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Yanks Keep Winnin’ / Still Dealin’?
By Frank Negron Jr. on July 27th, 2008 9:23 AM |
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Boy is my face red. Last week I wrote how the Yankees need more than luck to make the playoffs. Well, they haven’t lost since I wrote that article.
Since my post was written, the Yankees have been on a winning streak of 8 straight, they’ve made one trade that filled two big needs and it appears they are not done. Reports have the Yanks ready to acquire Jarrod Washburn from Seattle and this morning the Kansas City Star is reporting a potential deal with the Kansas City Royals that could bring Brain Bannister to the Bronx for Melky Cabrera.
Well, it appears the Yanks are going for it. Why wouldn’t they? They’re the Yankees. I didn’t sense a fight in this team and now they are red hot. The winning streak comes at a time where the Tampa Bay Rays have faltered a bit and the Red Sox are slip and sliding their way down the divison as well. The Yanks have won 13 of their last 16. They now trail the Wild Card leading Red Sox by one game.
While there is still about two months of baseball left and anything can happen, you still have to rub your eyes when you look at the AL East standings. The Rays are in first place and the Yanks are a season high 13 games over .500. Now consider some of these facts:
(Thanks to Peter Abraham for his always helpful info)
At the moment, the Yankees have 11 players on the roster who weren’t there on Opening Day. That’s not counting Andy Pettitte, who was on the DL for the opener but made a start on April 5.
So what happened to the original 2008 Yankees?
On the DL:Â Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Brian Bruney.
Demoted:Â Shelley Duncan, Ian Kennedy, Billy Traber.
Released:Â Morgan Ensberg, LaTroy Hawkins.
Demoted then traded:Â Ross Ohlendorf.
The only players who have been on the roster for all 103 games are: Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Jose Molina, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera. That’s seven players.
Don’t forget, Melky Cabrera and Kyle Farnsworth missed games because of suspension and Joba Chamberlain was on the bereavement list. A-Rod was on the DL, too.
I have to say Joe Girardi has done a great job keeping his team together. How much can the Yankees build off of this run? They have erased an inconsistent first half, answered critics for questioning the lack of “big” moves, and questions about the team’s status due to the rash of injuries that have hampered them.
I think I’m going to have to lay low on the predictions for awhile as I seem to always eat my words. Well, I’m glad for once it’s working in the Yanks favor. If the Yanks can close out the sweep tonight in Fenway, they would be in a tie with Boston for the Wild Card, have won 9 straight (all against Wild Card contending teams, ex: Oakland, Minnesota, Boston), and retool the team that is in position to go deep into the October night.
Now all that is needed is for the Rays to finally fall on their face. But I’ll leave the predictions for another time where I know I can’t go wrong.
There are currently 4 responses to “Yanks Keep Winnin’ / Still Dealin’?”
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Not to toot my own horn, but I guess I was right when I said I thought the Yanks may have turned a corner after sweeping that two-game set with the Rays.
The problem is predicting baseball itself. It’s hard to do and usually people jump the gun. The season is very long and there is hardly a time where one game or even one series, or even one week, have a profound effect on the outcome of the season. At certain times this season it looked like the Yankees had no chance, but here we are and they look like a lock to make the playoffs. Which I’m not predicting because if they go off on a 6 game loosing streak, which is entirely possible, then they’re right back to where they were at the start of July.
The moral: baseball is very long season, wait patiently.
I have waited patiently - for what? 13 years? - for the Yankees to miss the postseason. Patience hasn’t helped.
well if ur a mets fan, patience is an untapped resource