July 12, @ Tampa Bay            W (7-3)       43-43   10GB       8.5GB Wild Card

 With the road to the unthinkable reaching further than the eye can see, the Yankees opened the second half of the season with a W. It's only one of the 50 or so they'll likely need if they want a playoff shot, but it's still one out of one in the final 77 games of 2007 and a step in the right direction.

 Alex picked up right where he left off going 3 for 3 with a solo homer and scoring 3 runs; with one homer coming on back-to-back shots between he and Jeter (that was the first time the two have accomplished that together). The Yanks got a third homer in that inning as Bobby went yard on a solo shot and capped-off the day going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, a double and a homer. And the double was only a few feet from being a homer itself. Bobby had that swing looking right in this one and it was nice to see that he can still unleash it. All in all, the team accumulated 10 hits with Cano being the only Yankee that went hitless.

 Andy wasn't great but he was effective; going 5 and 2/3 and giving up 3 runs. He could have finished the 6th but Joe, as Joe always does, pulled him just a bit early. Vizcaino got the last out and handled the next inning with ease. He gave way to Farnsworth, and he gave way to Mariano, both of which fared well and held Tampa at bay.

 So they started things off properly, and amid the newfound A-Rod controversy (that of his refusal to negotiate with the Yankees during the season) the mountain climb began. Scott Boras, not surprisingly, is already voicing his expectation of Alex eventually being the first $30M a season player, and considering Ichiro is about to get $20M, I don't see anything stopping Boras.

 Alex has been pushed around and alienated by the media and, sadly, the fans as well since he first came to town and I feel very uneasy about his returning next season. Why should he stay? I can only imagine that the Yankees are willing to pay the most money, but Lord knows how this thing will go. It's sad because seeing Alex finally find his comfort zone in New York has yielded his best season so far, and it may lead to glory down the line. He came to New York to win and even sacrificed his position, this guy deserved to be embraced, at least, by his own fans doesn't he? Sure it's justified for everyone else to hate him, as is the case with Bonds, but he should be embraced by his home fans and city.

 Aside from that, tomorrow The Rocket will take on Scott Kazmir. It has been an inconsistent season for Kaz and it has been an awful season for the Yankees against lefties. This game will be little litmus test of its own as second half Rocket will be tested, the Yankees against lefties will need to change, as will the Yankees difficulties against their division. Each game is important, and has been, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees can come out and perform as they did tonight.

    Regardless of where your loyalties lie as a baseball fan, we each have to appreciate a player like Vladimir Guerrero.

    Big Daddy, as they call him, should be no surprise Derby champion as this simply is what Vladdy does every single season. Seeing him showcase his ability on the national stage tonight was special because his existence on the West Coast keeps him from the national spotlight day in and day out. Most of the country misses him hitting a bullet every single time he makes contact and sometimes hitting a baseball so hard it may go into orbit. I know in Vlad's case the perceived lack of recognition is far from intentional, it's just unfortunate. He caught my eye in Montreal and I've been following him closely ever since.

    The thing that makes Vlad so special isn't that he is a home run hitter, it's the way that he does it.

    Vlad never saw a pitch he couldn't hit in his entire life. His strike zone begins the moment he gets out of bed. If he had a bat that was long enough, he would take swings at pitches when he is intentionally walked (which happens relatively often). He swings at pitches barely off the ground, he swings at pitches a foot out of the zone, he swings at pitches chin-high, and he swings at pitches knee-high and inside. Now, there's plenty of hitters who swing at bad balls constantly and end up playing themselves to the bench or back to the minors. Not Vladdy, of course. Vlad is such a perfect storm of power and bat speed and plate coverage that he has turned the strike zone into his personal batting tee. If he can reach it, he will hit it.

