New York Yankees: All it takes is one more magical run to barrel roll into playoffs

The New York Yankees might be down, but they are far from out. Their lack of urgency is alarming, but all it takes is one magical run to propel them into the playoffs.

The New York Yankees are injured. As to not use that as an excuse, they are also playing poorly. Luckily for them, they are still sitting pretty atop the AL Wild Card.

However, just because the Yankees would still technically be hosting the Wild Card game if the season were to end today, does not mean that they would be ready to make a run in the playoffs.

The Yankees have Aaron Judge back to an extent. They will also be getting Aroldis Chapman back.

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But, injuries are not the reason the Yankees have been playing poorly and they are barely the reason the Yankees saw their once comfortable margin for the first wild-card slot rapidly dwindle. Great teams always overcome them.

Aaron Boone is acting like it is still March and is ignoring the fact that it is crunch time. Also, the bullpen is back to struggling.

In fact, it is even beginning to look like the bullpen was not the main focus of the trade deadline earlier this year, which it was.

And if not for Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, and a random burst from an out of prime Andrew McCutchen, the Yankees would not even be the first wild-card team anymore. They would have fallen well behind the Oakland A’s by now.

But, if it is not health that is going for them. And if it is not time that is on their side, then what is something going well for the Yankees?

There could be many answers.

However, like with any team in any sport, it only takes one. The Yankees just need one more winning streak. One more home series where their amazing offense can bail out horrible pitching.

One more week of games where Giancarlo Stanton is playing like the MVP. One more month where Andujar does more than be the best rookie in baseball.

The Yankees might not be able to sweep the Red Sox the in the six games left with them this year. They sure as heck have no chance to win the division.

However, the Yankees can still roll into the playoffs with more momentum than any team. The A’s have a much easier schedule than the Yanks the rest of the way, but that can be a disadvantage for the A’s. Not being challenged for a while might not be beneficial.

The Yankees, if they put up a fight and click on all cylinders with a schedule that sees them play the Red Sox, the thorn in their side Orioles, the new money ball Rays, and then Boston again, if they can come out of that with a resounding record, they will be golden.

The Yankees just need to hold onto the home game for the Wild Card game. If that game is not played in the Bronx it will doom trouble for a Yankees team that just struggled on the road.

But, all it takes is one. One more magical run where they look unbeatable. If they can do that, they will lock up the home game. They will also roll into the playoffs with a lot of momentum.

If they play hot vs the Red Sox to close out the season, there is no excuse to not put up a fight against them in a potential playoff series.

The Yanks cannot look past the A’s. They also cannot look straight into the playoffs as nothing is guaranteed quite yet.

However, if things look this dark now because they have been losing, things will only look bright if they start winning.

If all goes according to plan, Justus Sheffield will spark the bullpen and they will play well. If the aforementioned plan stays on course, the lineup will come to life when Judge returns.

With the New York Yankees, the one thing they can control, and the one thing they do have on their side, is the underrated fact that momentum goes a long way in sports.

With all the moving parts set to hop back on the train during crunch-time, no team can gain more momentum find new life going into October quite as the Yankees can.

It only takes one to do something magical. One one, one series win vs the Red Sox, one win vs the A’s in a playoff game.

That is all it takes. One more magical run by the Yankees can write the script for their 2018 season. One winning streak can turn this show from a drama into a success story.

No one is guaranteeing anything out of the Bronx. However, showing that this funk that they are in is just a fluke and not a sad reality will go a long way.

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It only takes one magical run to snowball into many more. The Yankees are sort of famous for magical postseason runs too.

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