Remember when the Yankees were bad? When they were woefully behind their eternal tormentors, the Boston Red Sox, and even behind the Blue Jays? Remember when the Sox stole out to a Secretariat-like lead in April?
The Yankees were sinking like an anchor, and their prized free agent, Giancarlo Stanton, was striking out at galling rates, posting two golden sombreros -- going hitless with five strikeouts in one week for the first time in baseball history - despite his $30 million yearly salary.
Well, April is all but gone, as is all the panic. On April 15, the hated Red Sox were 13-2, and 5.5 games ahead of the third-place Bombers, who were a wholly mediocre 7-7. Since then, the Yanks are 11-2, winners of nine straight games, to make them 18-9, suddenly three games ahead of Toronto, and inching up to within two games of Boston (20-7). Gary Sanchez is hitting moon shots. Aaron Judge is showing no signs of a sophomore slump. And Stanton is on scalding week from joining his brother Bombers.
It was so unseemly in the Bronx that the club in Queens, the Mets, were the early story of the season, bolting out to a 10-1 start. The Mets were doing the things the Yankees were supposed to do. Last year, the Mets were supposed to contend while the Yanks came within nine innings of the World Series. This year, the Yanks were the talk and chalk of the sport, yet the Mets were moonwalking to a large lead in the NL East.
Now order has been restored on River Ave. Maybe the Yankees fortunes were tied to the science-fiction weather we've had. This has to be the ugliest, grayest, coldest, and wettest spring on record, going from 40 degrees and rain for a month to 70 then 85 and sunny. The Yankees went from equally frigid to properly sizzling over the last ten days. They're winning at home and on the road, against roadkill and the better teams in baseball. Look at their latest hot streak and you'll see they play just as well against the bottom-dwellers (Miami and Minnesota) as they are against the elite (Angels and Blue Jays).
And it seems everyone but Sonny Gray has joined the starting pitching parade. Likewise, everyone but Betances pitching like a part of their nuclear bullpen. And if Sanchez keeps hitting NASA-style bombs, he will join Judge and meet the epic expectations we had for the Baby Bombers. And with all the lumber and major names on the marquee, neither Judge, Sanchez, nor Stanton are early MVP candidates.
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That handle belongs to the formerly light-hitting, soft-spoken, and anonymous shortstop. Indeed, Didi Gregorius has been so good that Yankees fans have all but forgotten Derek Jeter - an impossible proposition six months ago. Gregorius is batting .340, and leads the AL in homers (10), RBI (30), Slugging (.766) and OPS (1.202).
As a team, the Yankees lead all MLB in home runs, RBI, runs scored, and total bases. In terms of pitching, they are tenth in ERA, fifth in opponents' batting average, and second in strikeouts. According to Teamrankings.com,the Yankees are the second-highest rated ball club behind the Houston Astros, with the second-highest chance (11.6 %) of winning the World Series.
Impatience is hardly strong suit of sports fans, particularly sports fans in the Big Apple. So when the Yanks stumbled out of the gate we were naturally worried, if not apoplectic. Now the Bombers are winning two out of every three games, the hallmark of a solid club, if not a pennant contender, if not a World Series club. Just remember that the next time the Yankees lose two out of three, or even five out of six. The Yankees are human. But they're also really good. Keep both in mind over the next five months. Please.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
