Rage Against LeMachine

 

...and now we've only lost twice in June. I continue to be flabbergasted by how good this Yankee team can be.

This was not an outcome I was prepared for. I was prepared for another year of waffling, losing ground midyear, having a late comeback and not getting a goddamned thing done in the postseason. Though the latter detail could still apply, this team has been completely steady pretty much all year. We've been lucky enough to have five solid, consistent starters that go late into games and all have ERAs lower than 4. There's four people on this team with over 10 home runs, and two are in the leaderboard for the whole league. We lost Chapman but somehow backed into an even better closer who has a 0.28 ERA. And even stranger, we're DHing Matt Carpenter and he has six home runs. 

And, again, the 'anyone can be a hero' mentality puts less pressure on the marquee guys like Judge and Stanton and lets the team be more varied and even. Gleyber Torres can have big days, but he's at the point this season where he can just have some contact energy and still contribute a lot that way. Donaldson can be the hero one night, Rizzo the next, Gallo the next. Not a lot of letdowns, even if Gallo's hitting below the Mendoza line and Higgy's dropped the ball. 

And going into the All Star Game next month, there's a good chance of seeing a lot of Yankees in Los Angeles. I assume Judge will make it, and LeMahieu, Cortes, Holmes and Trevino are safe bets for somewhere in the roster. With all the eyes on this team, and all the heroes making the news, it's impossible to avoid seeing the Yankees all over this ASG. 

Yet there's also the fear of backlash, as people already dislike the Yankees but now have both this hot streak and the Donaldson controversy to fuel the dislike even further. While I personally don't think the Yankees are as hate worthy as the Astros, a lot of fans could view the Yankees as the ultimate evil again and champion other teams, even in a World Series scenario. There's also the fear that this powerful gameplay is going to peak, and that by the time we get to October there won't be much left for them to work with.

I remain skeptical, and I hope this Yankee team can sustain this insane energy for as long as they can. I'd love for this to be our year. I really would. But I also know that it's still a 1 in 30 shot, and there's a lot of variables that aren't even on the table yet. 

Coming Tomorrow- A home run hitter on the other side of New York.