SPANISH HARLEM – Currently the New York Yankees are 3 ½ games of the first Tampa Bay Rays with 10 games remaining. While that might feel like a lot to overcome, they do play 4 games against Tampa starting this Tuesday at Yankees Stadium. I don’t expect them to sweep the Rays but it is a possibility.
Even then they would probably need to win all their of remaining games to secure a first-round bye. Can they do it? While not impossible, it’s highly unlikely that they will win out. Though they are likely a wild card team, do the Yankees have the best team in the American League? By all accounts they are one of the favorites to reach the World Series but the question with them is their offense.
We know the starting pitching is the best it has been in a long time and you would put their top 3 starters up against any team in the American League, but it will come down to how their offense will generate runs. The Playoffs are always difficult because every game, you will be facing the best the opposing team has to offer. This season so far you wouldn’t call the Yankees offense great, on most nights they have been subpar and while you can say they really missed Aaron Judge, they shouldn’t have been as bad as they were. Judge will help for sure but they can’t be overly dependent on one guy.
The trade for Luis Garcia, Jr. has been a godsend, as he is probably their best hitter not named Judge. Don’t get me wrong, Ben Rice has had a good to great year, by any standards. The batting average could be and should be better, but you can’t complain about the homers and RBIs. He seems to be hitting better of late, but he went long stretches where he looked lost. Again, having Judge back will make the lineup better but the Yankees will need contributions for everyone in the lineup if they expect to make out of the American League.
That’s it for now, please come back tomorrow for more great revelations from Jackson Sternberg.
