Clay Holmes' malfeasance means Yankees must defy history to win World Series

Unironically, a World Series victory for the Yankees really is right in front of them in 2024. The rest of MLB has fallen back to the very same pack that New York's roster has demoted them to. Even a brief surge could be the differentiator here, and could encompass an October heater that gets the troubled Yankees back to the promised land. It really is possible.

Or it would be, at least, if the man with the ball at the end of each and every close game could stop stubbing his toe, then stepping on broken glass at the finish line of winnable game after winnable game.

Clay Holmes toed the rubber attempting to protect a 1-0 lead on Sunday night at the Little League Classic against the Detroit Tigers, and by the time the dust settled, Yankee fans were left wondering how any of his tightrope walks since late May have turned out positively. Really? He didn't blow that 45-pitch save against Texas? How?

Remember May? Back when Holmes was maintaining a 0.00 ERA up until the borderline of Memorial Day Weekend? Unfortunately, he's now reached the level of liability that has invoked historical precedent for World Series champions.

As Joe Randazzo noted on Twitter, Holmes' 10 blown saves represent basically the high water mark for a viable World Series closer. Six World Series champions have featured a closer who'd blown 10 or more saves in-season, but that includes plenty of outdated options from a bygone era where saves were far more likely to be three-inning endeavors (Sparky Lyle in 1978, not quite applicable). The only World Series champ post-1987 with a closer this implosion-oriented was the 2006 Cardinals, "led" by Jason Isringhausen.

And, remember, it's only August! That number could still grow, and if it does, we'll have to search far and wide to see if Holmes has finally exceeded all his World Series-securing "peers".

Yankees' Clay Holmes in dangerous World Series territory as blown save mark grows

The Yankees are, somehow, a robust 3-7 in Holmes' 10 blown saves, but a one-run lead feels as safe in his hands right now as a two-run deficit under Mariano Rivera.

Yankee fans were spoiled for decades; Rivera's blemishes were so rare that the stumbles he did make are etched in the history books, right alongside the pages that predict Holmes might be underqualified for October. Still, it hurts to know the man in charge -- with access to every statistic available to the general public -- opted to ostensibly endorse Holmes at the deadline, and barely guarded against his continued regression.