OK, time to explain the Yankees

[weams]

Overall, I don't believe that the Yankees have been much like the Orioles this season, particularly over the last 2 months.

Two months ago, the Yankees were 2 games above .500 at 31-29.

52 games later, they have gone 27-25, and are still only slightly above .500 at 58-54.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/2014-schedule-scores.shtml

The Orioles, on the other hand, were also 31-29 two months ago.

In their 52 games since then, the they have gone 33-19, and well above .500 at 64-48.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2014-schedule-scores.shtml

Thornton has a very good E.R.A. and W.H.I.P. this season, but he had only pitched a grand total of 24.67 innings for the Yankees before they waived him.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/5650/matt-thornton

I don't think that the Thornton factor is particularly significant in the overall plight of the two teams (the Orioles and the Yankees) this season.

Yeah, I am with you on this. I can only assume that the Yankees did not value that 38 year old lefty like the Nats did. They better get the use out of him this year.

[bpilktree]

They maybe moving Capuona to the pen so that may make some sense. They have no other lefties in thepen besides Thorton and Huff and Huff has been bad so you would think they want atleast one lefty that is pitching well out there. I maybe off but for some reason I think I remember thorton and Giardi having some issues this season about how he was using him out of the pen.

Huff actually has been pretty good since joining the Yanksbut he still has a very high WHIP and righties hit him very well.

[JR Oriole]

The Yankees aren't good, but their inherent "Yankeeness" has carried them enough to keep them viable, a month of playing last place teams will help do that too.

"Yankeeness" is a great word, because everybody here understands exactly what it means. Many teams start to feel some pressure and it actually hinders their performance....the Yankees feel pressure and they perform better. There is no way, given how the last two months played out, that the 2012 Orioles should have been a wild card. We played GREAT for two months, and the Yankees did exactly what they needed to do to finish ahead of us. This is why I never write them off....they don't fold like other teams...ever. They wait for opponents to feel pressure and they pounce. Brett Gardner is a perfect example of someone who has "Yankeeness"....guy would be a scrub on about 25 other teams, but on that team, he is super clutch and feared.

[SilentJames]

"Yankeeness" is a great word, because everybody here understands exactly what it means. Many teams start to feel some pressure and it actually hinders their performance....the Yankees feel pressure and they perform better. There is no way, given how the last two months played out, that the 2012 Orioles should have been a wild card. We played GREAT for two months, and the Yankees did exactly what they needed to do to finish ahead of us. This is why I never write them off....they don't fold like other teams...ever. They wait for opponents to feel pressure and they pounce. Brett Gardner is a perfect example of someone who has "Yankeeness"....guy would be a scrub on about 25 other teams, but on that team, he is super clutch and feared.

Its the pinstripes man. Its the history. They are never out of it, players put on that uniform and they feel a little extra unfff that propels them. They have been a mediocre team at best all year. They have hobbled along playing .500 ball since the end of may. I don't know if they will have the guns to "pounce" this year. But the second tier of the AL is pretty weak and no one right now seems to be willing to take it.

the Yanks road to the playoffs goes through us and Toronto. They need to win the series against the Orioles and the Jays for them to have a chance. they need to beat the teams directly in front of them.

[JR Oriole]

the Yanks road to the playoffs goes through us and Toronto. They need to win the series against the Orioles and the Jays for them to have a chance. they need to beat the teams directly in front of them.

I can't speak for how the Yankees will fare against Toronto, but we have a lot of history that seems to show that we struggle against them in series played later in the season....especially (ironically) when the games are played at home. We are 6-3 against them so far this year, but I feel like we have done that a lot in recent memory and still found a way to lose the season series against them. Last year, we were 9-7 against them with three more head to head games in Camden Yards....only 1 win would have won us the season series for the first time since 1997....and we lost all 3.

We need to bury a lot of bad history and put the nail in that team. I will be greedy....I want to win the division AND beat the Yankees more times this year than they beat us.

[HoustonOrioleFan]

Its the pinstripes man. Its the history. They are never out of it, players put on that uniform and they feel a little extra unfff that propels them. They have been a mediocre team at best all year. They have hobbled along playing .500 ball since the end of may. I don't know if they will have the guns to "pounce" this year. But the second tier of the AL is pretty weak and no one right now seems to be willing to take it.

the Yanks road to the playoffs goes through us and Toronto. They need to win the series against the Orioles and the Jays for them to have a chance. they need to beat the teams directly in front of them.

Nah, it's the money and always the money with them....their $25 mil, steroids third baseman is out and they get Headley and Prado....then they pick up Drew's $12+ mil salary for the rest of the season...how many teams can afford this? They're one of the few teams that can be a salary dump for teams out of contention...another group of hired assassins...

[TouchemAll]

Man I agree seems like everybody on here at times wants to write them off NOT ME JMHO the Blue Jays are not really the guys I am really watching it's them damn guys in the pin stripes.

The only credit I give the skanks is they never seem to lose their swagger, or the deep $$$ pockets.

[Malike]

[webbrick2010]

Unless the Orioles incurr an injury to

1. Machado

2. Jones

3. Hardy

4a,b,c Tillman, Chen, Norris

they will bury the Yankees and Blue Jays, and win the division by > 10 games

[Palmoripken]

27 World Series! The most annoying thing I got from Yankees fans is "Well your team could do what we do if they just spend money." The Yankees can get away with a lot of bad contracts because they're the Yankees. Of course, point that out and you get accused of just hating New York and freedom. Seriously Yankees fans are the worst. Even worse than Red Sox fans since RS fans can at least understand suffering. Suffering to a

Yankees fan is winning the pennant but losing the WS.

[JR Oriole]

The only credit I give the skanks is they never seem to lose their swagger, or the deep $$$ pockets.

Yes the $$$ pockets matter, but it is that swagger....that belief that they will come through when it really matters....and you won't.

How many times in the Jeter Era have they waited until late in games to kill us? 2012 alone, they were the only team in the majors to beat us in extra innings....and they did it 3 times.

[Tx Oriole]

You don't think that the Yankees trading one of their best lefthanded relievers affects the Orioles? What the heck were threads about Price being traded doing on O's talk?

I don't worry about the Yankees anymore than I do other teams. I don't care who

they add or for what reasons. I really believe this is the year of the O's. As for

your question. Maybe it is the luxury tax.

[TouchemAll]

MY annual rally cry!

If it's not the O's ANYBODY BUT THE YANKEES!

[Number5]

[JohnnyEutaw]

"Yankeeness" is a great word, because everybody here understands exactly what it means. Many teams start to feel some pressure and it actually hinders their performance....the Yankees feel pressure and they perform better. There is no way, given how the last two months played out, that the 2012 Orioles should have been a wild card. We played GREAT for two months, and the Yankees did exactly what they needed to do to finish ahead of us. This is why I never write them off....they don't fold like other teams...ever. They wait for opponents to feel pressure and they pounce. Brett Gardner is a perfect example of someone who has "Yankeeness"....guy would be a scrub on about 25 other teams, but on that team, he is super clutch and feared.

Gardner is a talented player who would start for most teams and put up solid numbers. He is a 20/20 type guy who plays good defense. There is room for that anywhere.

The Yankees win because they spend a ton of money. Yes, they appear to be clutch, but that is easy when you have a monopoly on the best veteran players in the game. Guys like Jeter and Rivera (before he retired) breed confidence in the other guys on the team. They know they always have the trump card. Conversely, guys like Jeter and Rivera have the opposite effect on opposing teams. They cause opponents to press, which increases likelihood for mistakes.

When Rivera gone and Jeter on the way out, I think we will see a decline in "Yankeeness" in the coming years.