We are almost three months into the 2022 regular season. The sample sizes are no longer small, but there is still a lot -- A LOT -- of season to play, and plenty of teams are still vying for a spot in the new 12-team postseason format.
Throughout the season the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed Aaron Judge's home run pace. This week we'll try to predict how many games the Yankees -- currently playing at a 119-win pace -- will win this season.
Will the Yankees win 116 games this season?
R.J. Anderson: I don't think so. The Yankees are off to a heck of a start -- one that is nearly unmatched since the last round of expansion -- but it's always difficult to maintain this pace over 162 games because of injuries, slumps, and other unexpected occurrences. For as much as I'd like to see them set the record for the most wins in a season -- it would be fun -- you always have to bet against the likelihood of these things.
Mike Axisa: I don't think so. It's a huge number, and as good as the Yankees have been this season, they're only barely keeping up with that pace now. The AL East is extremely tough (even the Orioles are improved and no longer a pushover) and I don't think the Yankees are prioritizing the wins record either. Their goal is winning the World Series, and once they clinch all they can clinch, they'll take their foot off the gas and rest players in September. There's no shame in only winning, say, 105-110 games. I like seeing records broken and winning 117 games would be very cool. I just don't see it happening.
Dayn Perry: Gotta say no. As impressive as their current record is, that's going to be difficult to sustain. On another level, they've been lucky by a couple of games on the level of run differential, and if you look at the BaseRuns system available at FanGraphs, then they've been lucky by five or so games. They're an excellent team by any standard, but a correction could happen at some point.
Matt Snyder: Absolutely all logic here says no. They aren't as good as the record says they are. They recently had a slight backslide -- and it should've been worse -- while the rest of the division makes it the best division in baseball. That means the remaining schedule isn't friendly. Aaron Judge might be due an injury, too.
But you know what? It isn't very fun if all four of us say no. I'll be the guy who says it. They've been above the 116-pace here pretty steadily for weeks. And while things have been going well, as pointed out above, it's not like everything has been perfect. They've already had plenty of injury adversity and they've dealt with it like champs. They'll shore up any even slight weak spots at the trade deadline, too. Put me down for 116 exactly.
