Giancarlo Stanton New York Yankees
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The brutal reality of a possible postseason without the New York Yankees could soon be upon us.

At this stage of the regular season, we all expected far different things from the New York Yankees.

A playoff spot would be clinched as the cold beer flowed and shots were poured at every bar in the city. The whole lineup would show 2020’s underperformance was a pandemic-induced fluke. That 28th World Series title, though far from a sure thing, was certainly on the table.

Well, there’s been plenty of beer and shots, but not of the celebratory variety. The 2020 season was no fluke, but a mere preview of what a slog this season would actually be. The bats were asleep from Opening Day and here we are, pounding watered down Budweisers at $7.50 a pint wondering what could have been.

Oh, and forget about that 28th World Series ring. At this rate, the New York Yankees will be lucky to make the playoffs period.

Literally everything needs to go right for the Yankees over the next two weeks in order for them to clinch literally a Wild Card spot.

And in this writer’s opinion? Sorry, folks, but it’s not going to happen.

 

The New York Yankees can’t step up

As I write this, the New York Yankees are less than 12 hours out from having royally botched a weekend series with the Cleveland Indians. After winning 8-0 behind five home runs on Friday night, the bats fell asleep Saturday and Sunday as New York was outscored 22-4.

Mind you, this was after the New York Yankees did what they were supposed to against the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week. Even after losing the series finale despite being a strike away from a sweep, they still outperformed the lesser team.

Friday should have been more hope for a late-season playoff push. Instead, it was a tease. Time and time again, these New York Yankees have failed to come through when it matters most.

And oddly enough, though we’ve probably all cried for his firing at least once this season, manager Aaron Boone said it best in his postgame press conference on Sunday.

“We’ve got to get better in a hurry. Period.”

 

No easy way out

I’m about to say something we’ve all been avoiding all season, but now is too true to ignore. The New York Yankees cannot afford more than one, maybe two more losses this season. The underachieving is beyond disgusting at this point and if you ask me, it’s hard to see this team making the playoffs.

Three games at home against a last-place Texas Rangers team are all the team gets for a tuneup series. After having Thursday off, New York runs the AL East gauntlet of the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays. The playoff implications of each series speak for themselves.

And all while the Jays refuse to lose and the Red Sox are getting their wheels back under them. The New York Yankees, on the other hand, are just waiting for some magic to happen like it always does come playoff time.

Except that this year, it doesn’t look like it’s coming to save them.

 

Final thoughts

If the Yankees go on another tear and clinch a Wild Card spot, great. They’ll have earned it.

But that doesn’t mean this season is a success. No, quite the opposite, actually. The New York Yankees were heralded as serious World Series contenders, and instead have played catch-up all year.

Even if the playoffs happen, this season has been a complete and utter failure. Pure, plain, and simple.

Now let’s finish strong to make it sting a little bit less.

Josh Benjamin has been a staff writer at ESNY since 2018. He has had opinions about everything, especially the Yankees and Knicks. He co-hosts the “Bleacher Creatures” podcast and is always looking for new pieces of sports history to uncover, usually with a Yankee Tavern chicken parm sub in hand.