Before the 2018 Major League Baseball season started, most pundits had penciled in the NY Yankees for at least a play-off spot, if not winning the AL East title outright.
After all, with the emergence of slugger Aaron Judge, the recent acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, and a host of other boppers, they would feature quite the formidable batting line-up. Add that to solid starting pitching and a pretty decent bullpen, and this is stuff of what serious contenders look like.
But wait a second. The Bosox have put up the best record in baseball. By far. Nobody in either league is within 5 games of them.
And then bang. Injuries struck the Yankees. Out went Judge with a minor fracture to his wrist. Time on the DL unknown, but likely at least several weeks. Meanwhile catcher Gary Sanchez suffered a groin strain. Time away? Likely a month or so.
The Yanks went into Boston for a series trailing them by 5 1/2 games. The Bosox promptly won the first two to stretch the difference to 7 1/2 games. That's a bunch.
Quietly out west, the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics have been playing some really good ball. True, they both trail the defending World Series champ Houston Astros by 5 games, but that is also the amount they're behind the Bronx Bombers.
The upshot? If the Yanks don't right their ship pretty soon -- no given with the above-mentioned losses -- they could well find themselves out of the playoffs completely when the regular season ends.
With a little over 50 games to go, it looks like a lock the Yanks, Mariners, and A's will be competing for the two wild-card spots in the playoffs. Like musical chairs, one of them is going to left without a seat when the music (regular season) stops. In other words, somebody's not going to make it into the postseason.
And OMG, just imagine the fall-out in the Big Apple if the once highly touted Yanks find themselves on the outside looking in come October. All that talent. The massive payroll. And no playoffs? The media, not to mention their own fans, would eat them alive.
Could happen.
No pressure. Right.
Stay tuned......
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