I will admit that there’s a tendency to give in when things look as bleak as they did last month. We’re just fans, after all, and since we’ve lived through so many disastrous Junes only to emerge blinking into July, instinctively averting our eyes from the truth of the standings, it’s understandable that so many of us choose darkness. When the momentum begins going in the wrong direction, it’s no surprise that some give up hope.

How bad has it been? After three straight mediocre Junes, the Pinstripes seemed poised to buck the trend as they started out last month 9-4, but a late slump saw them finish 12-14. Their seven-game losing streak that ended the month and bled into July was historically bad. During those seven games they scored just seventeen runs while allowing seventeen unearned runs, a feat accomplished just once before in baseball history. Widely considered the best offense in baseball when fully healthy, the Yankees scored just 110 runs in June, good for 21st out of 30 teams. When you look at some of the individual numbers, the team struggles aren’t surprising. Here are the six players who played in at least 24 of the 26 games with 75 or more at bats during June.

Aside from Goldschmidt, those numbers are obviously troubling, but there’s even a concern about Goldschmidt. He’s hitless in his last seven games, an 0-24 stretch that roughly matched the losing streak and has seen his batting average drop almost thirty points.

But before you give up on things completely, consider that during the last week of June six of the ten players who started the season opener (Max Fried; Austin Wells; Jazz Chisholm, Jr; Ryan McMahon; Trent Grisham; Aaron Judge; and Giancarlo Stanton) were not available. And there was more bad injury news as Carlos Rodón joined Fried on the injured list, and a potential bullpen addition, young phenom Carlos Lagrange, was shut down, making his expected summer call-up to the Yankees unlikely.

What I’m saying is that things really couldn’t have been worse, and it’s only because the Tampa Bay Rays are currently riding a nine-game winning streak that the Yankees have fallen to a season-worst four games out of first place. Both of these teams, I’d imagine, will revert to what’s expected as the Rays’ luck will run out (take a look at their run differential) and the Yankee will get healthy. Trent Grisham announced his return with a first-inning home run as the Yankees finally snapped their losing streak, and other pieces aren’t far behind. Aaron Judge, after all, is still waiting in the wings.

As for June, nothing we can say can change anything now, so I prefer to look towards July. Things will get better.

[Photo courtesy of the author.]