A common theme of the 2016 New York Yankees has been inconsistency, and one monstrous mark has kept them from escaping the trend.
.500 is a mathematical outcome, not a monster. The New York Yankees have failed to understand that thus far in 2016.All .500 entails is winning as many as you lose, and therefore winning half of your games. When put to numbers, it represents 50%.
When the Yanks have pulled to that mark, it has symbolized improvement and a surge towards relevancy. Pulling even provides them with an opportunity to look north at their deficit in the standings rather than the deficit in their very own win-loss record.
Prior to last night, the Yankees had gotten to the .500 mark seven times. Only three of those times featured them getting above the plateau in the following contest.
There can be no coincidence. Something gets to this team when they flirt with prominence. There may be no rhyme or reason to it, but the stalling has to end.
If this club is going to make the playoffs, and be dangerous with their bullpen past the regular season, an initial step has to be made. For the eighth time since embarking on the campaign, the Yankees have as many wins as they have losses.
So much hovering around what has been a friendly .500 clip has been detrimental to the team and little progress has been made. Perhaps once they make new acquaintances such as “five games above” and “ten games above”, they will leave their old friend alone.
The question remains as to whether it will happen.
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Do they have the potential to do so? Yes. Have they shown signs of pulling away from mediocrity? Not at all.
The last time they reached the mark was last Saturday after a resilient win over the Twins. Their following act contained two discouraging losses to Minnesota and Colorado before righting the ship.
Moving further back, they even got above the mark after a series opening win on June 10 against Detroit. Sitting at 31-30 in a position to push towards the promise land, they dropped the final two games of the set to the Tigers and were swept at Coors Field thereafter.
How about their six game winning streak from May 18-24 that got them up to par? Ensuing were two lifeless losses to Toronto and a 4-8 stretch that put them back in the doldrums.
The present provides an opportunity to be distinct and ultimately victorious.
Two more contests with the lowly Twins give them a direct path to a 38-36 clip. Although they follow by facing off with a formidable Texas Rangers team, they stay home at Yankee Stadium to do so.
Just treading water in those four games would yield a 40-38 mark entering a three-game weekend set with a subpar San Diego club.
With that said, there is a more than feasible way for the Yankees to be at least two or three games above .500 heading into the all-star break. It would not be flashy and it certainly would not be anything special, but it would put them in a state of pertinence.
The Yankees would be relevant enough to make a push towards the postseason and have sub-.500 records in the rearview mirror.
A breakthrough becomes more and more hopeful with every passing day, and now lies an ideal time to execute the task.
