Lets face it, The New York Yankees are playing hurt and tired.
Not including the PPD game on May 11 in Detroit, The Yankees have played 17 straight games, including a doubleheader.
Through these 17 games, the Yankees have accumulated seven wins and ten losses.
Now, that’s not a horrible situation, but it is the way that the Yanks have been playing lately that is becoming a problem to the organization and fans alike.
Throughout these consecutive games, the Yankees have scored a total of 115 runs.
The fact that they have scored a lot of runs is great for a known power team who happens to lead the major leagues in runs.
The Yankees have allowed 85 runs over the course of these games, due to some bad outings from starters as well as the bullpen.
What pours even more salt on the Yankee’s wounds is the fact that they had a chance to gain ground against the AL East leading Rays, but were swept at Yankee stadium.
The Yankees also dropped two games against the division rival Boston Red Sox.
Worst of all right now, they lost three games to the Detroit Tigers, who are now only one game back of the Yankees in the Wild Card race.
There’s no denying that star players have been in and out of the lineup over the last month and it has put additional pressure on other players to get the job done.
In some situations, certain Yankees have stepped up to make up for the lack of great everyday hitters like Curtis Granderson, Jorge Posada, and Nick Swisher
These three stars have been largely absent from the middle to the end of May.
Francisco Cervelli is playing excellent ball, batting an astonishing .354 and picking up 19 RBI.
Brett Gardner has also shown that he can hit well in the number two spot, batting a robust .294.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, the bad has outweighed the good over this long May stretch, and to add insult to their many injuries, they have seen certain players slump.
Mark Teixeira, a player known for his bat, is batting .209—he is visibly in a funk.
Players who would not be seeing much playing time, if not for injuries, are making costly errors, as well as not making the most of multiple game changing situations at the plate.
We are also seeing mistakes out of the bullpen, made from veteran closer Mariano Rivera and young gun Joba Chamberlain, who have both had some rough times throughout this stretch.
Chamberlain’s ERA currently sits at 4.50.
The top of the Yankees’ starting rotation had difficulty getting the job done, as AJ Burnett saw his ERA hit 3.66 and CC Sabathia’s hit 3.99.
Oh, and they lost Nick Johnson—he was batting .167 prior to injury.
The relief for the Yankees comes in the fact that they do not have to play baseball on May 24.
They get a much, much needed day of rest to rethink their game plan and try and get some sort of winning streak going.
The fact of the matter is, the Rays are not getting any worse anytime soon.
Tampa Bay has won eight of their last ten, and they’re carrying their momentum into June.
With Detroit right behind them in the Wild Card, the Yankees need to start stringing victories together ASAP.
Within the next two series, they will also have to face the Blue Jays, who are now only one game behind in the AL East race.
Luckily for New York’s bigger picture, their next few series also include sets against Cleveland (16-26), two against Baltimore (14-31), and Houston (15-29).
Now, beating up on bad teams doesn’t prove much but at this point in the season, and as hurt as the Yankees are, it’s as the old saying goes:
A win is a win.
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