State of the Yankees

It's almost as if each collective Yankees player looks in the mirror the first game back from the All-Star Break, giggles at himself and then stammers, "time to win." Robinson Cano? Six hits in the two games back where he now allows himself to become a .300 hitter. Alex Rodriguez? He took a five at-bat break yesterday but came back with three hits and a homerun in the opener with Oakland. Jeter has been getting on base early on, Damon is soon to come back, the rotation has combined for 12 innings of two run baseball and the team ERA has dropped a full run since Joba joined the starters.

Remember the eighth inning that couldn't be filled? Kyle Farnsworth has barely given up a baserunner in his last eight innings, his ERA has dropped a run since Joba started and Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez have been solid. In fact, Ramirez has not given up a base hit in nine innings. In case there was any doubt as to how dominant the Yankees bullpen has been, David Robertson has given up one run since his debut-a span of 12 innings. Dan Giese is an ideal long man and Mariano Rivera continues to be perfect in save situations; just don't allow him to pitch in a tie game. In case there are still worries, Brian Bruney should be coming back soon for good measure.

So that leaves us with the offense. Will it straighten out? That answer takes time, I displayed the stats and at the end of July will probably state them again, but for now it is still a little uneasy of a situation. This team simply does not step on the opposition's throat when they need to. On the bright side, the bullpen is so good that if the offense has a lead after six innings, the game is virtually over. We haven't seen a one loss season after the sixth inning since the 1996 Yankees and we know how that turned out.

So what's all the doubt and the panic for? The Yankees sit four games behind the Red Sox, who have stumbled against an Anaheim team with the league's best record. New York is 5.5 behind Tampa, but who knows when they run into another long losing streak?

The Yankees were built for a second half, they are assembled like Japanese cars, the value comes after mileage, not out of the gate. Is the engine strong enough to compensate? It's yet to be determined, but rest assured, I feel this team is one starter away from being built for an unexpected deep run in the postseason. Had Chien-Ming Wang stayed healthy, even Steve Phillips would have to wonder how dangerous the Yankees could be. It has been two games, and for a team where sustaining excellence has been their weakness, let's give it until August 14th. The brutal opening to the post ASB existence involves: Oakland, Minnesota, Boston, Baltimore, Anaheim, Texas, and then Anaheim and Minnesota again. In 24 games, in the second half of the year, with the team in striking distance against difficult opposition, this is a run that could mean the season. Above .500 is a necessity, an impressive record (14-10 maybe) would go a long way.

• I will be out of service until Monday with some family situations to attend to, hopefully we can get a guest blogger to fill the time where Yankees fans miss me terribly. Again, if anybody is interested in being a Yankees guest blogger (competent, literate, and a Yankees fan to qualify) e-mail me (Yankeevmm@yahoo.com) so we can get some sort of roster going.