by Ron Prezzano

I am not a writer until I start to write. I am not an emotional guy until I get emotional. And I am not a sentimental guy until I get sentimental. So When I turned on last night’s Yankee game I realized what a sentimental curmudgeon I really am. Not that it is a bad thing to be sentimental and a guy. Remember, this is coming from a guy who has the attention span of a blonde in a room filled with shiny objects.

I wasn’t all that interested in spring training. There were no real big interests or excitements for me in the off-season besides the hiring of Joe Girardi as manager. The Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee, “he said he said,” hearings were all about political affiliation. So I filed that one under: “the more you study, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why study?” theory.

There is something about opening day (or night as in this case) at Yankee stadium. The weather is rarely accommodating. Some players are so nervous they probably feel like a pregnant nun in a confessional. After the first pitch the fans feel like the prolonged winter dreariness is coming to a screeching halt. The players feel absolved.

Even though this was the last opening day at the storied stadium in The Bronx I was not overly sentimental. After all there has been no world championship in seven years. The Boston Red Sox have two titles in the last four years. Joe Torre is gone. George Steinbrenner is no longer a present force to be recognized. Reggie Jackson threw out the first pitch. Joe Girardi is manager. The pitching staff is made up of young unproven talent.

Then the TV cameras started to take some unique shots from all over Yankee Stadium. I saw the courthouse and the subway from high above the Yankee façade. I saw angles of the playing field that I used to see as a kid roaming all around the upper decks of the stadium. I started to get sentimental. I started to get emotional. I started to write.

I heard Mel Allen and Red Barber. I heard Phil Rizzuto and Bill White. I heard Frank Messer. I heard Bob Shepard.

I had flashes of The Mick, Yogi, Whitey, Billy, Maris, Elston, Richardson, Bauer, Boyer, Kubek, Macdougal , Skowron, Tresh, Coleman, Stengel, Larsen, Sturdivant, Downing, Duren,, Reniff, Slaughter, Stafford, Terry, Turley, Blanchard, Houk. I saw a packed stadium. I saw world championships

Then there was a decade and a half of darkness.

I had another flash. I saw Munson, Guidry, Nettles, Randolph, Dent, Rivers, Pinniella, Chambliss, White, Murcer, Blair, Ellis, Figueroa, Holtzman, Tidrow, Alexander, Gullett, Dempsey, Stanley, Bloomberg, Gamble, Lyle, Hunter, Johnson, Spencer, Jackson, Lemon. I saw a packed stadium. I saw world championships.

Then there was another decade and a half of darkness.

Then there was an enormous bright flash. Like a flash not seen in decades. Like Haley’s Comet. I saw, Mattingly, Showalter, Torre, Jetter, Williams, Girardi, Posada, O’neill, Rivera, Gossage, , Pettitte, Gooden, Key, Rogers, Wetteland, Weathers, Wickman, Clemens, Cone, Hernandez, Lloyd, Mendoza, Stanton, Wells, Grimsley, Nelson, Brosius, Knoblauch, Leyritz, Martinez, Soriano, Boggs, Fielder, Duncan, Sojo, Vizcaino, Spencer, Curtis, Ledee, Strawberry, Justice, Raines, Davis. A quick flash, Canseco, Polonia, Kelly, Hill, Neagle, Lily. I saw a packed stadium. I saw world championships.

This storied stadium, The House that Ruth Built, The Great Cathedral in the Bronx, Baseballs Vatican, what ever you want to call it. Yankee Stadium, it is a baseball shrine. It makes men out of boys and it turns men back into boys. There are ghosts and there are spirits that linger there. That is if you believe in that sort of lore. I don’t usually until I think of it. Then I am a believer.

This is the first of the last go around in the Stadium. There will be a year long of first lasts progressing throughout the year. Try to embrace all of it as it is happening. It will be just a memory all too soon. Let’s hope it leads us back to the future. I see a packed stadium. I see world championships.

By Ron Prezzano

                     Who says the Yankees are bad for baseball?

Don’t tell that to all the major league teams that sell out their stadiums when the Evil Empire comes to town to display their talent. Don’t mention that to all the teams in major league baseball who receive luxury tax dollars supplied by the team with the highest team salary over the tax cap.

 This week you can put the Chicago White Sox on the top of the list that think the Yankees are good for baseball. The White Sox hosted the New York Yankees for a crucial three game series last week after playing uninspired baseball for nearly two thirds of a defending championship season. The White Sox were ten games out of first place behind the surprising Detroit Tigers who sported the best record in baseball when the Yankees rolled into town. New York had swept the White Sox, in New York, right after the All Star break and were playing their best baseball of the year. Adding to this the Yankees were now being tabbed the team to beat by baseball analysts and sports writers from around the country.This after the Yankees pulled off a major trade at the July 31st trading deadline. They acquired out fielder Bobby Abreu and pitcher Corey Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies for some minor leaguers and they obtained first baseman Craig Wilson from the Pittsburgh Pirates for ineffective starter Sean Chicon.