    Vlad hits the ball where it's pitched, simple as that. And he gets plenty of hits, about 198 per season with a career batting average of .325. Normally, free-swinging and slugger-type hitters like Guerrero have plenty of strikeouts and hit in the .270's or below, but Vladdy is the exception to the rule. Averaging only 74 K's per season, even less than Barry Bonds, Vlad religiously puts the ball in play when he comes to the plate. He has the plate coverage of an Ichiro with unmerciful power. Along with that, his free-swinging nature may be the reason he doesn't actually hit more home runs since he reaches for so many balls out of the zone. Sometimes he even swings at pitches so far inside he nearly misses his own knee while offering at the ball. While he hits many of them out of the ball park (over the wall in either right or left field mind you) the physics of it alone keep the ball in the park most of the time. He also has never been on extremely productive offensive teams, starting in Montreal and now with the Angels, where Mike Scioscia plays a more National-League style and RBI-production has relied heavily on Guerrero. With more reliable hitters ahead and behind him in the lineup, Vlad would see more pitches he could drive and would surely be a perennial 140+ RBI man, a feat he has yet to accomplish.

    Guerrero is also a sole reason to get the baseball package if you are out of market. Every game you see pitcher after pitcher attempt to throw the ball where he has the least chance of hitting it, and constantly he defies their logic and puts it in play. He comes up to the plate and you get the same thing every time: Violent swings at pitches with all his might, rarely getting cheated. And it's controlled chaos; he knows exactly what he's doing when he goes up there and he's been doing it for 12 seasons. If that weren't enough, he does it every time without batting gloves (old school Jerry, old school). Combine all that with a rocket arm and the absolute dirtiest helmet in the dugout (I still can't figure that part of the equation out) and you have Vladimir Guerrero.

    Hopefully with Vlad's win in the Derby he managed to get recognition from fans who had no idea what they were missing. In the 3 weeks since I added HD to my cable service, I don't think I've been more thankful for having it than after Vlad's 503ft bomb, and that's coming from a Yankees fan. For those of you that were enlightened by Big Daddy on July 9, 2007, I salute and welcome you to bask among the rest of us in the madness. Whether you are an Angels fan, a Yankees fan, Rockies, Brewers, Tigers, Giants, Braves, A's, etc., this guy should be appreciated because there haven't been and won't ever be many like him.

July 1, Oakland L (11-5) 37-41 11GB 8GB Wild Card

New month, same crap. An optimistic view would have seen July 1st as a day that the Yankees may have turned the corner in their season. A new month and a perfect time to erase the past and start fresh. Andy Pettitte was on the mound and he could be counted on to at least keep you in the ball game and give you a chance to win; so much for optimism. Andy got chased in the second after getting bombed for 7 earned on 9 hits, 2 of them being homeruns. The initial run came on a ball Abreu misplayed, allowing a runner to advance. The Yankee problems finally came around and got to Andy as well.

So after 1 and a half it was 8-0 Oakland and with Dan Haren and his 1.91 ERA the game was pretty much over right? Not exactly. An Abreu grounder to first scored one and an Andy Phillips single scored a second; 8-2. Villone came in and did a great job settling things, keeping the A's at bay through 5. The Yanks scored 2 more in the 4th on a sac fly from Abreu and an infield single by Phillips (Andy was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI) and managed to get the bases loaded with the tying run at the plate in Cano...oh boy.

Torre had Cano in the 3rd slot and Joe is continuing the merry-go-round for a guy that can handle hitting number 3. With the way Cano has been this year, maybe this was the jolt he would need. So he comes up in a monster spot and, well, flies out to the right fielder, ending the inning. I'll give him this - he didn't hit a grounder or strike out, which is pretty much his M.O. lately. Derek Jeter would single in a run in the 6th making it 8-5 and that would bring Cano to the plate once more with 2 on and 2 out. Would this be the moment he turned it around? Absolutely freakin' not. He was made to look a fool with a terrible check swing where he clearly went around, the Yankee threat, and the game itself really, was over. Cano finished 0-5 with 5 LOB and 2 K's and was visibly down in the dugout. For those that are angry with Robbie over what seems like him not caring enough, he really does, he just doesn't have it together so far this year.

The Yankees got to Haren as they surely hoped they would, though Haren was handed an 8-run lead and was more than likely pitching to the score, thus throwing more hittable pitches. But Andy took his team out of the game from the very beginning, and even though there were opportunities to come back, you can't fault a team for being unable to score 8 runs when all they could muster was 5. Five runs will win you a ball game most of the time. They showed more fight today than they've show in a while, but the mountain put in front of them today was simply too high to climb.

