The Yankees only face competition with themselves

The Yankees 2017 season hinges on their ability to bounce back, again! More than the robust competition facing the team, though, the Yankees season will be determined by their capacity to compete with themselves.

The Yankees are in a rut, and it’s getting deeper and deeper with each game they play. Until the last couple of weeks, the team has been able to play so-so baseball, and they’ve been able to keep their heads above water while looking down at the Wild Card teams chasing them. Now, though, they are playing god-awful baseball, and they are paying dearly for it.

Having said that, though, the Yankees are still in charge of their destiny for the 2017 season. They have more talent than any of the teams behind them and, on paper at least, they have a better team than the Red Sox.

The only difference between the Sox and the Yankees is seen in the standings and, unfortunately, that’s all that matters. Boston, Cleveland, Minnesota, California, and the Orioles all have win streaks of three games or more while the Yankees have gone 4-6 over their last ten.

One game at a time. There should be some fire in the team tonight and in a few hours, we’ll know if there is.

The team needs a spark, and they don’t know where to look to find it. Ironically, pitching is not the issue. Yesterday, when Jordan Montgomery gave up three runs in his start was the first time Yankees pitchers surrendered that many since August 12.

Yankees need the big guy

The Yankees desperately need Aaron Judge as a regular contributor, and not only are they not getting it, Judge looks more feeble in every at-bat, even with the two mental health days squeezed in by Joe Girardi.

Yesterday, for instance, Judge saw four consecutive sliders in his pinch hitting appearance in the first game in the ninth inning. Playing what appeared to be a guessing game, he was late on a 94 mph fastball, striking out to end the game. Not too long ago, the only game Judge was playing was see the ball, hit the ball.

The Yankees are also not getting what they need from Gary Sanchez, who still can’t play a whole game without lapses in concentration, as witnessed by his league leading fourteenth passed ball in the first inning of the opener, leading to two runs and a lead the Indians never relinquished.

The return of Greg Bird and Starlin Castro to the lineup was supposed to be the ignitor setting the team off and running. Bird is rusty, so it’s understandable, and he has shown signs of hope as seen by his three-run home run late in the second game.

Castro’s, for the most part, though, has been listless. In fact, when Joe Girardi was asked why he didn’t play Castro in the second game, his response was blunt and telling, “I thought the team would be better without him.” Yikes!

So the Yankees can either fold up their tent and maybe squeeze into the playoffs with little chance of going anything. And most of the Yankees faithful would bow obediently to the team making its first appearance in the Second Season since 2012.

Hold ’em or fold ’em

Or, the team can dig deep, forgetting about the teams competing with them, making their statement by playing one game at a time and winning a good portion of them. The Yankees did not play like that yesterday when it was time to play like it was their last game of the season and it was doing or dying.

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They didn’t quite die yesterday, but they have one foot dangerously sitting next to the coffin. In baseball, confidence is everything, and I’d hate to have been in that clubhouse last night as they dressed and headed for home.

And if the entire team isn’t out there taking batting practice as though they mean it tonight, the Yankees season will soon be over. CC Sabathia will give his team the usual with six or more innings of three-run ball or less. He’s been through this before, and he knows what’s required. Ditto Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury, who also need to convince their weary bones to step-up with the kind of leadership that says to the other guys, ” In this clubhouse, guys, we all play like this.”

There is time left, but not for winning

There’s more than enough time for the Yankees to respond. The talent on the team says they can. The will to respond, however, is another matter. Buck Showalter has his team playing at their highest level of the season, and the Orioles are doing it with only a fragment of talent the Yankees have.

The Indians are also doing it with half their team on the DL, as are the Minnesota Twins, whose ownership went into the sell mode at the deadline thinking the team didn’t have it. The players thought otherwise though, and they’re showing it.

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Meanwhile, Brian Cashman, thinking his team had a chance to make the World Series, gave up a slew of prospects to bring in Sonny Gray, Todd Frazier, and Jaime Garcia. And what does he get for his efforts? Nothing but frustration and disappointment.

One game at a time. There should be some fire in the team tonight, and in a few hours, we’ll know if there is.

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