Why Are the Yankees Having Such Trouble Against Their Own Division?
With only a month left in the season, it’s time to hit the panic button for the New York Yankees and their overall record against teams in the American League East. With Friday night’s loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees have moved to 5-16 against the Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox on the season. That’s a .238 winning percentage, and is on pace to be their worst combined record since the Blue Jays became a franchise in 1977. Against every other team in the league, the Yankees have a record of 73-48, which would be the best winning percentage in MLB. Only a week after their winning streak, their postseason chances are being questioned again.
The Yankees are having such trouble against their own division for two reasons: faulty defense and faulty offense. Before this series, the Yankees had already committed 12 errors against the Blue Jays and had just come off a series against the Red Sox, where they had more errors than runs scored throughout the first three games. On the other side of the ball, the Yankees have had trouble scoring in games against the AL East. While they can pile on against the Tampa Bay Rays, they rarely score more than a few runs against the teams when it matters. In order to do well in the playoffs, teams need to be locked in on both sides of the ball. As of right now, the Yankees are showing that they cannot step up when it matters.
At the end of the day, the Yankees really don’t have anyone to blame but themselves for not winning the AL East. In the past month, the Blue Jays have continuously lost and looked like they had the potential to drop out of first place in the division. While the Yankees can make a run every so often, they lack the consistency that is needed to win games against their divisional opponents and win the division. In the playoffs, the Yankees will have to figure out how to play against their own division, especially since it’s likely they will face either the Red Sox or the Blue Jays at some point in October.
