There hasn’t been this much talk around the Yankees about being convicted since Billy Martin piped up at O’Hare Airport 41 years ago this month.

But there, in an entirely different context, was J.A. Happ throwing around that “C” word at Yankee Stadium on Saturday following his and his team’s 2-1 defeat to the Blue Jays. No one is going to be forced to resign this time as a result.

“I’m trying to keep my conviction on every pitch,” Happ said. “Some games I had conviction on some pitches, but not on every one. I have to stay convicted.

“I would say this was one of my best games this year regarding execution and conviction.”

Yikes, and pardon me, but the 36-year-old lefty’s, uh, conviction in tossing a solid 5¹/₃ innings against Toronto is anything but a pitching death sentence. Rather, it augers well for his chance of being in a postseason rotation who at this moment could be named Masahiro Tanaka and the Mysterians.

You’ve heard, of course, of the PTBNL — Player to be Named Later — in trades. The Yankees are looking at a playoff rotation of PTBNL — Pitcher(s) to be Named Later. Or even, PTBAL — Pitcher(s) to be Acquired Later. Last year, Happ was a pre-deadline acquisition and in fact started Game 1 against the Red Sox in the divisional round. This year, Happ is trying to maintain a hold on his spot while general manager Brian Cashman makes goo-goo eyes at potential replacements across the continent.

“It was exciting to see,” Manager Aaron Boone said of Happ’s second consecutive impressive performance after weeks wandering in wasteland. “He’s really starting to build momentum.”

Happ, who entered with a 5.02 ERA, the 10th-highest OPS against and the ninth-highest slugging average against among qualified starters, was in command throughout, limiting the Jays to five hits while inducing multiple weak, defensive swings in striking out five and walking just one. He was in command in the sixth inning, too, allowing two well-placed singles that found holes in the shift before he was replaced by Adam Ottavino.

The starting pitcher, off a July 4 no-decision at Tampa Bay in which he allowed one run on three hits in 5¹/₃ innings, did not go quickly into the late afternoon when Boone came to get him. Indeed, Happ attempted to plead his case. Convicted! Well, removed from the game with runners at first and second.

“I was hoping we could have a conversation before he made his decision,” Happ said. “But Otto a lot more often that not, finds his way out [of trouble].”

This time, Ottavino could not, allowing a two-out dunk single in front of right fielder Aaron Judge that enabled both runners to come in following a double steal. That, shockingly, was the ballgame, the Yankees blanked until two were down in the ninth inning.

“We’ll take our chances,” Happ said about the prospects of winning games while allowing a sum of two runs.

Boone, too, will take his chances long-term with a pitcher determined to remain on the mound even if the manager has decided otherwise. He valued Happ’s effort to appeal.

“He wanted to stay in, which is what I love about Jay, especially when he’s throwing the ball well,” Boone said. “He wanted to finish it off, and I always appreciate my guys that do that but I just felt like that inning was going to be the end for him, anyway and we had it set up for Otto with two righties.

“It just didn’t work out, but that’s just the competitor [in Happ] wanting to stay out there.”

The Yankees were held homerless for the second consecutive game. It is only the third time they’ve gone into that deep of a drought and the first time since going three straight from May 8-10. They’re 58-32 overall and maintained a 6 ¹/₂- game bulge on the second-place Rays (eight on the loss side) pending their nightcap of a doubleheader, but the Yankees are just 5-9 when they fail to go yard and, perhaps more disturbingly, 0-14 when scoring two or fewer runs.

Even in this Juiced Bar of a season, teams do have to sprinkle a couple of 2-1 or 2-0 victories in there, correct? But more to the moment, the vulnerable rotation produced a good one Saturday. Happ talked about how his troubles this season caused him to “try and place the ball instead of throwing it with conviction.”

Forty-one years later, that word is big around the Yankees, again.