Yankees fans must be forgiving and be patient

Following a gut-wrenching four-game loss to the Boston Red Sox this past weekend, Yankees fans are understandably sick to their stomach and extremely frustrated and angry right now.

However, there are good reasons why this happened and why Yankees fans must be forgiving and be patient.

Yep, when your team has won 27 World Series games and has had the best players that have ever played baseball in nearly every decade since the early 1900s, it is easy to understand why Yankee fans would be so upset about the four-game loss to their dreaded nemesis, the Boston Red Sox.

Given the successful history of the Yanks, and how good the team is this year, fans should expect nothing less but a first-place finish and a World Series ring this year.

Along the way to achieving all the victories in World Series play, however, there have always been bumps in the road – some of them small and some of them big. It seems that when the team hits a giant bump like it did this past weekend, the whiners, complainers, and finger pointers (you know who you are) come out of the woodwork to heap blame on someone.

Was this past Sunday’s loss Miguel Andujar’s fault because of his errant throw? Or, was it Greg Bird’s fault because he didn’t catch the ball? Maybe Aroldis Chapman should get the blame for not coming in and mowing everyone down for a 1-2-3 ninth inning?

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And for the poor play during the entire series, should we blame the inadequate starting pitching? Better yet, let’s jump all over the club’s first-year manager, Aaron Boone, for making rookie mistakes. He is certainly a convenient and easy target to shoot at.

There are three compelling reasons why the New York Yankees lost four games in a row to an excellent team like the Boston Red Sox.

First, the games were played in fan crazy Fenway Park (the green box), which gave the Red Sox a massive home-field advantage. The Yanks are a young team, with many of the players not used to playing in such an intense and hostile environment. The young players will eventually grow and mature, learn from their experience and play a lot better the next time around. Let’s be patient.

Second, Gary Sanchez was absent from the lineup. His below .200 batting average notwithstanding, he has hit 14 home runs and driven in 42 RBIs thus far this year. But he is beginning to feel better, and he should return from the DL soon. Let’s be patient.

Third, Aaron Judge also was absent from the lineup. The team was missing someone with a .285 batting average, 26 homers and 61 RBIs. But Judge is beginning to feel better, and he too will return soon. Let’s be patient.

Missing both Sanchez and Judge, in particular, dramatically reduced the pressure on the Red Sox pitchers, and it increased the pressure on the young Yankees who played hard to make up for the enormous loss in run production. What if the Red Sox had played without Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez in Yankee Stadium during a four-game series? Let’s be forgiving.

As of today, the Yankees are 9½ games out but are still ahead in the Wild Card race in the American league. It is only August 7, and the team has another 52 games to play. Boston still has another 49 games to play.

Can the Yankees catch the Red Sox?

Of course, they can! Let’s look at some history.

In 1969 the New York Mets were 9 1/2 games back of the Chicago Cubs on August 13. With a strong finish throughout August and September, the Mets finished eight games ahead of the Cubs.

In 2009 the Minnesota Twins were 68-68 and seven games behind the Detroit Tigers on September 7. But with a tremendous late run and a victory in a one-game playoff against the Tigers, the Twins won the division.

In 2011 the Boston Red Sox were nine games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays on September 1. The Rays overcame this deficit to win the American League Wild Card spot on the season’s final day.

There are many other examples I could list. You know some of them.

The point is that the New York Yankees have plenty of time and a very realistic opportunity to catch the Red Sox, especially with Judge and Sanchez returning soon and the improvements they have made in the team’s pitching.

It also looks like Craig Kimbrel, the ace relief pitcher for the Red Sox might be tiring. The Sox rely heavily on him to finish games, and without Kimbrel, the team will be in big trouble.

The Yankees are a superb hitting team, one of the best we have seen in a long time in terms of home runs and run production. The young and veteran players like their manager a lot and they are committed and driven. No one should count them out. No one. Let’s be patient.