The New York Yankees had a first half which defined mediocrity, raising the question of what the second half will have in store.
While they have yet to ‘declare’ themselves, it is relatively easy to interpret the position the New York Yankees are in. Currently standing as a mediocre team, they have several teams to jump in order to reach postseason relevancy.
With all of the ups and downs that came with a seesaw first half, the only factor shed light on was inconsistency. If the Yanks buy or sell, their season can be completely altered for the best or for the worst.
By standing pat, one could fairly assume that they are team worthy of around 78 to 84 wins.
With that being said, just one hot stretch in today’s game can define a postseason team. The addition of a second wild card provides most clubs with decent positivity at this stage of a season.
Who knows, a 44-44 record through 88 games may only serve as a stepping stone towards greater pastures. Here are the challenges and advantages New York will be faced with in the final two and a half months of 2016.
Joe Girardi better hope his aging starts rested up big time over these past four days. Right out of the gates, the Yanks will have the Red Sox for three, the first-place Baltimore Orioles for four, and the top team in baseball which is the San Francisco Giants.
All 10 of those pivotal and telling games will be at Yankee Stadium prior to a trip to Houston.
That very span between July 15 and July 24 and their record in those games will likely determine whether the Bronx Bombers will be buyers or sellers at the August 1 trade deadline. With that said, the slate of match-ups can easily alter the overall outcome of the 2016 campaign.
Immediately, the Yankees will have to vamp up the intensity. The stress level of the games will be of postseason intensite maybe not on the fans, but on the 25-man roster. A .500 team will have their fate hanging in the balance in the middle of July.
After the Houston series which follows the home stand, they will finish up the post-All-Star July stretch in Tampa. There is simply no time for setbacks, only steps forward.
The month of August may not be nearly as taxing as the middle of July, but it will certainly have its challenges. Take that and couple it with the fact that players tend to wear down right in the ‘dog days’ of the summer.
To start the month, the Yankees will kick off their four-game, home-and-home Subway Series with their crosstown rivals and now relevant New York Mets. The first two will be played at Citi Field before a quick train ride back to the Bronx for the final two of the set.
Meetings with Cleveland, Boston at Fenway, Tampa Bay, and Toronto will follow. No one can tell you whether the Indians will be as prominent as they are now, but the Yanks were able to handle them in their final series before the break regardless.
The following sets with the Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays will be important in making up divisional ground if the lead ever comes into sight. At the very least, it can help them leapfrog the AL East teams that they need to jump in order to contend for a playoff spot.
Following the divisional showdowns, one final west coast swing will highlight the tail end of the month. The Yanks will pay the Angels and Mariners a visit before heading back home for yet another big Baltimore series.
The always dreaded month will finish against the defending World Champion Kansas City Royals.
Talk about brilliant schedule-making, the Yankees will play 27 out of their final 30 games against divisional foes. The only stopgap will be a three-game home series with the Los Angeles Dodgers September 12-14.
With that put aside, the MLB certainly displayed an ability to produce ratings when they put the schedules together prior to the season.
The slate will feature seven meetings with Boston, seven with Toronto, and six with Baltimore.
In a hypothetical scenario where the Yankees are within three games of the AL East lead heading into the final weekend of the season, they will have a three-game set with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Let’s just say September and the overall result of the season will be dependent upon what they do against teams residing in the AL East.
If you want to think positively, think that they can use a dynamic bullpen to their advantage and win those match-ups. If you want to think based on outcome, the Yanks are 10-17 against teams in their division this year.