You know you’ve got a pretty good team when a bunch of your players are underachieving and yet you still have the best record in baseball.

That was true of the Yankees as recently as a couple of weeks ago, when the Bronx Bombers seemed to be struck in neutral and unable to push the Red Sox out of the AL East race. That certainly has changed, as the Yankees have a majors-best seven-game winning streak going and now are a whopping 35 games above .500 with 27 games left on the schedule.

photo credit: kidsire

Robinson Cano and the Yankees are peaking at the right time of year.

The Yankees have done a number on the White Sox, A’s, and now the Blue Jays during this streak. They have outscored the opposition by almost two to one during this stretch. Everything is going right: When they gave up nine runs to the White Sox last week, they scored 12. When they only managed to score two the next day, they only gave up one.

If you’re not a Yankee fan—and believe me, I’m not—what’s scary here is that the Yankees have amassed a terrific record despite some off years by key players. A-Rod is hitting .265. Curtis Granderson is at .249. Derek Jeter has hit all of .265. Lance Berkman has been a non-factor since coming over from the NL. Likewise, A.J. Burnett has been generally awful in the starting rotation. Javier Vazquez has not been much better, and Joba Chamberlain was a bust in the set-up role.

How have the Yankees overcome all this mediocrity? Robinson Cano is having an MVP contender year. Nick Swisher is having a career year. Mark Teixeira has rebounded after a terrible start. C.C. Sabathia has had hefty year to match his hefty contract and weight. Some young pitchers have come through in the pinch.

All I can say is that if all of this year’s playoff teams play their best, no one is going to beat the Yankees.

This weekend there are several series that could impact races for pennants.   Some have a more outside impact, while others could directly enhance or derail a team’s chances of getting to the post season.

Yankees/Blue Jays – Not that the Jays have any shot at the post season, but some losses by the Yankees could put them back in a tie with the Rays or worse a couple of games down after this weekend.  The Rays have the Orioles this weekend and as we all know games against Baltimore are not a gimme anymore.  I think the Yankees/Jays series could prove to be the more telling of the two.

Braves/Marlins – This series could directly affect the Braves post season chances.  They struggled with the Marlins at home just a few days ago and now they have to face them in Florida.  A few losses here and the Phillies who are now only two games back could catch up with ease.  The Phillies get the Brewers this weekend and their bats seem to be heating up as evidenced by the 12 runs they put up on the Rockies on Thursday night.  The Braves series is a must win if they want to hold on to their division lead.

White Sox/Red Sox – The battle of the Sox could affect both teams playoff chances.  The White Sox more so as the Red Sox have a lot of ground to make up and little time.  The White Sox, however are in the thick of things in the AL Central.  A series win over the Red Sox would put them in great position to make a run at the Twins for the division title.  And the Twins have to face the red hot Rangers this weekend.  Things could do an almost total flip flop if the Sox win and the Twins lose.

Rockies/Padres – The Rockies are still fighting to get into the post season.  They are now only 6.5 back in the WC standings.  The Padres have been on a losing streak a mile wide of late and the Rockies may have just hit them at the right time.  The Giants get to face division rivals the Dodgers this weekend.  I think these series could come out with the Rockies taking 2 and the Giants losing 2.  It could certainly shift things around slightly in the NL West.

Reds/Cardinals – And the BIG series of the weekend is of course the Reds and Cardinals.  The Reds are still on a smoking hot run in the NL Central.  They are now 8 games ahead of the Cards and have won 4 in a row.  The Cards on the other hand have lost 5 in a row to subpar teams.  The Cards are 2-8 for their last 10 while the Reds are 7-3.  If the Reds take the weekend series, the Cards will be all but finished in the NL Central.  The series win would put the Cards out of contention in my book and the only way back in would be a Reds collapse and I don’t see that happening this season.

It’s a big weekend for baseball.  Many things could change and time is running short.  It’s definitely what’s important now.

