The Yankees had a better month in August going 16-12 over the 28 games they played. Improvements in batting and pitching and some notable returns kept them in the frame for a wildcard and a possible backdoor entrance into the post-season…..
In July, the starters and some of the relievers continued to struggle. Thankfully, the Yankees have Rivera and Robertson to pull them through in the tight games……
After going fast out of the gate in April, the Yankees had fallen off the pace. July was another disappointing month – only achieving a 14-12 record in the period. However, some of the guys with the bats began to step up and produce so maybe there was the promise of a better August…….
The bullpen – good to great
The rotation – good to poor
The Yankees have a quandary to solve in the second half.
The Yankees batting and injury problems just got worse as June progressed, seeing them fall from 1st at the end of April, to second at the end of May, to 4th at the end of June. The team batted only .223 across the 27 games in June leaving 11 squad members batting well below .250 for the month. Consequently, our survey below has expanded the middle section!
It is the bullpen that has kept the Yankees afloat whilst the starting rotation and batters struggled. Let’s look over those starters and relievers in some detail:
The Yankees form slid a little in May. In April, they had been 16-10, May was 15-13. They also surrendered first place and dropped to second in the table. Let’s see who was bucking the trend and who was failing to keep their end up:
The pitchers have been largely responsible for the Yankees better-than-expected start to the season. Let’s see who did well:
The Yankees had the most unlikely start to the season, especially if you listened to those who assessed their chances in the pre-season. In fact, as their injury list got longer, the impressiveness of their remaining amongst the teams with the highest winning percentage in major league baseball, just became more evident. Let’s see who led the way in April and who were amongst the few who failed to reach the necessary mark. Batters up first!
Two updates to my survey of the Yankees roster which I published a few days ago:
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