Yankees Mid-Season Report

Well, the Yanks aren't where I hoped they'd be at this point, but I'm confident that by the end of the season, they'll be AL East Division Champs once again. They've managed to stay only three or four games back of Boston WITHOUT Matsui, Sheff, Jeter (at times) and Cano. As well, there have been several horrific outings for Yankee starting pitchers, mostly by Wright or Chacon, and a few by the Big Unit. With all this in consideration, three games back is not really bad at all.

I think they need to give Wright and Chacon a few more starts to see if they get in a grove, and if not, they need to trade for a pitcher or bring one up from AAA Columbus, because otherwise the team won't be able to really get on a run. Moose has been great so far, a true ace. I've been surprised by how well Wang has pitched also. Besides his most recent outing, he's given the Yankees solid innings at the least in his starts. So the Yanks get on these 2-3 game winning streaks, but then Wright or Chacon has a horrendous outing and the momentum from the winning streak is gone. Cashman needs to address this (I'm sure he realizes it already though). I'm confident Big Unit will bring down his E.R.A this second half as well.

Fans also really need to stop booing A-Rod. This is a player who, by the end of his career (barring injuries), will go down as the greatest player ever. True, he has a huge salary and I don't think anyone (especially a pro athlete) deserves that much money, but if anyone in baseball does, it's A-Rod. He's the reigning AL MVP. He's in a "slump" this year (like a Tiger Woods slump), but he'll bounce back this second half. I hope the Yankees P.R staff and the New York media encourage the fans to stop booing him so much. Yeah, it's New York and the fans are intense, but he's trying hard. It'll be the fan's loss if he ends up leaving. I know he'll stay though, and the fans will stop with the booing.

Damon's been solid, but I hope he can kick up his average a bit. Jeter, as always, is more than dependable, and comes through whenever the Yankees need him to. He's a true captain. Cano's all-star selection itself speaks for the kind of season he's had. Posada's been swinging the bat great. Giambi's got the home-run swing back, and I hope he can bump up his average as well to the kind of average he had during his MVP season in Oakland. Hopefully, we'll get at least Matsui or Sheff back relatively soon (preferably both), and then add a 27th World Series banner.