, that’s for sure. Since the All-Star break from July 9th-11th, Boston has put up a 37-28 record, a .569 winning percentage (they posted a .609 percentage in the first half). They have not gone into any prolonged slumps, have not had any devastating injuries, and have taken care of the business they have needed to (i.e. beating the Devil Rays). The Sox have been pretty constant all season long.
So if it’s not the fault of the Red Sox, then who is responsible for it? George Steinbrenner? George Costanza? George Bush? God?
No, believe it or not, the Yanks have come back from the horrid start to put themselves on the doorstep of the American League playoffs. New York limped into the All-Star break with a 43-43 record, 9 1/2 games back of the Sox in the East. In the second half, the Yankees have caught fire, putting up a 44-21 record, a .677 winning percentage. That’s 7 games better than Boston has fared (which, in case you haven’t noticed yet, is how the lead has shrunk to 2 1/2).
Well there has to be some sort of reason for the turnaround, right? It’s not just because the Yankees are the Yankees?
It’s easy for everyone else except Yankee fans to say it’s simply because they are the Yankees. Perhaps that is, however, the quality of play of New York has skyrocketed since the start of the second half. The offense was never much of the problem, but they kicked into high gear. Through the games of September 17th, the Bombers were batting .298 since the break with 415 runs scored and 104 home runs, which all lead the majors. The main thing that turned around for the Yankees was their pitching. In the first half, the pitching staff was abysmal. You can look all over the rotation and bullpen to find out what was wrong, but perhaps it is most easily summarized by naming the Yanks’ Opening Day starter…
Do you know who it is? It’s OK if you can’t think of his name. No, not Andy Pettitte. Sorry, Chien-Ming Wang is not correct. Roger Clemens was busy playing golf.
It was Carl Pavano. Do you know how many games he has pitched in this season? It’s 2 more than I’ve pitched in.
A little bit more trivia for you. How many starting pitchers did New York use in April? Hint: more than a 5-man rotation…
Again, OK if you didn’t know. The Yanks used 9 starters in the month of April: Pavano, Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Kei Igawa, Darrell Rasner, Chase Wright, Jeff Karstens, Wang, and Philip Hughes. How many of those have started games this month? Try 4. Talk about disarray in the pitching staff. Since April, they have used 5 additional starters: Clemens, Ian Kennedy, Matt DeSalvo, and Tyler Clippard.
Still only 2 Yankee hurlers have thrown over 150 innings (Wang and Pettitte). But, for the most part, the pitching has straightened out in the second half, which is a major part of why they have turned around. The addition of Clemens has obviously helped, not only in his on-field performances (including the Sunday night win against the Red Sox to help the Yanks claim the series), but also in his clubhouse leadership. Wang is approaching 20 wins again, and it seems whenever he pitches, he goes deep in the game and allows few runs. Pettitte again had a great August. Mussina struggled mightily at the end of the dog days, but he conquered his troubles and pitched well last week in beating the Blue Jays. All seems well with the Yanks’ pitching.
So, can New York win the East, or will they allow the Sox to win the division for the first time in over a decade?
Despite closing into within 2 1/2 games in the division, it would still be stretch to say that the Bombers will overtake Boston in the final 2 weeks of the season. The Yankees only have 11 games remaining, albeit against weak division foes in Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Baltimore. The Red Sox still play 10, against the Jays, Rays, A’s, and Twins. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but for that to happen, the Yanks have to win 3 more games than the Sox do. It’s a tough thing to do with less than a dozen games to play. But then again, the way things have been going in the past week, perhaps it’s not unlikely.
When the Sox’s lead has been vanishing, I, being the Bosox fan I am, have keep thinking positive: if you told me we would be up 2 1/2 games with 10 to play, I would be ecstatic. If you told me we would easily make the playoffs, I would be very content. But right now, I do not want that Wild Card…
STATS OUT.
