The Yankees routed the Orioles 10-1 on Thursday and clinched the AL East title in the process.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Yankees.
1. Aaron Boone was right. He knew back in July when he regurgitated (for a third straight season) his popular phrase “It’s right in front of us” in regards to the Yankees’ postseason and division chances. He knew playing .500 baseball for the final three months of the season would lead the Yankees to an AL East title.
2. The season goals are to reach the postseason, win the division, receive a bye to the ALDS, win home-field advantage through the ALCS, win the ALDS, win the ALCS and win the World Series. The first three have been accomplished. Next up is to win home-field advantage through the ALCS.
3. “We’d love to get it,” Boone said. “That said, I’m going to make sure I get guys a day here. I feel like we gotta do it, but we’ll be playing to win.”
I believe being the 1-seed in the AL playoffs is important. The Yankees don’t. They never have. Boone said as much on Thursday. The Yankees have always operated under the idea of “just get in” and that hasn’t exactly worked out for them. They haven’t been the 1-seed in any of Boone’s six previous years managing the team. That could change in the seventh.
The Yankees currently have a one-game lead over the Guardians for the 1-seed. Because the Yankees won the head-to-head season series (4-2), finishing with the same record as the Guardians is all they need. The odds are in their favor.
4. But no matter what happens this weekend, the Yankees returned home on Sunday, got to sleep in their own beds for the Orioles series, will sleep in their own beds this weekend, get to sleep in their own beds all of next week and won’t need to travel until after Game 2 of the ALDS, which is scheduled for October 7. They will have been able to be in their own homes, playing in their own stadium and not traveling for 16 days from when they returned from Oakland until they have to leave for Game 3 of the ALDS.
5. That’s just one of the many advantages the Yankees have heading into the postseason. On top of that, they will be able to set their rotation as they please and open their postseason playing in front of what will be a raucous Stadium crowd on a Saturday night in the Bronx.
6. “I feel like we’ve been through a lot as a team already this year,” Boone said. “So I’d like to think we’re battle-tested for what’s ahead.”
The Yankees haven’t been through that much. Most of what they have been through was self-inflicted. But hey, if coming up with a fictional narrative is what Boone needs to motivate his team in the postseason, I’m all for it. It’s better than using video from the 2004 ALCS as motivation like he did the last time the Yankees were in the playoffs two years ago.
7. “We’re going to celebrate tonight,” Judge said, “and then look forward to October.”
I’m confident about the Yankees heading into the postseason. I know it can all change in an instant. A loss in Game 1 of the ALDS can make it feel like the season is ending. I know the bats can just not show up in a way they haven’t in October for a while now. I know the most trusted arms in the rotation could lay eggs, the bullpen could implode or Boone could manage his team to elimination.
8. Every fan knows their own teams flaws, watching them unfold nearly daily for six months. But for as critical as I am of the Yankees (and rightfully so given their performance and internal decisions over the last 14 years), they boast the best roster of any of the six AL teams that will be in the field.
9. “We’re in a good spot,” Stanton said, “but there’s a lot of work to do.”
Everything is in their favor heading into this October in a way it hasn’t been in a long, long time. There is no dominant team in the field. If anything they are the team to beat in the field. Their rotation is healthy (outside of Nestor Cortes, but he may not have been part of the rotation anyway) and they have the best two hitters in the league in the same lineup. The only potential AL opponent that scares me is the Astros, but that’s more about the past than the present, as this Astros team isn’t the 2017, 2019 or 2022 teams. (Thankfully, as long as the Yankees win the 1-seed they won’t have to face the Astros until the best-of-7 ALCS format.) If the Yankees can’t win the World Series with the setup they have this year, I don’t know when they will.
10. This weekend will now be relaxing and stress-free. Next week will be the same. But come next Saturday when Yankees fans wake up, the second season begins. The good and bad of the previous 162 games is erased. Every Yankee gets a clean slate full of opportunity. No opportunity greater than the chance to be a part of something no Yankees team has been a part of in 15 years.
Last modified: Sep 27, 2024
