As Knicks And Rangers Captivate New York, The Yankees Quietly Roll Along
![As Knicks And Rangers Captivate New York, The Yankees Quietly Roll Along As Knicks And Rangers Captivate New York, The Yankees Quietly Roll Along](https://i2.wp.com/imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/664172ef8fec8126b683772a/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&height=900&width=1600&fit=bounds&w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1)
New York Yankees’ Gleyber Torres watches his three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during … [+]
For the most part, this was a lost weekend in the realm of New York sports, especially for the teams playing the really important games.
The Rangers played their worst period after seven straight wins to open a postseason that is drawing comparisons to 1994, when by now almost anyone knows what happened in those two months. Instead of resting comfortably after a sweep ahead of the Eastern Conference finals, the Rangers are returning home and if they do not close it out the series becomes way too interesting for their liking.
Meanwhile, their co-tenant of Madison Square Garden are assured of at least playing six games against the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks won two close games to start the series but also lost OG Anunoby to a hamstring injury and then lost Game 3 on a late 3-pointer before getting blown out from the opening tip, creating various angst amongst some fans.
And then there are the Yankees, who are 27-15 and off to a quietly good start because of the attention paid to the Knicks and Rangers playing a combined 18 postseason games since April 20.
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge singles in front of Tampa Bay Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt during the … [+]
At 42 games, it is no longer a good start but a good pace for the rest of the season and the Yankees are at a 104-win pace, doing so with Aaron Judge’s batting average climbing into the .230s in the past week and Gerrit Cole still throwing bullpen sessions as he rehabs from an elbow injury that threatened to be more serious when originally diagnosed in March.
To review, the Yankees started 12-3, punctuating a 5-0 start with four straight wins in Houston to start off. Then following the quick start was an 8-10 that was punctuated by scoring six runs in losing three of four at Baltimore.
It was in Baltimore where Judge went 1-for-13 and his average dropped to .197 leading some to wonder aloud online or on radio if anything was wrong based on his brief absence during spring training. Since then the Yankees are 7-2 in their past nine and Judge is on a .346 surge, possibly putting those kind of questions to rest.
Highlighting the current hot stretch which began 24 hours after the Knicks closed out the 76ers was two blowout wins over the Astros. Against the Astros, the Yankees battered Justin Verlander, saw Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton homer in the same game for the first time, hitting 1,291 feet worth of homers. After those homers, the Yankees nearly won the final game by threatening significantly in the ninth.
New York Yankees’ Juan Soto in action against the Houston Astros during the second inning of a … [+]
And while the Knicks were in the midst of getting taken out of Game 4 in the opening quarter and first half, the Yankees kept their feel good start intact by taking two of three over the Rays, aided by five homers, including a key homer by Gleyber Torres, whose three-run shot was highly meaningful given his puzzling start after being among the more productive Yankees last season.
It is still too early to determine what the Yankees will become and the playoffs are more random than anything with 12 teams qualifying and an 84-win team reaching the World Series last season out of the National League. It is apparent how much of an impact Soto is making, Judge will get rolling again, Clay Holmes will be consistent even if he wobbles at times will not know what Cole’s outings look like until he actually pitches, which seems to be sometime in June.
In the meantime, the Yankees are setting the pace for the New York baseball that devotees of the Knicks and Rangers can pay closer attention to at some point. That point could be mid to late June or within two weeks depending on how the next set of games unfold for the winter sports team.
Until then, the Yankees will attempt to keep winning series like the 10 out of 13 they claimed so far. It will result in them dueling with the Orioles for AL East supremacy, just like in 1994 until owners canceled the season in September because they could not come to an agreement with the players.
Back then, when the Knicks ended the winter sports season by falling in Game 7 on Houston the Yankees were 42-27 and owners of a four-game lead over the Orioles.
Whether the parallels to 1994 continue for the Knicks and Rangers are unknown but based on 25.9 percent of the schedule being completed, the Yankees could be creating a similar comparison to 1994, just this one will provide some kind of conclusion in the fall.
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