Halfway through Alt-1921

 

A long weekend and an itch to play saw me sprint through the second quarter of the season pretty quickly. My pace was probably helped, ironically enough, by the frustrating nature of the first part of that second quarter. When we last checked in, the Yankees were 25-16 (a .610 pace) and 3.5 games behind the A's. They are currently 49-32 (.604) and 3 games back. So, it may seem like they more or less have been treading water, but it is not so!  They hit a very rough patch immediately after the last post which saw them in 4th place 8 games back after 49 games (a 2-6 stretch that left them at 27-22) and after 58 games they were 32-26 and in 4th place, 7.5 games back.  They've gone 17-6 since then to put them more or less where they were last time.  

The way they were losing those games during that 17-game stretch was a maddening reminder of Alt-1916. The pitchers would consistently give up 2-3 runs in the first inning, the Yankees would (often) battle back because their offense can't be held down, and then the relievers would blow it in the 8th or 9th. Sometimes, for variety, the starters would cough it up instead if I decided I couldn't trust the relievers. Thurston's rotation spot went to Dave Brown (who was lighting up Toronto), but Brown stunk and so the spot went to Jesse Barnes. Brown also stunk as a reliever, as did basically all relievers (except Caldwell, who I didn't use much for various reasons).  Brown is back in Toronto (and again lighting it up, as is Thurston).

Whether the pitching staff was just going through a collective slump or I've sorted out who's best in what role, I don't know. Offense is up all over the majors, and 3-4 run innings have been unfolding quickly rather than as a series of station-to-station events. Hendrix has been the hero of the staff, with Faber and Rixey dependable-ish. I may have been focusing too much on WAR for pitchers rather than things like ERA+, but the offense has often been able to save the day. 

In-universe, I've imagined what the reaction to all of this would have been. Gnashing of teeth among Yankees press and fans, presumably. But in the last few weeks, I can imagine the vibe might have changed. It is easy to think that A's fans and the Philadelphia press is nervously watching the Yankees closing ground on them inexorably. The Athletics have won 8 more games than their Pythag would suggest, while the Yankees have won two fewer. Whether that's seen as evidence of a Cinderella season for the A's or  that they're playing over their head may be a matter of optimism vs. pessimism for a fan...

The Athletics probably deserve their own post, but it won't be today. :)