Yankees Fall in Power Rankings After Historic Losing Streak

The New York Yankees recently got over a six-game losing streak and avoided a series sweep in a game against the Los Angeles Angels, but it wasn't enough to save them from a drop in the power rankings.

Last week the Yankees were in position three, but fell to fifth this week after failing to produce on offense. In those six losses, three were shutouts, and the team went on a unique run-less streak for the first time since 1908.

Writing for ESPN, Jorge Castillo centered his overview of the fifth-place pinstripes on Aaron Judge's recent rut, and the failure to compensate from the rest of the batting lineup.

"Aaron Judge is human after all," Castillo wrote. "The two-time AL MVP -- and near lock for another one this year -- is 1-for-19 with 11 strikeouts and two intentional walks over the last five games to interrupt a historically unmatched start to the season and drop his batting average from .394 to .366.

"If he needed more evidence he's again the MVP front-runner (he doesn't), New York's offense, which led the majors in wRC+ and OPS through last Thursday, crashed during his rut. The Yankees scored four runs in those five games and were shut out in three consecutive games for the seventh time in franchise history. The 29-inning skid was their longest since September 2016. The Yankees go as Judge goes."

In his snippet on the Yankees for last week's rankings, Castillo shouted out the future logjam at designated hitter in the wake of Giancarlo Stanton's return to the lineup, which has since come to pass with an abundance of talent on offense. In the week since, however, that abundance of talent has failed to produce.

Still, the Yankees as an organization seem unconcerned. Despite sitting next to the 1908 Yankees for a brief moment in history, there is a general "these things happen" attitude to the team. With 162 games in a season, it makes sense to keep their heads down and get back to work.

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