Game 113: Yankees (German) at Red Sox (Elvodia)

GO YANKEES (if they do the Basics =  Hit, Postive Base Running, Mgr. Properly, etc. etc. etc.).

... And not such a good morning for...

THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Yes, they didn't play last night, but the dog days of summer are here and they're hitting the New York Yankees hard. Since the All-Star Break, the Yankees are:

7-13 (tied for 23rd in MLB)

2-6 in games decided by one run (down from 19-11 prior to the break)

Scoring 4.7 runs per game (down from 5.4 before the break, which was best in MLB)

Pitching to a 4.36 team ERA (24th in MLB).

Are the Bronx Bombers just slogging through the summer, or are there bigger issues?

It's that final bullet point that's been a big issue, says MLB expert Mike Axisa.

Axisa:"The problem is obvious, right? New York's rotation has gone from being an elite home run prevention unit to nearly the worst in baseball.

Their walk rate is up a bit but still well below the MLB average (8.2 percent of batters faced), and the strikeout rate is unchanged.

Basically, the rotation is pitching like it did before, only with way more balls leaving the yard. ... Having a great rotation and then suddenly having an ineffective rotation is a surefire way to go from the sport's best record to playing .500 ball for two months."

This is a really good look into the four biggest reasons the Yankees have cooled off as summer has heated up, and whether they can turn things around.

As Mike points out, "it's important to notethey still have a 10-game lead in the AL East and also a 10-game lead for a Wild Card Series bye. At the start of this 22-25 stretch, they had a 12-game lead."

This weekend could provide a perfect turnaround opportunity against the struggling Red Sox.

Boston is running out of time to get into the playoff race. The Yankees could start their turnaround by pushing their arch rivals further out of things... or they could stay mired in their slump as the stretch run nears.

RBI double for Rizzo!