The A's Are Breathing Down Our Necks!

This wild card race is too close for comfort. Just eleven days ago the Yankees had a six game lead in the loss column over the A’s for the top wild card spot, and now it is down to two games. The A’s are on a roll and the Yankees are still spinning their wheels. It’s time to get back on track, and fast.

Sure, the Yankees still hold a nine-game lead on a postseason spot so it looks like they are a shoe in, but the A’s are on a crazy role lately. They are 54-21 since June 21st, and hold the best record in baseball since then.

A nine-game lead with a guaranteed spot would be nice, but home field advantage for the wild card game would be even nicer. That nine-game lead actually should be an even bigger lead. The Yankees had an advantage of a much easier schedule in the last month than division rivals. They barely had any action against division rivals and played teams that were under .500 and still couldn’t capitalize on it. 

The Yankees haven’t played great baseball in a long time. It’s not just any one factor or one person’s fault. Yes, having Aaron Judge out completely sucks but Luis Severino has struggled greatly since the start of the second half, but veterans like Giancarlo Stanton and Greg Bird have also under performed. Hell, Bird may not even have a postseason roster spot. The pitching is lackluster, the offense is flat the second half and Aaron Boone’s strategy leaves a lot to be desired sometimes. There is a lot to fix in order to get the Yankees ready for the postseason and I wish they were easy fixes. We all miss Judge, and hopefully he will be back for the postseason. I am really crossing my fingers because that alone is a huge boost for this team. Even Boone finally admits he misses him.