Sweeny: Playoff Run More Realistic By The Day For 1st-Place Yankees
By Sweeny Murti
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OK, when the Yankees lost each of their first three series and were 3-6 to start the year, who had them in first place a month later? Not me and not anyone else, I'm sure.
The Yankees just finished a stretch in which they won 14 of 18 games, better than any run they had in the last two October-less seasons. Wednesday's 5-1 defeat in Toronto gave New York its first series loss in three weeks.
There is a fear around this team that they are just an injury or two away from total disaster. But they're into the second month of the season still alone at the top of the standings because, for the most part, they have avoided any of the major potholes that we all saw coming.
Yes, Masahiro Tanaka landed on the DL. But the Yankees are only in their second turn through the rotation without him. We don't know yet how that's going to affect them. It's a pleasant surprise to have Chase Whitley make two good starts like he has, but we are a long way from the finish line. Tanaka's injury could still have a major impact on this season, but for now it's had very little.
CC Sabathia hasn't been good. The best we can say is that he's had a few decent starts, and a few breaks haven't gone his way. But that's not what we're used to expecting from Sabathia, and it's certainly not what he expects of himself. Healthy? Yes. Good? Not really. Not yet, anyway. The look in CC's eyes these days reminds me of the look in David Cone's eyes during the 2000 season when nothing could go right. We kept trying to convince ourselves it would get better, but it didn't. I'm still hoping that's not the case with Sabathia, because it's sad to see a great competitor not do what he does best. What the Yankees don't need is a season like the 4-14 year that doomed Cone in 2000.
Michael Pineda is a big plus. He's the best pitcher on this team and one of the best in the league. If he keeps it up the Yankees can stay in this race for a long time.
The other questions we had about this team included two big bats and their ability to stay in the lineup and produce. So far, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have produced plenty. A-Rod isn't doing so at All-Star caliber, but he's holding his own and providing some big hits and some presence in the lineup. All of that was in question after all the time off, hurtling closer to age 40. And Teixeira set goals of 30 home runs and 100 RBIs back in spring training. It's hard now to think he won't reach them as long as he stays healthy.
And that's the big key here, isn't it? Staying healthy for a month is one thing, but maintaining for the season is something these guys just haven't done in a while. So we must see it to believe it. For now, we go by what's been presented in front of our eyes. The questionable bats have been positives and the questionable arms haven't killed their playoff hopes yet. The bullpen has a lot to do with that. And the big boys down there look like they will have a positive impact all season.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner are playing at All-Star levels. If they keep that up, the offense should stay in gear, despite most of the lower half of the order underperforming.
Around here it's always about waiting for the other shoe to drop. And there are still enough games left that we'll be waiting for it all summer long. This doesn't yet have the feel of a team playing the underdog role. And maybe that's never really possible for the Yankees anyway. But the longer this team goes, the more days they can cross off the calendar without a catastrophic injury, the closer they'll be to something we haven't seen in what seems like an eternity—a playoff team.
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