Issue no. 18: Two Signs The Yankees Aren't Championship Ready
The New York Yankees lost 9-5 in 12 innings to the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday in a game that magnified two much bigger concerns.
The first of the two is their record when playing at home. Tuesday’s loss dropped the club to 32-28 when playing at the ballpark on the corner of 161st street and River Ave.
Eight other American League teams have a wider win-loss differential record at home than the sometimes vaunted Yankees.
Where’s the home field advantage?
Sure, the Yankees are getting the best effort from every team that blows through the Bronx, and that counts for something, but the pinstripes haven’t shown a great urgency to defend home field this season.
More concerning, is the Yankees record in extra inning games. Tuesday’s defeat put them at a dismal 4-8 in that category this season.
The execution and focus required to break a tie game in extra innings are the kind of traits that define successful teams in the playoffs.
In the postseason every inning of every game calls for heightened intensity and the ability to produce in weighted moments.
While the Yankees have the firepower to come back from any deficit against any team in any environment, the question looms:
How much can a team with championship aspirations and expectations be trusted to win it all when they aren’t imposing at home, and have lost twice as many contests as they’ve won when games go into extra innings?
I certainly don’t know the answer. But the Yankees have a little over a month to change the narrative that they carry into October.