Yankees in trouble if inadequate first half gets benefit of grading on curve

Aaron Boone graded his team as “incomplete” for the first half. Inadequate would be more accurate. Not good enough for sure. 

As the Yankee manager is wont to note — and did again Sunday — “all the hopes and dreams are right there and still exist for us.” Indeed. The Yankees are not the Rockies or White Sox. They have enough talent in a watered-down American League that winning a second straight pennant is no pipe dream. 

It also is not happening if the Yankees of the past seven weeks linger. The Yankees, after all, are not judged against the Rockies and White Sox. They are judged against their history, payroll and expectations. And how they have performed, since late May generally and mid-June specifically, will make reaching the playoffs challenging, regardless of how diminished the league might be. 

Because the left side of their infield is a disaster. Their rotation and homer-challenged bullpen are both depth challenged. Their homer-dependent offense can score 10 or zero, which is how the Yanks could have the majors’ second-best run differential and be so underperforming it.