After spending the first three months of the season as arguably MLB's best team, the New York Yankees have looked like anything but that in recent weeks.
It has been about as bad as it can get on both sides of the ball for the Yankees. They are 2-8 in their last 10 games and 3-10 in their last 13 contests.
They've allowed 87 runs over their last 11 games. For context, they allowed 73 runs through the entire month of May.
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Everything seems to have hit at once for the Yankees. The expected regression from the starting rotation. The injuries piling up. Holes in the lineup are being exposed. All of it seems to be happening at the same time.
Unfortunately, recent history shows this is nothing new to a Yankees team that begins a season on an incredible tear.
the Yankees last 3 seasons pic.twitter.com/kBL5VLadOj
— BrooksGate (@Brooks_Gate) June 28, 2024
Of course, every season is different, and there are reasons teams go through major collapses as the Yankees have in the past two campaigns.
For example, the leading cause of the 2023 collapse was Aaron Judge's toe injury. Of course, it exposed just how poor the Yankees lineup around him was, but it certainly played a major role.
The 2022 team made it to the ALCS only to be swept in four games by the eventual champion Houston Astros. Still, they finished with a 99-63 record and a seven-game lead in the AL East.
The biggest concern is that the roster construction appears to be similar. The addition of Juan Soto has made an incredible impact, but the players around him and Judge in the lineup simply aren't getting it done.
Meanwhile, the starting rotation is regressing maybe even more than expected after the unit's incredible start.
Maybe this is an overreaction during a really bad slide. Maybe this team really is different. They've certainly shown they are capable of being the best team in baseball.
Or maybe this is an omen that the Yankees are headed toward another frustrating second half where they fail to live up to their potential.
Only time will tell.
For more Yankees coverage, check out Kevin Hickey's work on Sporting News.
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