Today on Pinstripe Alley - 6/17/22

We keep checking in, whether it be every day, every week, or every month, on whether this team is simply great or historically good. They’ve managed to pace the 1998 Yankees for more than a third of the season now, which is a cause for celebration in its own right, but the thrilling antics and comeback wins that they’ve found with consistency have led a lot of credence to the notion that they’re the latter. They had another such game last night, finishing off a sweep of the Rays on a night where their starter was suddenly out and they had to bullpen their way through nine innings. A double-digit lead in the division in mid-June is a thing of beauty, and the Yanks have that heading into tonight.

There’s an opportunity to pad that lead even further and put it into lockdown mode, thanks to a trip north of the border to Toronto. Jake has you covered on the series preview there, and he also has a recap of last night’s rival action (featuring a pair of division rivals losing). John makes the case that Aroldis Chapman isn’t deserving of the closer’s role regardless of how they deploy Clay Holmes once the former returns, Chris looks into Jose Trevino’s sudden All-Star case, and Peter examines Gerrit Cole’s terrible start against Minnesota to determine why the ace sometimes has such awful outings. I’ll also be around to answer the mailbag as usual.

Also, last night Josh hosted a special Twitter Spaces to celebrate Pride Month and invited some queer baseball fans to join him. Peter and I also made guest appearances towards the end, and if you listen you can get some context on my recent name change.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays

Time: 7:07 p.m. ET

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TV: YES, SNET

Radio: 1280 WADO, 660/101.9 FM WFAN

Venue: Rogers Centre

Fun Questions:

1. If the Yankees win these upcoming series against the Blue Jays and Rays, is the division out of reach?

2. Thoughts on Golden State closing out the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals?