Another hellish weekend in Anaheim

by New York Sports Jerk on Jul 13, 2009 12:00 AM EDT

Two weeks ago, after the Yankees completed a sweep of the Mets, I said that if they went 8-5 over the last 13 games before the All Star break, I'd be satisfied.

I lied.

Yes, the Yankees did finish exactly 8-5 in those games, but when you consider the fact that they went to Anaheim with an 8-2 record in the previous 10, leaving there 8-5 feels empty, especially when they held leads in all three games.

http://newyorksportsjerk.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-hellish-weekend-in-anaheim.html

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the Yankees were swept out of Orange County, since the Angels have owned them out there for the last seven years.

Yankees strike first, Angels strike back, Yankees roll over and die.

Predictable stuff. I hope they got a chance to ride Space Mountain at least.

So where is this team exactly at the All Star break?

That 51-37 record sure looks nice, until you consider that they are a combined 2-12 against the Red Sox and Angels, two teams they will probably have to beat if they want to get to the World Series. Sadly, there are no more games to play against the Twins.

I wish I could say I was confident that this team would get things together in the second half and make a run to the World Series, but it's difficult to have much faith in that idea, since they've played 20 games against teams currently leading their divisions (Red Sox, Angels, Phillies, Tigers) and have a record of 5-15.

That's typical of recent Yankee teams, that beat up on the weaker teams but get their lunch handed to them by the legitimate contenders.

Prove me wrong, Yanks.

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Yankees at the All star break

It is amazing how baseball feelings turn from week to week.On Thursday everything looked great and Yankee fans were really up.Then came the disaster in Anaheim.Have you ever been more disgusted in a three game series than this one. It’s funny how the Yankees get all the breaks in Minnesota and none in Anaheim,year after year.Baseball can be a mental as well as a physical game.In Anaheim the Yankees seem to be playing from behind even when winning.It’s if you constantly wait for something bad to happen and it usually does.
Yes.it is alarming that the Yankees are 5-15 against the four teams leading their division.
However as you know the key is to make the playoffs and then it becomes a crap shoot. Look at some of the Tams that went to the World Series the last few years and the year(s) they had after wards.It all comes down to pitching and we will see what happens over the last 74 games and hopefully the playoffs.
It could be worse,we could be rooting for the Washington Nationals.

by Yank7 on Jul 13, 2009 9:57 AM EDT reply actions

The bright side

I’ve never considered myself an optomist but compared to a lot of the people on this board…

Yes, the Yankee record against playoff teams looks bad, but how many times have the Yankees lost in the playoffs to teams they dominated during the regular season? Detroit? Cleveland? The goal of the regular season is to make the playoffs, preferably but not necessarily by winning your division. Once you get there it’s a whole new season.

The thing to be concerned about is that right now the Yankees don’t have 4 starters you’d feel good about to start a playoff series. CC and Burnett and then a bunch of question marks that would put them at a disadvantage on paper against the Red Sox or Angels. Still, Pettitte, Joba and even Wang aren’t Jaret Wright. They all have it in them to get it together and to throw a great game in a big spot. I wouldn’t want to see the Yankees acquire a back-end starter because that, to me, would just be running in place.

by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on Jul 13, 2009 7:33 PM EDT reply actions