I knew this stretch would be a difficult one, and it has started that way. Minnesota comes in next for 4 games and the Angels immediately follow. These are all home games but honestly it doesn't seem to matter at this point. The Yankee faithful tried their best to will their team to victory this weekend and it just wasn't enough. The stretch following the All-Star break will be against very weak teams, but what will the Yankees record be by that point?

Giambi Anyone?

One thing about good American League lineups is that normally they will have guys near the bottom that can drive runs in or set up the guys at the top of the order. The Yankees just don't have that right now. The loss of Sheffield hurt because they lost the right-handed bat and his power. That would have been masked somewhat if Giambi was healthy but with him gone there's a very significant RBI-producing gap in the lineup and the Yankees are paying dearly. We know that Giambi seemed like he was going to either walk, homer, or strike out when he came to the plate, we know that much, but he drove home a lot of baserunners.

Let's put it this way, right now the Yankees have only 1 guy that is a threat for a homer every time he comes to the plate; with Giambi there were 2. It may seem simple, but it makes a massive difference. Sure the troubles of Matsui and Abreu and Cano and even Damon have hurt the team, but even with Giambi hitting his usual .250 he may have had 40 or 50+ RBI. Those aren't numbers that put the Yankees 20 games over .500, of course not, but it could be the difference in 5, 6, or 7 games. It could have made the difference in Colorado, in Frisco, and definitely in Baltimore. Plus he would have forced Damon to the DL and Johnny could have had time to heal and return a better player. Initially I didn't think losing Giambi would hurt, but it truly has and has made the loss of Sheffield sting badly. As bad as Giambi has looked, and he's been terrible, his bat is missed right now, there's no question.

June 29, Oakland W (2-1) 37-39 11GB 8GB Wild Card

The Moose pulled himself together and pitched his best game of the season tonight holding the A's to 1 run in 7 innings. Moose struck out 3 and allowed 6 hits, walked 1 and did it all on 84 pitches. That's about as effective a ball game as you will see this guy pitch. Moose deserves some credit for his effort, in this game at least, because he's been pretty maligned this year and, knowing the way he is on himself, fighting battles on the inside as well. His constant nibbling and nibbling around the plate gets him into trouble when umps won't give him the edges, but it worked tonight. He was helped a lot by his defense and despite a 2-run first, the Yankees mustered nothing else the rest of the game; leaving 9 on base in the process. It was a win nonetheless though, right?

Mariano came in to get 4 outs and was as harsh on batters as we've seen him all year, striking out 3 and recording the save on 18 pitches. Torre went to Rivera with 2 out in the 8th and 2 men on after pulling Farnsworth from the game; this did not please Kyle.

Joe's decision to go to Rivera was clear evidence of his regard for the significance of the win. In a 1-run ballgame considering all that has happened with the Yankees, how can you blame him? Farnsworth can cry all he wants about getting the hook but he's brought that on himself by giving up 38 hits in 32 innings. An effective setup man doesn't put up those kinds of numbers.

Alex and Jorgie were responsible for the two RBI's and Alex has now brought his BA to .334. Derek and Jorgie have done a fantastic job this year, but Alex has been the backbone of the offense for this team and I don't even want to imagine where they would be without him. It's funny to see Alex flourish in a way we've never seen him while in Pinstripes, and yet watch as most of the lineup just can't seem to rise out of the funk they're in. The answer is pretty clear, of course. During Alex's struggles in New York people managed to forget that A-Rod was an Albert Pujols before there was an Albert Pujols; he was one of those young phenomenal once-in-a-generation talents that defied logic. Great players manage to overcome struggles, even gigantic struggles, and the good and above average players have a much more difficult time doing this; some don't ever come out.

