New York Yankees Editorial: Should The Yankees Be Nervous About Lead?

By Caleb Gebrewold | Jul 31, 2015

Before acquiring Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, the Toronto Blue Jays felt they could chase down the New York Yankees in the standings. Now, after improving their offense, defense, and pitching, and only seven games back with just about two months left on the schedule, should the Yankees feel nervous about their division lead?

The Blue Jays are currently on a streak which sees them play only three games outside of Toronto until August 18th. While the majority of these home games come against teams currently holding playoff spots, the Blue Jays offense currently has a home OPS of .834, second to only the Colorado Rockies. That was before adding Tulowitzki, arguably the best hitting shortstop in baseball.

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The three games the Blue Jays play away from Toronto during this stretch? Against the Yankees. They also finish the stretch hosting the Yankees for three more games. All-in-all, the two teams play 13 more times this season, all in the final 52 games.

Luckily for the Yankees, the current road trip, which wraps up Sunday in Chicago, is the last time they leave the Eastern time zone, and following Sunday, 34 of the final 54 games are at Yankee Stadium, where the team is 30-17, largely due to an offense producing a much higher OPS (.817) than they are on the road (.704).

The Yankees are currently playing well, and with a seven game lead, ultimately, their fate lies in their own hands. Holding such a huge division lead through the road trip could prove pivotal as the Yankees attempt to end a two-year postseason drought.

Could the addition of Tulowitzki and Price, combined with the 13 games against the Yankees, give the Blue Jays a chance in the division? While it remains unlikely, the possibility is a lot stronger than it was at the beginning of the week. The Yankees could still upgrade their rotation, whether from within or via trade, something that has become a lot more likely with Michael Pineda now hitting the disabled list.

With a lot of baseball left, anything is possible. The Yankees have a firm lead in the division, but the calendar hasn’t even hit August. The Blue Jays moves don’t require the Yankees to hit the panic button, but it does mean that the team can’t afford another stretch where they drop 10 out of 11 games.

What do you think Yankees fans? Can the Blue Jays chase down the Yankees in the division after their upgrades? Let us know below.

Next: Yankees Editorial: Diego Moreno Needs To Stay In The Majors

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