As a Bostonian, I hate to admit this, but it’s true. Tampa and Boston have shown strength and resilience this season, but I think that nothing short of a rash of injuries will keep the New York Yankees from winning the AL East decisively this season.
photo credit: Keith Allison
Like it or not, only a rash of injuries could stand in the way between the Yankees and a decisive AL East championship in 2010.
Last night the Bronx Bombers won their seventh in a row in typical fashion. They got great pitching from Phil Hughes, who is now 11-2. Offensively, some players had better nights than others, but the bottom line was six runs. The Yankees lineup is so strong from top to bottom that somebody is bound to have a good night and carry the team. Likewise, their starting rotation has no glaring weaknesses.
Here’s another fact that should give pause to those who think that the Yankees will be anything but a juggernaut in the second half this season: Although several key players have underachieved thus far, the team still has the best record in baseball at 55-31. That’s 24 games over .500. When you consider that Mark Teixeira is hitting .243, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are both at .273, and Curtis Granderson is at .235, you have to expect that all four players could do much, much better the rest of the way. Likewise, A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez have had their struggles on the mound and could have significantly better numbers from now until October.
Meanwhile, who on the top is really overachieving through the first half? Well, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner probably won’t keep hitting over .300. Andy Pettitte’s eyebrow-raising 2.70 ERA is unlikely to last, and ageless wonder Mariano Rivera usually runs into a tough stretch for a couple of weeks each season.
These underachievers and overachievers are likely to even out before the end of the year, but I think it will take at least three or four injuries to star players before we can say that the Yankees are anything but the overwhelming favorites to win the division. The playoffs may be another story, as anything can happen in a short series. Still, the Sox and Rays are simply angling for the wild card in my opinion.