© photo credit: Jeffrey Beall

Deborah Horton Writing

There is approximately 1 month and 2 weeks until the end of the regular season of baseball.  There are 12 teams left in contention.  Only 12.  One dozen trying to make it to the post season.

AL East – Yankees are on top of the Rays by 1 game.  The Rays had a chance to tie with the Yankees as they lost to the Mariners Friday night, but couldn’t do it.  The Red Sox are still hanging around at 6.5 games out, but suffered yet another injury blow as the just returned Pedroia was placed back on the DL with a sore foot.  Unless the Red Sox can put together some series wins, this is a fight between the Yankees and Rays.

AL Central – The Twins have taken control of the top spot at 4.5 games over the White Sox.  The Twins are 8-2 for their last 10 and the White Sox are 3-7.  The Twins definitely have the momentum currently, but this will be a fight to the finish.

AL West – The Rangers have this division all but sewn up even with the time left in the season.  They are 7 games over the A’s.  They continue to win, hit well, and pitch very well.  It will be hard for any team in the West to make a dent in the Rangers run to the playoffs.

NL East – The Braves and Phillies continue to battle it out for the top spot.  The Braves are currently 2.5 games up but the Phillies are getting healthier by the day and their pitching is getting hotter.  The Braves picked up Derrek Lee in hopes of bolstering their bats for the run to the post season.  The Braves are 8-2 for their last 10 and the Phillies are 7-3.  This race couldn’t be any tighter.

NL Central – The Reds are ridiculous good.  They are now 4.5 games ahead of the Cards.  The Reds have won 7 games in a row.  The Cards have lost 5 in a row.  The Reds are 7-3 for their last 10 while the cards are 4-6.  The Cards are the real deal this year.  They have all the tools to make it deep into the post season.

NL West – The Padres are still on top by 5 games over the Giants.  The Pads are 8-2 for their last 10 and the Giants are 5-5.  The Padres are just quietly going about their business and taking care of business.  The Giants have a chance to move closer, but time is running out.

Here are some predictions – AL Division winners – Rays, Twins, Rangers.  AL Wildcard – Yankees.  NL Division Winners – Braves, Reds, Padres.  Wildcard- Phillies.  In a month and approximately 2 weeks, we will find out if I’m right.

By all rights, the Red Sox should be dead in the water right now. At a time when they needed to go on a tear, they instead have gone just .500 in their last ten games, including a disappointing split last weekend against the disheveled Indians.

Already trailing by six games in the standings, such a so-so showing should have buried them for good, given that they play in the most competitive division in baseball. Instead, the Yankees have also produced a 5-5 record, while the Rays are 3-7 in their last ten. All of which means that the Sox remain just six games out of the division lead and now are only four games behind in the wild card race.

photo credit: Eric Kilby

Although the contenders have stumbled ahead of them, don’t count on the Red Sox producing any postseason merriment on Yawkey Way come October.

All of this is somewhat mystifying. Sure, the Rays are without a couple of good starting pitchers, but they have ample depth to replace that. With a couple of exceptions, though, they’ve struggled to muster much offense and lost some close games. And on the day that they managed to score 11 runs, they gave up 17 in the highest-scoring major league game of the season.

The Yankees have had some problems in the bullpen, as no one seems to be a great set-up guy for Mariano Rivera right now. A.J. Burnett has been a definite disappointment in the rotation, and A-Rod is not having the kind of MVP year one would ordinarily expect.

Still, I continue to maintain that the Red Sox hopes of postseason play are very slim. Dustin Pedroia starts a rehab stint in Pawtucket today, and that sounds promising. Still, I just think that the Yankees and Rays will overcome their recent struggles and get hot again. The Sox should keep it interesting and may hang until the last couple weeks of the season, but I can’t predict that there will be any playoff games on Yawkey Way come October.

Don’t look now but here come the Rays again.  With last night’s win, the Rays are now only 1 game out of first place in what is shaping up to be a very tight race to the post season in the AL East.

