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Before the New York Yankees swept the St. Louis Cardinals on the road over the weekend, five-time World Series champion and current YES Yankees analyst David Cone believed the team had all the right pieces in place to make a run toward the postseason.
The Yankees were in the middle of their slump with a tight American League postseason race swirling around them at the time. Some Yankees fans were nervous the reigning American League champions wouldn’t make it to the postseason altogether, and of course, that is still a possibility.
But Cone couldn’t be more optimistic about this group despite their midseason woes.
“I’d be very surprised if they don’t make the postseason,” Cone told Fox News Digital over the phone.
“I believe that they finally have all the pieces in the right place right now. They kinda went, for the majority of the season, without a third baseman. They’ve solved that problem and Jazz [Chisholm Jr. is] back at second base. [Giancarlo] Stanton can play right field, they got their bullpen revamped with [David] Bednar in the back-end right now. It looks like, at least, they got all the holes plugged and they can move forward from here instead of being weak in one certain area.”
The Yankees are winners of seven of their last 10 games, which puts them at 67-57 on the year. They’re still chasing the Toronto Blue Jays for their old spot leading the AL East, but at five games back in that regard, fans are more focused on the American League Wild Card race.
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Three teams from each league get in as well as the division winners, and New York, the Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners are vying for the top two American League Wild Card spots.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians, at 64-60, are lurking three games behind the Yankees, meaning it isn’t smooth sailing until October. Cone knows all too well what it takes to reach the promise land that is the postseason, so he knows what the Yankees need to do to make sure they get there.
It begins with starting pitching.
“They certainly need Max Fried to get going again,” Cone explained. “[Carlos] Rodon has been good. I think a big lift, too, by [Cam] Schlittler. A young power arm is a huge lift for the rotation. Will Warren as well. So, all of a sudden, it feels like the kids are picking up the slack. It seems like a little bit of maybe Max Fried regression to the mean, so to speak. He was so good in the first half, he was due for a couple bad ones or to struggle a bit and he has. Rodon a little bit at times, too, but for the most part everything is lined up to make a run.”
Then, it’s the power bats that helped bring the Yankees back to the World Series in 2024, albeit Juan Soto who joined the New York Mets this offseason.
“The last piece of the puzzle was Aaron Judge. How severe was his injury, and can Giancarlo Stanton play right field? Both of them are back, so those questions have kinda been answered, too,” Cone said. “I feel like they’re lined up as best as they can be. They’re lined up to make a pretty decent run down the stretch. I expect them to make the playoffs, although nothing is a given because of the way Cleveland’s been playing.”
But there are those fans who say this year’s team just isn’t up to snuff to the 2024 squad, and it has certainly felt that way at times this season. The Yankees have had two separate six-game losing streaks, with bad fundamentals in all facets showing up during those spans.
Though defense played a factor in not winning the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees didn’t have as many question marks leading up to October.
Cone, though, sent a reminder to all Yankees fans: It doesn’t matter what you do in the regular season as long as you make it to the playoffs.
Just take the 2000 World Series-winning Yankees he was a part of for example.
“We won 87 games and weren’t so great down the stretch,” Cone said about the 2000 Yankees that went 87-74 during the regular season, which did win them the division. “But once the bell rang and we got to the postseason, we knew what to do and there was a lot of confidence there.
“They’re battle tested in the postseason and got to the World Series last year. So, absolutely getting into the postseason means they have that experience…I think this group has that confidence, too. I think it’s just get there and they could be very dangerous in the postseason. They have experience, but I anticipate them getting there. I really do.”
With 38 games left on the regular-season schedule, which is filled with key divisional matchups and potential tiebreaker scenarios, the Yankees’ playoffs are starting a bit early to secure that spot they so desperately want.
Could this week’s series sweep be the spark needed to right the ship? The Yankees have the Tampa Bay Rays and Red Sox coming up.
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