YES Network.com

When the Yankees gazed at their schedule last week and noticed that they had six games with the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays, they realized they had a superb opportunity to silence two wobbly teams and strengthen their lead in the American League East. It is politically correct for the superior team to say that the inferior team could win on any given day. But, in sports, politically correct isn’t always correct.

So what happened in those six winnable games? The Yankees played some uninspired baseball and went 3-3 against two struggling teams. After winning two of three against the Indians, the Yankees allowed the Jays to swipe two of three games from them at Yankee Stadium. Included in that series was an 8-5 loss on Wednesday in which CC Sabathia lost two leads and

As the Yankees played sluggishly in April and most of May, Brian Cashman waited. Baseball is a long season. Since Cashman is in his 15^th season as the general manager, he could easily recite seasons in which very good Yankee teams sputtered or performed unevenly. That happens.

Even as the starting rotation fizzled and even as the Yankees failed to produce with runners in scoring position, Cashman was patient. He was confident in these Yankees, a message he emphasized during a team meeting on May 22. Cashman told the players he didn’t meet with them because he was panicking, but to remind them that the solutions to the team’s problems were already in the clubhouse.

While Cashman has declined to discuss the meeting, the Yankees have been much better since Cashman and Manager