Anthony Rizzo understands the importance of playing for the New York Yankees. He knows the fan base is among the most demanding in the sport, and they don’t like to settle for seasons like 2021, with an early playoffs exit.
It’s crucial to get off to a good start, especially for a team like the Yankees. If the team loses too many games in the early going, they could find themselves in a very deep hole, and getting out is not always easy. Losses in April and May could be costly, and Rizzo knows that.
“You can’t win a World Series in April and May, but you sure can lose one and put yourself out of it. Getting off to a good start is the most important thing in establishing that confidence and that kind of swagger that teams develop throughout the year,” Rizzo said to Max Goodman of SI.com.
You just can’t win the World Series without making the playoffs first. Several things would have to go wrong for the Yankees to miss October baseball, with the expanded postseason to 12 teams (six per league). However, in the tough AL East landscape, winning a lot of games in the first two months of the season is awfully important.
The Yankees are in a really tough division
The Toronto Blue Jays are looking very much improved, and may be the best team of the AL East division. The Tampa Bay Rays are down Tyler Glasnow, but remain an extremely competitive ballclub and finished eight games ahead of the Yankees last year.
The Yankees are quite comparable with the Boston Red Sox, especially since they added shortstop Trevor Story. But they will be without ace Chris Sale for a while and that will hurt them in the standings.
For the Yankees, the keys to the season will be staying consistent month-to-month and win a lot of games in the early going to set the tone like Rizzo says. It’s a very competitive division, and they could finish fourth in a worst-case scenario, jeopardizing their playoff chances.