And another perspective:
The Yankees are having a fine season.
But based on my observations, a high percentage of Yankee fans will consider the season a failure if it doesn't end in a championship.
I don't mean to be picking on you about the rest days thing. I'm just trying to make some general points about it. It might be a trivial thing to you, but there are others who make a big deal out of it.
It doesn't mean it was a good thing.
I remember 1978 and how the team fell apart down the stretch. Some of that might have been attributable to lack of rest.
The 2017 Astros had a rest days policy - World Champs.
The 2018 Red Sox had a rest days policy - World Champs.
The 2019 Yankees have a rest days policy - best record in MLB.
But it's always good fun to yuk it up at modern managers and the spreadsheet geeks telling them what to do.
The problem was that we had a crazy stretch of games after the All Star Break with no days off. The rest they got around the London series and All Star Break sort of wears off eventually...
'A game we had to win.'
Are there really any games that don't matter, other than the ones after you've clinched a specific playoff spot, or been eliminated?
No, there aren't.