The Rays kept their forward movement going by taking down the division leading Yankees 3-2.  In one of the few games where there was a real crowd at the Trop, the Rays played as they have all season long.  Just this time, they had people there to watch. Of course, it’s pretty sad when the only big crowds your team can draw is when you face the Yankees or Red Sox.  The fans in Florida should be coming out every game to see the Rays.

After today’s last game of this series, the Rays face the Twins while the Yankees get the Blue Jays.  Neither series is going to be easy.  With the division so tight at the top though each and every game counts from here on in.  A couple of bad series and you can find yourself slipping back 5 or 6 games in a real hurry.

Both the Rays and Yankees have added new faces at the trade deadline.  It will be interesting to see how those newcomers affect the games.  Lance Berkman as a Yankee could have a big impact.  August is going to be a very important month and the Rays are hoping for a little light at the end of it.

Deborah Horton Writing

© photo credit: Traveling Fools of America

I woke up today, went out to grab my morning paper, instinctively flipped to the sports section and, lo and behold, there he was, the most hated…err…controversial third baseman in all of baseball was right there on the cover.Yesterday, in a game against the Kansas City Royals, Alex Rodriguez placed himself on the cusp of history by driving out his 599th career home run against Royals reliever Robinson Tejeda in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. A-Rod’s homer, his 16th of the season, was a solo shot over the the right field wall that gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead in a game where they went on to win by a final score of 10-4. It’s hard to believe that A-rod will only be the seventh player in MLB history to join the 600 home run club. With one more big-fly, Rodgiguez will join an elite list with some of the greatest sluggers who have ever played the game: Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Sammy Sosa (609) and Ken Griffey Jr.(630).

But it seems somewhat unusual that this inevitable soon-to-be milestone isn’t garnering more attention. The 35-year-old Rodriguez has always had a flare for bringing attention to himself; whether it be selecting to do a ridiculous photo shoot, or lying about steroids, or running over pitchers mounds, this guy just knows how to manufacture controversy. Yet, when it comes to baseball, there doesn’t seem to be as much interest. Maybe it’s a sign of the post-steroid times and the baseball world just doesn’t trust or care about the milestone-type numbers anymore. Or maybe the rest of the world is more interested in wondering if A-Rod is dating Madonna or Cameron Diaz this week instead of how he is swinging at the plate. I’m eager to see the aftermath of what I predict to be an anti-climactic 600th home run.

photo credit: Keith Allison

If there is one thing that I love about professional athletes, it is there unbelievable propensity to compound an already embarrassing situation involving a self-induced injury and making it worse by coming up with half-witted lie in a futile effort to cover their ridiculous mishap. They never fail to bring a smile to our faces: “I slipped in the shower”; “I slept on it wrong”; “It was a gardening accident––I swear!”

In the case of New York Yankees ace A.J. Burnett, he didn’t take the time to at least come up with something original when team trainers questioned him about the cause of the lacerations on his hands; nope, Burnett went straight to the original save face line with an “I fell down the stairs” blast. That’s right, because who hasn’t tripped down a set of stairs and received major cuts across our palms? As it turns out, Burnett got those cuts on his palms when he slammed them into a clubhouse door in frustration in-between innings of his start on Saturday against the Rays. The Yanks hot-headed right-hander allowed four runs on four hits in two-plus innings before he went postal on a clubhouse door.

Memo to A.J. Burnett: the Yankees aren’t paying you over $16 mill a season to have you pitch a few bad innings against a division rival and then go and take out your frustrations by knifing up your own hands. Next time you don’t live up to your $82.5 million dollar contract, just have team captain Derek Jeter set up a designated Gatorade cooler, grab a piece up lumber and go to down on that bad boy. This way you don’t have to worry about wrecking your digits and getting major cuts on your palms. And remember to keep mind that the Yankees aren’t making an investment in you, they are making it in your arm. Maybe if you ever learn how to settle down on the mound there won’t be any reason to treat that arm like a wrecking ball.

photo credit: Erik Charlton

The 2nd half of the MLB season is just underway and one trend has become painfully evident – the division leaders and wannabe leaders are losing.  Some of the losing in their divisions and some losing to teams they should be beating.  Did the All-Star break put them off their games that much?

