New York Post Is Mistaken About Yankees Demise

Welcome to This Week In Yankees Baseball.

If you were to believe the New York Post, and its esteemed columnist Ken Davidoff, the Yankees might as well pack up their equipment and resign themselves to an inevitable wild card spot.

Well, tell that to Brett Gardner, who made another spectacular catch in the Yankees win over the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon. Tell it to Alex Rodriguez, who dashed home to score on a sacrifice fly, sliding head-first into home plate and then, from his knees, shaking his fists in the air in triumph. Tell it to Masahiro Tanaka, who revealed the Blue Jays lineup as human. [related category]

"¨Forget about regaining the AL East. After losing two more to the en fuego Blue Jays on this very long Saturday at Yankee Stadium, 9-5 in 11 innings and 10-7, the Yankees must focus on regaining their equilibrium. On ensuring this day won’t come to define the entirety of their 2015 season,¨ Davidoff says, according to The Post."

Well, Tanaka didn’t look on Sunday like he is ready to concede anything or use a six-man rotation as a crutch. ARod didn’t look like he was ready for a rocking chair. Gardner, for all the respect he has shown toward Toronto, showed up this weekend like a bulldog protecting his territory. His quiet bat came to life.

So Davidoff is going to use an extra inning game and a 10-7 slug fest as evidence that the Yankees should roll over? Even the first game would have been a nail biter had Luis Severino been able to handle the stage. But that is experience that will serve him well in the postseason. The truth is, the Blue Jays have not yet won anything. And by the way, they are now 1-1 without Troy Tulowitzki.

No, the Yankees sluggish showing in the first three games of the series was due more to the let down from the news on Mark Teixeira than anything Toronto was responsible for. Joe Girardi is right that the Yankees must figure out their starting pitching. We shall see if using Adam Warren in the rotation helps with that. But should they face Toronto in the postseason, the Jays will likely have to face Tanaka twice in a series. Masahiro now has back to back lights out performances against them.

The Yankees have shown that they can score against Toronto. They showed on Sunday that there is no reason to fear them. It is totally in the Yankees own hands if they can get themselves together on the mound. So Davidoff is right in the respect that the Yankees must focus on themselves. Toronto, on the other hand, is as good as they can be.

And remember, Mr. Davidoff, it ain’t over till it’s over.

The Yankees still have three games left against Toronto this season up in Canada.