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Yankees Weekend Task: Stay Focused And Don’t Look Ahead

By Steve Contursi

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Yankees have one of those series with the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend that could quickly put a damper on what they’ve built so far. Their weekend task: Stay focused and don’t look too far ahead.

The Yankees move into PNC Field to face the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that is disheveled and torn apart. Which means they can be dangerous if they decide to show up, wake up, and put their troubles aside, if only for a few games.

For the Yankees, though, their success or failure as a team for the month of April will not be decided in Pittsburgh. That will come when the team moves on to face the Red Sox and Orioles to close out the month on the road.

But at the same time, it’s important that the team doesn’t nosedive this weekend in anticipation of those two series.

For the Yankees then, it’s kick ’em when they’re down and don’t let ’em up.

It’s often said that the baseball season is a grind. It’s not like football, for example, where a team needs only to get “up” once a week, and sixteen times a season. Baseball, as we know, is 162 games spread out over six months on the calendar. In a word, it’s grueling.

And while it’s true that the Yankees have been soaring of late, the intensity level they’ve been playing at can’t last forever. Unless of course, they say to themselves as a unit – it’s not going to happen in Pittsburgh.

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The Pirates offer themselves as an attractive opponent for the Yankees at this stage of the year. Over the winter, their front office played pinball with the face of their team,  Andrew McCutchen, openly advertising they would trade him, then saying no, and then yes, we will.

Then, McCutchen was dumped into right field when the Pirates chose to advertise that he had “slowed down,” installing Starling Marte in his place.

Now, you have to believe that McCutchen wakes up each morning with a smile on his face, having been re-installed as the everyday center fielder of the Pirates again while Marte sits out half the season, having been suspended by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s drug policy.

The Pirates are 6-9 and have lost three in a row. They’re not going anywhere in a division that contains the Chicago Cubs, and they know it.

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For the Yankees then, it’s kick ’em when they’re down and don’t let ’em up.

The all of a sudden solid rotation will be out in force with CC Sabathia getting the start tonight, followed by Michael Pineda and Jordan Montgomery.

On Monday, an off day for the Yankees, a record of 12-6 that includes taking two of three from the Pirates, undoubtedly will look a lot better than 11-7 if they pick up only one win before moving on to Fenway.

It’s the job of Joe Girardi and veterans on the team like Matt Holliday, Sabathia, and Chase Headley to keep the young guys focused. This is all new to someone like Greg Bird, who is still in the midst of an epic battle with himself to regain the form he had in Spring Training.

Essentially, Aaron Judge is still a rookie as well, making him prone to swing for the fences trying to hit a six-run home run, when all the team needs is a grounder to the other side to move the runner over.

None of it is easy. Having CC begin the series, though, is a plus as he attempts to give the Yankees their eleventh straight quality start from the rotation.

So when the Yankees take the bus to ride over the Roberto Clemente Memorial Bridge on their way to PNC Park later today, they should be mindful of the sign that reads “Dangerous Crossing.”

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