Rays lose to the Yankees, Red Sox lose to the Rangers, White Sox lose to the Twins, Tigers lose to the Indians, Braves lose to the Brewers, Mets lose to the Giants, Phillies lose to the Cubs, Rockies lose to the Reds, and Dodgers lose to the Cards.  That’s a lot of losses to start the second half.  The in division losses are of course the most damaging.  Will this trend continue?

A lot of these games were close losses.  Several were 9th inning losses.  The Braves however were taken to the wood shed by the Brewers as were the Red Sox by the Rangers, the Tigers by the Indians, and the Dodgers by the Cards.  These losing teams just melted down.  They were beaten and beaten badly.  Definitely not a good way to start the 2nd half.

All of these teams tee it up again today.  Baseball is a fickle thing.  It will be interesting to see who can come out on top today.  If the losing trend continues we could see some shifts in division races as some of them are just that tight right now.

Deborah Horton Writing

© photo credit: Bari D

The Yankees started making their move into first place in the AL East several weeks ago.  They have kept the Rays at bay through the All-Star break.  Then, the team was hit by two huge losses in the span of days.  Long time announcer Bob Sheppard and their long time GM George Steinbrenner both passed away.  Now, the Yankees will be playing with their hearts.

Teams always do better when they have something to play for.  When there is something or someone they are trying to win for.  The Braves have it this year with Bobby Cox retiring and now the Yankees have it with their huge personal losses.  Not that the Yankees wouldn’t have won their division anyway, they very well might have.  But one thing is certain, a winning team with even more motivation is just about unstoppable.

The Yankees losses are the kind that affect everyone on the team.  From the coaches to the players to the front office to the stadium workers to the fans.  It’s all encompassing.  And every single one of them will be saying, let’s win it all for Bob and George.  Bring home the championship for them.  An all heart motivation is tough for other teams to overcome.  I look for the Yankees to play the rest of the season all heart.

Deborah Horton Writing

© photo credit: Tomás Fano

As a Bostonian, I hate to admit this, but it’s true. Tampa and Boston have shown strength and resilience this season, but I think that nothing short of a rash of injuries will keep the New York Yankees from winning the AL East decisively this season.

photo credit: Keith Allison

Like it or not, only a rash of injuries could stand in the way between the Yankees and a decisive AL East championship in 2010.
Last night the Bronx Bombers won their seventh in a row in typical fashion. They got great pitching from Phil Hughes, who is now 11-2. Offensively, some players had better nights than others, but the bottom line was six runs. The Yankees lineup is so strong from top to bottom that somebody is bound to have a good night and carry the team. Likewise, their starting rotation has no glaring weaknesses.
Here’s another fact that should give pause to those who think that the Yankees will be anything but a juggernaut in the second half this season: Although several key players have underachieved thus far, the team still has the best record in baseball at 55-31. That’s 24 games over .500. When you consider that Mark Teixeira is hitting .243, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are both at .273, and Curtis Granderson is at .235, you have to expect that all four players could do much, much better the rest of the way. Likewise, A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez have had their struggles on the mound and could have significantly better numbers from now until October.
Meanwhile, who on the top is really overachieving through the first half? Well, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner probably won’t keep hitting over .300. Andy Pettitte’s eyebrow-raising 2.70 ERA is unlikely to last, and ageless wonder Mariano Rivera usually runs into a tough stretch for a couple of weeks each season.
These underachievers and overachievers are likely to even out before the end of the year, but I think it will take at least three or four injuries to star players before we can say that the Yankees are anything but the overwhelming favorites to win the division. The playoffs may be another story, as anything can happen in a short series. Still, the Sox and Rays are simply angling for the wild card in my opinion.