The boys in pinstripes are on a roll and looking to finish the season playoff bound after overcoming a horrid first half of the season.
They may have struggled all year but the New York Yankees are still looking playoff bound. This has probably been one of the best stories of the year, in which the Yanks were under .500 before the All Star Break not even a month ago. Now they are a half game back of the wild card slot and only 6 games behind the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.
So how did they do it? Well it wasn't the mid-season acquisition of future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens. At this point in the season, his 23rd, only has a record of 3-5 with a 4.23 E.R.A. and a low strikeout total.
The Yankees have simply done it by being persistent. They are the most loved and the most hated team in American sports and are also the biggest story from week to week. In June, it seemed that they were condemned, that their season was over. It seemed as though Joe Torre, the Yankees Manager, may have been fired at seasons end. Now it seems that they will probably win out the AL Wildcard slot and make yet another run at the World Series.
So how did they do it? Robinson Cano, the Yankees 2nd Baseman, has raised his batting average over 30 points since the All Star Break. Bobby Abreu, the starting Right Fielder, has raised his batting average 40 points since July 1st. Hideki Matsui, Yankees Outfielder, has raised his batting average 21 points since the All Star Break and has hit 11 homeruns during that time span. And utility Out Fielder Melky Cabrera has raised his batting average 33 points since July 1st.
Forget about Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, they have been consistent throughout the year. But even when they are hitting the day light out of pitches, the Yankees were struggling. Though these three kept them in several games and won several, three ball players cannot win games consistently by themselves.
In the beginning of the season, the Yankees had lost almost all of their starting pitchers to injury. Making matters worse, the ones that weren't injured were getting hammered. Now Chien-Ming Wang is 7-1 in his last ten starts and the Yankees bullpen have been holding and saving leads since the All Star Break, something they had struggled with earlier on.
So the Yankees are now riding a four game winning streak and seem to have the momentum to carry them into the playoffs. Even with all of the struggles, the ups and downs, it is still hard to imagine that the New York Yankees aren't a slight favorite to win the big game.
