When first the Orioles and then the New York Yankees suffered through an early season swoon, it was inevitable that the form reversal would be traced to the fact both teams had to put their closers on the disabled list -- when it fact one had nothing to do with the other in either case.
It was more coincidence than anything that the Orioles' Zach Britton and the Yankees' Aroldis Chapman went on the disabled list roughly the same time their teams hit the skids, but you might have a hard time convincing anybody that was the case. Especially with the Orioles, who seemed to hit a pothole while the Yankees merely encountered a speed bump.
Both teams were flirting with a .700 success rate -- the Yankees won 21 of their first 30 games while the Orioles went 22-10 -- a blistering pace that was as astounding as it was unsustainable. Sooner or later would come the inevitable course correction.
