Now, I can ramble on about how many times I've given up on this club, and I can also boast about how confident I was about their performance as well through the months. Nearly two weeks ago, the Yanks' were sitting at a record of 61-59, eight games back of the division leading Baltimore Orioles, which only left the second wild card spot as a viable option for a ticket to October baseball. After losing back to back heart breakers to Houston at home, the front office and staff called a club meeting to discuss the performance and efforts of the players and coaches. One of the motivators of the meeting was hitting coach Kevin Long, whom all year has received a great deal of ridicule due to the pitiful hitting stats of the Yankees' all-stars. Despite his role in the clubhouse, Long cannot hit for these brand name players, and it's not justified to place the most blood on Kevin Long's hands. The hitting woes have hurt the team all year, and even after losing eighty percent of the Opening Day pitching rotation, the prospect and trade acquisitions of Shane Greene, Brandon McCarthy and Chris Capuano have exceeded GM Brian Cashman's most wildest dreams. Some seasons consist of one too many injuries, and with the roster Cashman was left with, he did an extraordinary job filling the holes in the lineup, rotation and bullpen. With that being said, Brian Cashman has earned another year in the front office.
The very next day, the Yankees took the field with a new frame of mind. Championship caliber teams must possess three qualities: chemistry, talent, and hard work. As batting practice took place prior to the evening game against the Astros, there were a few Yankee players going through their routine pregame stretch. One of the few stretching was reliever Shawn Kelley, wearing a latex horse head mask.I'll let that image soak in your brain for a bit.
Kelley, who claimed the mask cost only twenty dollars on Amazon.com, insisted on purchasing the mask in order to loosen up the rest of the guys. Eureka? Is that the Yankees' having fun? Baseball is supposed to be fun, right? Bingo.
Once Kelley's alter ego was born, the Yankees' went on to top the Astros, sweep the Chicago White Sox, and clobber the Kansas City Royals. What does this power surge say about the team, I don't know, but the Yankees found a valuable piece to the sports puzzle: the good luck charm.
The Yankees now stand at 69-62, two and a half games back of the second wild card, and two games back of the potentially potent Detroit Tigers.
Well, that's baseball right?
That's baseball. Why is that baseball, and why does it work itself out like that?
Why do we know by mid-season whether or not our football or hockey teams have enough to compete? Maybe it's because football has sixteen games and hockey has eighty-two. The magical thing about baseball is that there's nearly double the amount of games than in hockey or basketball. There's room for mistakes in baseball, room for improvement as well. "It ain't over til it's over" couldn't be more correct in the situation of the New York Yankees.
A month ago, I strongly believed the season was over, but as the crucial division games begin in September, the Yanks' ultimately determine their own fate. The postseason is practical. The division is even practical. The road is long, but if optimism stays strong within the clubhouse, I see some hope in this team. Like I always say, keep the faith Yankee fans.
On the contrary, if this year is all for nothing come October, I'd like to thank the Yanks' for a hard fought year that was dealt with a harsh amount of bad luck. In all honesty, you kept us intrigued enough to distract us right before NFL
kickoff.
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