After 46 games, the Yankees are exactly where you might expect: In mid-to-late May form

We've won four straight, after losing eight of nine. Our once marque catcher is hitting .125. We await the return of key players. Yeah, Yosemite is shaking, the West Coast is on fire, no-name weather systems are churning in the Gulf of Mexico, and if the world just survives 2020, it should consider itself lucky. 

But let's not forget: In the real time chronology of the Yankees, this isn't a true September. It's on or about May 24, the 19th day of Ramadan, National Brothers Day, a day when Ecuadorians remember the battle of Pinchincha, great name for a salsa band. And in this true timeline, the normal pennant race would merely be warming. 

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I direct your attention to Mr. Brett Gardner, seated in the corner, banging his bat on the courtroom ceiling. Thank you Mr. Gardner, you may sit down. This season, the beloved, hairless man known as "Gardy" has achieved exactly 18 hits in 100 at bats, for a paltry batting average of .180. Time for him to retire you say? I see several of you nodding. 

But but BUT... show the charts, Miss Bixley... if Mr. Gardner here were to go 4-for-4 tomorrow, his average would rise 31 points. Thirty one points! Can you believe it? We're sitting in mid-September, the season is winding down, and if Mr. Gardner here - you may stop banging the ceiling, please - goes four for four, he would be hitting .211. And then, if he goes four for four again - thank you Miss Bixley, you may sit down - then, the following day, he would be hitting - please stop banging the ceiling, sir - he would be hitting .240, two-forty, which for the Yankees is Rod Carew territory. PLEASE STOP! Excuse me. Where were we?

Wait. Someone mentioned Mr. Gary Sanchez, the Yankees' official 2020 Whipping Mule. If Gary goes four for four today, his average will jump by 25 points. Yes, I understand it will still be terrible. But even though it's September, we're seeing situations where every single base hit can bump a batting average by six to eight points. In one week, a hitter can go from a horror show to respectability. One week.

The pandemic shutdown has forced September judgments onto May timelines. As  the regular season ticks down, we see streaky players being cruelly defined by slow starts or routine slumps. Meanwhile, we must wonder if our saviors - for example, Luke Voit - could stay hot through July-August. (Certainly, if this were really May, Voit would have gone on the IL by now, so his bad foot could heal for summer. Instead, he's playing through it. There is no more time for injuries.)

Through the first 30 games, Gleyber Torres looked awful. Yesterday, he was batting .253. A four-for-four today, and he'd hit a respectable .282. 

I know what you're thinking: Jeeze, Dookie, weren't you the one who just last week was screaming bloody murder? WTF? You called for a winter tear down! I come to this site for a dose of doom and gloom. Now, look at what you've become: You're shilling for Gary Sanchez? WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU? WHAT DO THEY HAVE ON YOU? WHO GOT TO YOU? WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?

What happened? I'll tell you what happened. Four in a row, baby. Four in a fucking row. The Yankees needed a winning streak, and they got one. Maybe it was just playing Baltimore. Or maybe it's just the vagaries of real time in late May. But every spring, the Yankees blow cold for a week or two. Then they heat up.  

What's next? Who knows? But I do like the idea of playing Tampa in a best-of-three, right off the bat. The Rays have owned us all year, but it's hard to continually dominate a good team, and in their hearts, the Rays surely know this. The question: Are the Yankees a good team? Four in a row, baby. Hottest team in the AL. Today, make it five, and we could be the hottest in baseball. So long, Baltimore. Next up, the Blue Jays of Tonawanda.