Not so fast, Yankees fans

By Austin Amoroso

The Yankees are rolling. Winners of five in a row and 10 of 12, the Bronx Bombers are finally doing just that, hitting the bombs and putting the runs on the board that everyone expected them to all season long. During this five-game winning streak, the Yankees have notched 12 runs per game, including 17 and 21-run affairs against Tampa Bay over the weekend.

And it’s not just the offense that’s kicked into gear. The pitchers, from the top of the rotation to the bottom of the bullpen, have held opponents to just 3.6 runs over the last five games.

Robinson Cano, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui, and yes, even Johnny Damon (though to a lesser extent) have turned a corner and started hitting like, to quote John Sterling, the back of their baseball cards.

Yes, it’s finally good to be a Yankees fan. You finally, after a half a season of doubt and humiliation, watch the pre-game show not just wishing, but assuming they are going to find a way to win.

It’s nothing but hope and optimism for the Yanks now. Just 4.5 games back of Cleveland in the Wild Card (and 7.5 back of Boston in the division) it’s only a matter of time before the Yankees overtake the Indians and happily accept the Wild Card berth and a spot in the post-season.

Right? Well, not so fast Yankees fans.

They’ve been here before when nothing could go wrong for them, when it wasn’t a question of if, but how they would win. And it was only a month ago.

After beating Toronto to close the month of June, the Yankees went on to win series against Boston, the White Sox, Pittsburgh, Arizona and the Mets, winning nine in a row and 14 of 17 to bring their record to 35-32 and finally putting .500 in the rear view mirror.

But then they reverted to their old, losing ways. In two ugly road series against NL cellar-dwellers Colorado and San Francisco, the Yankees lost five of six games. And then they returned to face AL teams Baltimore and Oakland, losing four of five and left wallowing in their own self pity with a record back below .500 at 37-41.

Yes they’ve certainly been on a roll since then, but that west coast road trip, and two series against Oakland and Baltimore, is just a reminder that nothing is certain. They’ve won 16 of 21, including six (assuming they win one of the next two against Kansas City) straight series, since waving goodbye to Oakland, and with series against Baltimore, Chicago and Kansas City, the winning should continue.

But you only have to look back to the last time they were on a streak like this to realize it can all go down the drain, and go down pretty quickly.