  What happened next was the inspiration the White Sox needed to spur them on to save their season of malaise and make a run at a division title. Never mind the wild card.

  The Yankees played poor defensively and offensively they were not hitting with runners in scoring position. To top it off their ace reliever, Mariano Rivera, blew a ninth inning save in the first game of the series. This was the kindling that lit the fire under the defending world champs. The White Sox showed fire and confidence from that moment on and have been on a tear ever since, knocking five games off the Tigers lead in the Central Division, taking two of three from the Yankees and sweeping the Tigers in a following three game series. Chicago has taken nine out of twelve games from Detroit this season and they have seven games remaining with the division leaders.

  If the Yankees came into Chicago and swept them I’m sure their confidence would have been damaged. After all, they were playing poorly from the All Star break. Chicago’s starting pitching, their strength last year was, with the exception of Jose Contreas, to a man an ERA 1.00 higher than a year ago. The bull pen was not much better.

New York, with a normal offense and Mariano being his predictable self could have easily swept that series but that is why they play the game. The home crowd really was a contributor. Rising to the occasion in late innings and giving the White Sox that extra bit of emotional energy to put them over the top. There is nothing like beating the New York Yankees in a crucial series to get the momentum going. Just ask the Boston Red Sox, and the California Angles of Anaheim

 Thank you New York for waking up a sleeping giant and making the last two months of the baseball season more exciting.

Who says the New York Yankees are bad for baseball?

By Ron Prezzano

While looking at the American League and breaking down the numbers I saw an interesting figure.

The Central plays the East at twelve games under .500 with a 35-47 record.

The West plays the East at eight games over .500 with a 48-40 record.

The West plays the Central five games under .500 at 48-53 record.

The numbers are not overwhelmingly slanted in the American league.

As we know the American League really struts it's stuff against the lesser potent National League.

American League East inter league 58-35

American League Central inter league 63-27

American League West inter league plays .500 ball at 36-36

So what does all this mean? I'm going out on a limb and saying that given these numbers it's still anybody's game for the American League Division winners and Wild Card berths.

Unless the Tigers completely fall apart (unlikely) or they play exceptional ball (also unlikely) I see the divisions and wild card races going down to the final weeks or week of the season. I think the Wild Card could now be coming from the Eastern division. Two weeks ago I did not think that.

The American League East seems to look like the stronger division when compaired to the rest of the League despite the strong numbers that Detroit and Chicago have in the standings. They have fattened themselves on the National League by going a combined 29-7 against the senior circuit.

The upper tier teams in the East dominate the upper teams in the Central. Nobody even mentions the Western division when it comes to Wild Card predictions.

So no matter what anybody says it's still a good bet the AL East will once again reign as Wild Card favorites.
If you are a stat guy.

By Ron Prezzano

If there is one thing that I am not and that is political, as far as politics are concerned. I've lived my life surrounded by Parents who were staunch Republicans and married into a family who were split down the middle when it came to devotion to political party beliefs. This always made for conversations, at the dinner table, that started out on an intelligent level but quickly deteriorated into some of the most asinine comments ever to be uttered by mankind.

It was funny to watch some very bright people, when riled enough, stoop to name calling and throwing anything at hand, including food and silverware, in the direction of the arguing party but always missing their intended target. Which usually meant I often had corn, mashed potatoes or a utensil embedded somewhere on my Sunday best (my uncle actually stabbed his best friend in the arm with a fork during a heated debate on, of all things, capitol punishment). This would leave a lasting impression on a young family member, as myself, to become somewhat politically shy.

Over the years It became increasingly obvious, to me, that the two party system was being bogged down by bureaucratic #### on the Democratic side and forced Corporate (Big business, Oil and Auto) decision making by the Republican side. They just love a war economy. Lots of blowing things up and re manufacturing of things to blow up.

Think of the Democratic party as an El Duque type of performer. Throwing a lot of junk out there and sometimes it manages to be effective. Even having a long winning streak. Then when the opposition starts to get a grip on how to handle the #### that is being tossed around becoming whinny and defensive to the point of bad behavior. Thus the wheels falling off the bus.

Think of the Republican party as a one or two pitch pitcher. Curve ball after curve ball after curve ball. Nothing straight. Always a bend to it. When the opposition starts to get sick and tired of the curve ball and voices it's displeasure on it's lack of diversity and creativity here comes the knuckle curve. Unlike Mike Mussina, the Republican party cannot muster a good hard straight fastball, or in this case, unwilling to develop one.

