A. L. East: Yankees Fading Fast
A-Rod has been on the shelf all season
All season long people have wondered how the New York Yankees have managed to stay in contention with no Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texeira, no Derek Jeter, and no Curtis Granderson. The Yanks have been ravaged by injuries from the start of spring training, when Granderson broke a bone in his arm after getting hit by a pitch in the first game in late February. But with some veterans that came in and contributed such as Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner as well as Ichiro Suzuki who came over in mid season a year ago, the Yankees still have a good lineup. But it is nowhere near the lineup of All Stars the Yankees are accustomed to. Other than Robinson Cano and Ichiro, the Yankees don’t really have top line talent playing right now.
Half-way through the season, it is finally catching up with the Bronx Bombers that all that pop is missing. On Sunday, the Yankees fell to fourth place after their fifth straight loss, a 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees went 11-15 in the month of June and had two five-game losing streaks. This is coming off a stretch in late May when the Yanks ended that month losing eight of the last eleven. With all the stars in there, the Yankees have lost that mystique they have always enjoyed. For example, in late may they lost four in a row to the New York Mets. The Yankees have owned the Mets over the years. But even in a game where they took a 1-0 lead into the ninth and handed the ball over to Mariano Rivera, the Mets rallied to beat them. There is no fear in their opponents. There is no sense of dread when going into the Bronx. If Jeter and company do not get back soon, this will be a lost season for the pinstripes.
The July schedule lightens up a bit for the Yankees. They start with four games at the Minnesota Twins who are under .500 at 36-42. Then they go home for a weekend series against the Orioles but next week they start with a four game series at home against the under .500 Kansas City Royals and then three at home with the Twins. The Yankees will need to get something done during that home stand because after that it is as seven game road trip that includes three with the Boston Red Sox and four with the Texas Rangers. Then they come back home for three against the Tampa Bay Rays before heading to Los Angeles to face the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers for two and heading down to face the San Diego Padres for three. If the Yankees do not get on a roll against the Twins and Royals, they could find themselves in too deep of a hole to dig out by the time September rolls around, even if they get their stars back.
BetOnline has the Yankees +2500 to win the World Series. Other odds for teams in the A.L. East include the first place Red Sox at +900, the Orioles at +1200, the Rays at +2500 and the Toronto Blue Jays at +2500. Right now, if you want to pick a +2500 team, we would recommend the Rays.