This is the situation Bobby Abreu is in right now. We know Bobby is not a great player, but he is a very good player and a guy that can still be an all-star. Are we supposed to believe that Bobby has nothing left and would be wise to retire after this season? That he wouldn't flourish on a team that provided less pressure? Please. Bobby still has it in him and we saw it over that stretch earlier this month. Can he pull out of it though? Can Bobby pull out and focus enough to earn his respect back on this team and for himself? Considering how he and Johnny Damon performed only a year ago, I fully believe they're capable of so much more. The team needs to keep it together and fight back into the mix.

So as I figured it would, the Hillenbrand talk began and it looks like the Yankees are going to make a push for him. I guess I could live with him; career .285, never walks and has a terrible OBP, but maybe it would work somewhat. If the team were playing well while only having a weakness at 1B then this may have been the missing piece, but there's so many issues that this move doesn't really do much for me. What will help is the All-Star break because Johnny will get much needed rest and players can get themselves together. That will be important because immediately following the break the Yanks will face their most important stretch of the year; the one that will truly make or break their season. The first 27 games after the break are against teams that are a combined 173-218, a .442 winning percentage. A successful stretch before and after the break would put the Yankees right back in the hunt. This is no simple task, however, as the Yankees are below .500 themselves and have much work ahead of them if they hope to reach a higher level, but there is still reason for optimism.

June 27, @ Baltimore L (4-0) 36-39 11GB 7.5GB Wild Card

When it rains it pours. Another loss adds to the skid that is now at 4 in a row and 7 of their last 8, and this latest one comes at the hands of the Orioles...oh God help us...we now look inferior to the Orioles. Only 6 men LOB tonight because of only 5 Yankee hits, and they certainly made Bedard look fantastic. I understand that he is one of the better young pitchers in the AL, I get it, but put someone like him against a slumping Yankee lineup and this is what you'll get. The Yankees only reached base 6 times as well, with Cano of all people getting the sole base on balls.

Rocket went 5 strong, but when your team gives you nothing you have a very small margin for error, and in the 6th he finally hit the wall and gave up 4 runs, 3 of them coming off an opposite-field 3-run homer by Aubrey Huff. He didn't hit it well, but it still managed to sail over the wall in right. Roger also left the game without striking anyone out, ending his streak of 200 games with at least one K. Just watching the games you can see the confidence gone from all but the big three; each time the other 6 hitters come up it's never a quality at-bat. Guys aren't seeing many pitches and just cannot hit when they see good pitches. It's hard to fathom how Abreu can swing through so many hittable balls; he can't even get good contact on the one he does hit. Cano is back to swinging at balls way out of the zone and Matsui is back to weak grounders.

The plot will more than likely incorporate another chapter within the next week as the Angels have now designated Shea Hillenbrand for assignment. The Yankees were in talks with the Angels about him within the last two weeks and I expect that they will do all they can to add him to their roster. Shea is a right-handed bat and a first baseman, so he'll be picked up in order to fill both needs. Obviously I'm as excited about the prospect of that signing as I am about getting a $1.00 discount on my cable bill; what the hell kind of difference does it make? Sure he'll be an upgrade from Cairo, and the Yankees should indeed do it, but it won't dig them out of the funk they're in.

The Yankees are first in the AL in OBP and yet they can't score runs right now. Timely hitting continues to be an issue during this losing skid it may just continue through tomorrow until their next home game on Friday, except they will be hosting Oakland with Moose on the mound and that could go either way. If I see Nieves in the lineup on Friday I might put Moose in the figure-four myself and put him into permanent retirement. His little preference of Nieves at catcher needs to end already, it's hurting the team and the team is already hurting enough. And just to add to the frustration, the Red Sox just got swept by Seattle and the Yankees were unable to gain a single game on them; how ridicilous.

The hot streak played the fans for fools, and the team is right back where they were prior to it. And if these guys aren't careful, they will completely erase the ground they gained while they were hot and throw the season away. A 3-game win streak now only puts them at .500, when not long ago they were 3 games over. Each day makes these games more crucial and losing games en masse like this will only darken the glimmer of hope. They desperately need to salvage tomorrow's game and give themselves something to build on for the upcoming homestand that will feature Oakland, Minnesota, and the Angels; all teams that are much better than the 3 they've been losing to lately. The next 10 games will be HUGE tests for the Yankees, they better be ready...