The Yankees have been one of the worst teams in baseball for nearly a month, and as a result, they have fallen behind the Orioles in the American League East, while the Red Sox have gained nearly 10 games on them in the standings.
Sal doesn’t believe an all-out collapse will happen, especially in the era of the expanded postseason, but he says it is no longer a laughable hypothetical that the Bombers could miss the playoffs for a second straight season.
“By the way, I don’t think it’s a stretch anymore,” Sal said. “I still expect the Yankees to be a playoff team, but if you tell me they would miss it, it’s not as ridiculous as you would think.
“Look at the standings…do I think it’s gonna happen? No, but they’re sinking like a rock in the standings. They’re already three games back of the division!”
With a week to go until the All-Star break, the Yanks are three games behind the O’s in the division, and are just three games up in the loss column on the Red Sox, who hold the final Wild Card spot. The Royals are just 1.5 games behind Boston as the first team out. So, with plenty of season to go, the Yankees have time to turn things around, but also have time to further their current freefall.
“It’s not that farfetched to think they might miss the postseason here,” Sal said. “If I had to bet, I would bet they’ll get in because of the extra team, but if they keep playing like this, they’re not getting in the postseason.”