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The Yankees have come a very long way since “we suck” and our game “stinks of heaven”. Those were the words of Brian Cashman at the end of June, of course, after his team lost four games in a row.
Who needs a columnist from a big city when a CEO of a big city talks like that?
Long ago, when he first declared that the Yankees’ annual mission statement was to win the World Series, Cashman set the terms of engagement with the media and fans. If the Yankees weren’t playing as serious championship contenders, they’d be getting ripped off for not living up to their own stated level.
That’s why Cashman and everyone who cares about his team was acting like the Yankees were 10 games south of .500 when they were 40-38. And that’s why no one does a late-race dance that they suddenly look like a slam-dunk favorite to host the playoff game and a believable threat to win the American League East after being of 10 games back last month.
The Yankees were down 4-1 against the Mariners after two innings on Saturday, and with Andrew Heaney one step away from complete disaster, it was much worse than that. But the home side fixed the problem – slowly, but very steadily – and clinched a third straight victory over Seattle which raised its own hopes and dramatically increased the possibility of the Mariners missing the playoffs for a 20th year. consecutive.
Considering how the Yankees have competed and changed since defeating the Mets in Game 2 of their July 4 doubles program, they could be a formidable opponent in October. Yes, they need to make the playoffs first, but it’s getting harder and harder to believe that the Athletics or the Blue Jays (or even the Red Sox) will stop them. If Luis Severino and / or Corey Kluber come back as reasonable facsimiles of what they used to be, the Yankees will outnumber them now.
They’ve won 20 of 28 games over the past month and have changed, starting with that desperately needed victory over the Mets, and no team has been hotter. As the Mets fell apart, the Yankees reminded everyone that a baseball season is the longest of marathons and that resilience (not to mention a seasoned GM working in the commerce market) is everything. as important as talent.
“We feel like we never got out of a game,” said Aaron Judge. The slugger spoke of the Yankees’ internal belief during bad times that their hard work would pay off eventually. “I don’t think anyone outside our club believed it,” he said.
And for good reason. The Yankees have spent the first half of the season playing robotic and indifferent, looking like a bunch of well-paid stiffs. Then something changed even before Cashman landed Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo on the trade deadline.
“There was definitely tenacity,” said manager Aaron Boone when asked to identify a common thread over the past 28 games that took his team from 41-41 to 61-49.
“These guys are comfortable playing in close games, and even at times when we didn’t blow people’s doors or score a ton, for the most part we got some really good pitchers. starting point. We also had three heartbreaking losses in this mix. … It didn’t confuse them. They keep coming out of the mat even after the toughest losses, even after the peaks and valleys we’ve been through this year. They keep going and they expect a lot from themselves.
Newcomer Heaney could have raised his arms to the boos of the crowd and resigned himself to a miserable second start as the Yankee. Instead, he got up and fought a day after his manager used nine pitchers in 11 innings, and hours after his manager put Aroldis Chapman on the injured list. Heaney hung on long enough – six innings, 109 throws – to take the win and ask Boone if he could come out for the seventh.
“It’s a difficult effort,” said the manager.
Around the world. DJ LeMahieu finished the sixth of four points cleverly getting caught in a count between the first and second with two outs to allow the deciding point to score. No one is complaining about the Yankees’ grassroots race anymore, or their poor fundamentals, or their lopsided right-handed lineup, or their lack of athleticism. Rizzo and Gallo impacted both sides of the ball and the crowd reacted the same.
“Yankee Stadium can be a special place,” said Boone. “You don’t feel that kind of energy and buzz in a lot of places.”
Especially in October, a month when the same Yankees who stunk to the sky earlier this season might appear with a scent of roses.
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