Yankees showing resiliency at a time when it matters most

There comes a time where a team has to just find a way to win a game. The New York Yankees managed to do just that today on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays and it may have been the biggest win of the season for them. The Yankees didn’t win the division or even make the playoffs because of the win, although it does get them closer to achieving those goals. However, they showed a resiliency that’s been missing lately and that may very well carry them into October.

Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano know exactly where the Yankees intend on being when the season ends. (Image Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE)

I do realize the Yankees have been a resilient ball club this season. I’ve written many times about how well they have done to fight through the adversity that’s come at them all year. There was just something about this one particular win that left a different taste for me afterwards.

Scoring seven times in the last three innings to come from behind and beat Toronto 9-6 just to get a split out of their four-game series can be looked at a couple of ways. Toronto isn’t a good ball club and the Yankees arguably should have at the very least won that series instead of settling for a split. I’ll instead choose to focus on the fact that they realized the urgency of the situation at the right time and then proceeded to do what they needed to do to take care of business.

They could have folded today when it was clear Phil Hughes didn’t have good stuff out there and Toronto was knocking him around as if he was throwing batting practice. They could have accepted the fact that the offense was struggling to produce in the clutch. This against a Toronto pitching staff that no one would be in hurry to send to the mound and get outs. The Yankees didn’t fold and they wouldn’t accept what looked like to be a losing effort in a crucial game in the division standings.

The offense came alive in the sixth inning, perhaps realizing that this game could still be had if they’d just go out and execute. The Yankees did just that going forward before turning it over to the 1-2 punch of Robertson and Soriano to close the door and secure the win.

These Yankees are a team that has the talent and the deep pockets to put a winning product out on the field every year. The injuries this ball club has had to endure this year would have arguably sank any other team’s chance of remaining in the playoff race. For the most part, manager Joe Girardi has done an admirable job of getting the most out of the depth that his roster has been afforded.

Talent and deep pockets alone won’t get it done, it also takes heart, determination, and the sheer will to clear whatever hurdles that are put in front of a team. It takes pride to go along with those pinstripes. In the Yankees case, an example of that would be today against a team they should beat 9 times out of 10. Sometimes it just comes down to making a play and in case the Yankees needed to be reminded of that, then today’s win should serve as a great reminder going forward.