Yankees Get Set For Final Homestand

The Yankees returned home from a mediocre road trip which all but sealed their playoff hopes and took a lot of the excitement out of what is the final home stand ever at the “House that Ruth Built.”

With 16 games left going into the final week at the stadium, the Yankees playoff hopes aren’t technically dead but it would take a miracle to save them now. Unfortunately for the Yankees their offense has sputtered, their pitching has been inconsistent, and their injuries have piled up and this doesn’t look like a team capable of those types of miracles.

So instead they will try to put on happy faces and make excuses as to why this isn’t an amazing disappointment to be playing insignificant games during the final week of the old stadium’s existence.

The opponents for their final home stand include the Tampa Rays, who sit in their usual place atop the American League Eastern division, the Chicago White Sox, a team which has also dealt with its share of injuries but has been able to stay competitive throughout the season, and the Baltimore Orioles, who are the only team in the AL East who have fared worse than the Yankees have during this disappointing season.

As first place teams the Rays and the White Sox represent a problem for the Yankees and could further embarrass the Yankees, but what losing to those teams is practically expected for this team during this season. The Yankees need to play those games with a chip on their shoulder so they don’t set themselves up for the ultimate embarrassment of getting beaten by the lowly Orioles during the last three games.

Even though they aren’t playing for a playoff spot, there is something important at stake this week. They have to play well enough to keep themselves from being eliminated from playing in October. Entering the series against the Rays the Yankees have a tragic number of 10 which would eliminate them from playing meaningful games this season. The tragic number is a combination of Yankee losses or Wild Card leading Boston Red Sox victories which added up equaling 10. If that happens the Yankees officially become eliminated. They have 10 games left at home and would probably need to win at least five games to keep themselves in the race.

Despite the huge odds the players themselves have not given up on the season. After their latest loss to the Los Angeles Angels, who clinched their own playoff birth against the Bombers, the players mentioned a need to win nearly every game to keep their season alive.

“I think we have to keep going out there and playing hard,” Johnny Damon told the team’s website. “We need all of those other teams to lose each and every single one of their games, so that’s all we can do — go out there and play hard and see what happens.”

Team manager Joe Girardi also talked about being a determined team despite their long shot status. Maybe he doesn’t believe that his team will make it, but he certainly has kept reminding them that they still have a shot.

“I still think we have something to play for,” Girardi told the team’s website. “You play and play and play. You have pride in what you do. There’s no ‘X’ by our names, so there’s still a lot to play for.”

Hopefully the team at least keeps themselves from being eliminated for the ceremony they are planning on holding before the stadium’s final game on September 21.