Yankees Update 26/07/09

Keep Winning Baby

I always have something to say with the Yankees. The pitching this, the batting that, the bullpen this, the bench that.
Well, when they go 8-0 since the All-Star Break, and are now leading the AL East by 2.5games, you sort o have to shrug and admit it: They're playing really well. As of now, they are playing .615 ball, which equates to a 99 win pace. If they can keep that up, they'll win the division.

Interestingly enough, if the Yankees had gone 4-4 instead  of 0-8 with the Red Sox, then the respective records would be 63-33 and 52-43. So it's impressive to see that even accounting for the anomalous 4 game advantage they've spotted the Red Sox, the Yankees are leading the division.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the Yankees have played pretty crap against Division leaders. They've gone 5-15. If you subtract out the Red Sox, they're still 5-7 against teams leading their divisions. On top of which, 3 of those wins came against the Tigers recently. Which is to say, it's going to be interesting to see how the rest of the Yankees' encounters with the Rays and Red Sox will go.

Judging the rest of the schedule from the All-Star break, the Red Sox and Yankees are essentially going to play the same teams, so seeing the Red Sox stumble with a losing streak while the Yankees won 8 on the trot again helps.

The scuffling in April seems a while ago now.

A Confession

Back in April, I was in a bad mood on many a day. I blamed it on lots of things, but the dirty little secret is that I was lying. Truth is, if the Yankees lose, I tend to see the result before I even get to the door to go to work and I'm a terribly grump bastard when they lose. I'm a bad person for being that way, I know, but I've always been a more magnanimous, chilled, smugly calm entity on the days that the Yankees have won. I think it's something Karmic, and I doubt I'm going to outgrow it in my lifetime. I like being smug - let Red Sox fans gnash their enamel-depleted teeth and richly gripe and moan. The world is better that way.

It's just how I feel. A week where the Yankees don't lose is like a week in heaven.