Now we’ve restarted. As part of our commitment, we are going to resume posting on the old site (.net not .com) and right here on Facebook. Once the new site is ready, we can all start anew. There will be Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Hopefully, the old staff will return in full as well. That’s the administrative side of things.
Baseball hasn’t changed a whole lot since we left off, at least not in the AL East. Sure the Yankees leapfrogged Tampa and are indisputably the best team in baseball at the moment. And it’s true the Sox lost half their team to injuries and other excuses. Regardless, the Yankees are in first, the Rays are the wildcard leaders and the Red Sox would have to do something never done before to win a division, and play to their complete potential to clinch a wildcard. Health has a funny way of bringing a team together, so it’s not impossible.
It’s an exciting time to return to the landscape. The trade deadline is at the end of the week and while the Yankees would love to add a starter like Ted Lilly (with Hughes’ innings limit, Burnett’s Borderline Personality Disorder, and Pettitte’s current injury presenting a need for depth), a reliever like Joakim Soria (with Joba’s ineffectiveness, Park’s desire to make me hate him more than any Yankee since Wilson Betemit and injuries to Aceves and Marte), or a bat off the bench like Ty Wigginton (with Pena’s specialty for defense, and the other player’s relative inexperience and lack of “pop”), none of these moves are necessities to make the playoffs or for a deep run into October.
New York has scored just three runs less than last season through 97 games when they had huge years from Damon and Matsui (how are they doing now, by the way?) and despite largely disappointing production from Granderson and Johnson (the predecessors). However, the Bombers have pitched significantly better leading to a run differential better than any team in baseball and superior to that of the ’09 effort to date.
Does that mean it’s smooth sailing from here on out? Certainly not. As I mentioned, without the removal of Chan Ho Park from Yankee Stadium, the Bronx, the tri-state and hopefully, America, New York is bound to lose some games it shouldn’t. If Granderson doesn’t remember how to swing and run, than the Yankees will have to hope Jeter, Teixiera and A-Rod don’t go through any dry spells in the second half. One more injury to the rotation and there will be panic mode, especially if that injury occurs after July 31st and Pettitte suffers a setback.
The Yankees are a complete team, but they are not invincible. They could use an arm in the bullpen and a role player. A bad break here and there and teams like the Rays can make it hurt in a hurry. Bringing a “B” game could make teams like Texas or LA relevant quickly, especially if they continue fleecing other west teams while Brian Cashman gets black-listed.
That’s why they play the games. Now S and P is out of the caves and back in time to watch “The Clinch”.
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