Yankees schedule for rest of May gives them a chance to run away

The Yankees, like all other teams and despite what everyone says, pay attention to their upcoming schedule. And when you look at the rest of May, you can’t help but think they could run away from everyone by the end of the month.

The Yankees, after the weekend series with the Cubs, face a schedule that, while grueling, is also very favorable regarding the teams they face for the remainder of this month. As a result, they could be in a position of not only holding first place but widening their lead over the competition in the American League East.

What do they say? Don’t count your chickens until they hatch. But how should the Yankees feel when they look at their upcoming schedule if they don’t get at least a little giddy.

Cincinnati Reds  Two Games Away

Houston Astros  Four Games Home

Kansas City Royals  Three Games Away

Tampa Bay Rays  Three Games Away

Kansas City Royals  Four Games Home

Oakland A’s  Three Games Home

Baltimore Orioles  Three Games Away 

With the exception of the Astros and Orioles, who account for only 1/3 of the schedule, the rest are all second division teams the Yankees should put away handily. Plus, their away games do not take them west of the Mississippi River.

The Yankees, following the Cubs series, should be able to go 14-8 to finish out the remainder of May. This will be good enough to at least keep them in first place heading into June.

The Reds come first, and If Eric Thames thought he found a home he’d like to live in at Riverfront Stadium when the Brewers visited the Reds recently, and he hit eight home runs there, wait until Aaron Judge, and company gets a whiff of this place.

The Reds are playing good baseball in a tough division, but they’re also playing over their heads. After they traded Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce away, the only legitimate major league player left is Joey Votto. They’ll be up to play spoiler, but the Yankees will be up as well.

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Next, come the Astros, who have the best record in baseball at the start of play today. The Astros remind of the Yankees as they have a good blend of veteran talent that is mixed in with the budding talent they’ve been cultivating over the last two or three years.

Much like the Cubs series, the Yankees should be primed and ready for the test they’ll get when they visit Houston, especially in having to face Dallas Keuchel, who has found his lost sinker again and is off and running to a Cy Young. A split in Houston is in the cards.

The remainder of the schedule includes ten games against the Royals (7) and the A’s (3). The Royals are reeling and there seemingly is no end to their troubles. They figure to be sellers when the deadline comes around in July as they have neither the money or will to keep the core of the team that won a World Series just two years ago.

Eric Hosmer, Jason Vargas, Lorenzo Cain, and Mike Moustakas are all free agents at the end of this season putting them in the category of “trade ’em or lose ’em.”

The A’s, who are still under the direction of “Moneyball” Billy Beane, have another hodgepodge team of retreads stitched together by Beane, with familiar names like Matt Joyce, Jed Lowrie, and Trevor Plouffe leading the way backward again to fifth place in the AL West.

Eight of ten is a modest goal for the Yankees with seven out of ten an absolute requirement.

No one can predict who the Orioles will be when the Yankees face them to close out the month of May in Baltimore. Buck Showalter has his team overachieving again as he continues to whine as a way to motivate his team any which way he can.

Dylan Bundy, after all those years of injury after injury, seems to have made his way back and is on the brink of becoming the star he was meant to be years ago. Chris Tillman, who went 16-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts last year is back but Zach Britton, their closer is not.

Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo have only six home runs between them and a massive 66 strikeouts thus far. The Orioles have their problems, but as long as Showalter is there, never count them out.

So, by the end of the month………..

The Yankees then, following the Cubs series, should be able to go 14-8 to finish out the remainder of May. This will be good enough to at least keep them in first place heading into June. That same record will also put them between ten and fifteen games over .500 for the season.

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Of course, the keyword is “should.” I’m not usually big on making predictions, especially when it comes to baseball. But when say the upcoming schedule, my eyes lit up, because it’s all very doable.