Everything's Going To Be Alright

With the recent swoon against the Halos, it seems a lot of people are ready to call the end to the Yankees run.  Unless your name is Kasey Anderson, I don't get why you'd think that?  First off, everybody needs to go read Mark Feisand's latest post.  Second off, everyone needs to remember that this is baseball.  It's a 162 game schedule.  You have to expect the stretches where one team will play some tough teams, and other teams will have a little easier go at it.  The Yankees are currently playing the Angels.  They Angels are the one team that has a winning record against the Yankees in the Joe Torre era.  I haven't looked at updated win-loss records this year, so things could have changed, but the Angels have always been the Yankees Achilles heel.  At last check, the Sox have only lost once to the Orioles this year.  You'd be foolish to think that the Red Sox weren't going to pick up a game or two at this part of the schedule.

If you're a Yankee fan, I'm sure you remember earlier in the season when they were 3-5 games back.  And then they made a run and there was a period of time where the Yanks and Sox went back and forth, leapfrogging each other for the top spot.  And then what happened?  The Yanks fell back 3-5 games.  And then they clawed their way back and the two teams danced again.  Then the Yanks fell back again, and again they made their way back, but this time, the Yanks took the 3 game lead.  Anybody see a pattern here?  As teams make their way through the schedule, where 1 team plays a good team and the other plays a bad team, this is going to happen.  After the Angles, the Yanks host the Orioles, while the Red Sox host the Tigers.  This benefits the Yankees.  After the Yanks/Sox have their face-to-face meeting, both teams head out west.   The Yanks play Seattle, and the Sox play Anaheim.  Advantage = Yankees.  Then they flip-flop.  Advantage = Boston.  Do you see my point?  I think it's clear.  If you're jumping off the ship because of the last 3 games, do us all a favor and stay off the ship. 

Also, the Yanks may only hold a 1-game lead, but they both share the same win total.  The Red Sox have played 2 more games than Yankees, both of which they lost.  When the Yankees make those games up they can stretch that lead by another full game by winning both.  Win 1 and you still have a 1-game lead.  The ball right now is in the Yankee court.  And it's not like the Red Sox are crushing teams.  They could have very easily been swept by Cleveland.  They split the series and the 2 games they won were on 9th inning walkoffs.  They lost 3 of 4 to the D-Rays and the one game they won was on an 8th inning run.  Then there was the 3 game laugher in KC.  We all know what happened there.  And their last series against the O's.  The Sox easily took game 1, needed extra innings to win game 2 and won on an error, and barely held on to win game 3.  They gave up 18 runs to the Orioles in the 3 games.  How is that impressive? 

Let's not forget Yankee fans the following names: Matsui, Sheffield, Dotel.  Those 3 could join the team very soon.  The lineup is going to be more potent than it was to start the year, and the bridge to Rivera will be strengthened with Dotel.  The team will only get better. 

It's just a bad part of the schedule.  It's going to equal itself out in the end and the Yanks will come out on top because they are the better team.  The Yanks just played the defending World Series champs and the one team that always beats them, while the Sox played the Royals and the Orioles.  You're an idiot if you thought the Sox wouldn't make up ground.

Peace , love and pinstripes.

J-Boogie