Ah, somehow you knew this would get around to sports.

There are not too many people out there who call themselves sports fans who can root for two teams in the same town in the same sport. Mets, Yankees. Rangers, Islanders. Giants, Jets, etc. There has to be a commitment to favor one team slightly over the other. I'm sure uncle Lester would have stabbed his good friend Vinny in the chest if it were a debate over the best short stop or third baseman in New York on rival teams during that Sunday dinner.

Sports are like politics but sometimes with more involvement and passion in most countries. With better results. Only a small fraction of people are killed each year as a result of sports arguing. Unless of course you are a soccer fan. Those guys are crazy. No fence sitting there.

I thought the over reacting by punters who were knocked over by the wind of a rushing blocker was bad. Check out the number of soccer players who, given their reaction to the phantom hit or knock down or trip, look as if they were shot at and missed or #### at and hit and need to be taken to the nearest Mash unit.

So, until a better option is developed (which probably will not happen in my lifetime) I am a political fence sitter. Voting for the lesser of the two dysfunctional parties concerning what I deem important issues.

I am not a fence sitter when it comes to sports. Watch out Vinny.

With the sudden awakening of the Minnesota Twins that all important American League wild card race just got a lot more interesting. Minnesota who looked, on paper at the beginning of the year, to be a legitimate contender to challenge for a least a run at the wild card got off to a miserable start.

The defending World Series Champion Chicago White Sox almost by default were given the edge for the American League Central title for 2006. After all they only made improvements in the off season to a team that ran over most AL teams during the season and playoffs and pretty much manhandled the NL elite in the World Series.

Out of nowhere the Detroit Tigers propel themselves into the AL Central mix with a strong first half showing. This the result of good quality young starting pitching and a fairly decent offense. They have the best record in baseball and at twenty-nine games over .500 it is very hard to count them out for at least a run at the wild card and maybe even the Central Division title. This is a young and talented team but as we saw last year with the Cleveland Indians inexperience can be a grim reaper when September pressure hits near hurricane force.

These three teams will play each of the other two in their division an average of forty-three games over the remainder of the season. Detroit has a slight edge over Chicago at the half way point in head to head competition while Minnesota has been the whipping boy losing nineteen out of twenty-seven to their two divisional fore runners. Not an encouraging statistic if you are a Twins fan.

A similar pattern has developed in the American League East With the Boston Red Sox, The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. The difference is the way the Blue Jays play the Red Sox. They just give the Red Sox fits.( along with Tampa Bay). We all know how well the Red Sox and Yankees play each other. This is probably going to be a two team race in the end in the AL East between the all too familiar Red Sox and Yankees. No surprise here.

Back in the AL Central, the Twins seem to be getting their act together and pitching is leading the way. Johan Santana (Cy Young 9-4 ERA 2.76) Brad Radke (off to a horrendous start but has been lights out his last three starts with an ERA under 2) and Francisco Lario ( 9-1 ERA 1.99) have started to mesh as a legitimate 1-2-3 starting punch that could make a big difference and turn around in the second half.

With all of this starting to take shape in the AL Central I'm looking forward to a very interesting Divisional and Wild Card battle and the winners could very well be the AL East.

If this were two weeks ago I would not even thought about the scenario that faces the AL Wild Card today.
But thanks to inter league play Minnesota ( 16-2) is right back in the mix. Who says these game are meaningless?

So, the Tigers ability to keep it together and to play better than .500 ball the rest of the way plus the pitching of the Minnesota Twins to make up the gap or possibly dominate the head to head battle between the other big two in the Central will be the deciding factor in the AL Wild Card race.

Unless of course the Tigers continue to play .600+ baseball then I have written all of this for naught

Posted on Monday 19 June 2006

By Ron Prezzano

Looking at the Yankees in the last five or six days and we see a team that is out of sync. Well it is about time. For the last month the Yankees have been fighting a valiant battle against the forces of nature, including Mother Nature. Injuries and illness have been mounting on the Yankees as fast as Joe Torre changes his relief pitchers. Until Wednesday, of this past week, the Yankees were winning that battle. Winning with a mixture of recruits from their minor league ranks and the walking wounded from their commissioned veterans. Button pushing was not an option.

Two wins to start a four game series at home against the rival Red Sox, this past week, and the Yankees and their fans were feeling pretty good about themselves. Things were falling the Yankees way even though their captain, Derek Jeter, was on the shelf with a bruised thumb on his throwing hand. Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez were recovering from a stomach virus. Robinson Cano, Melky Caberra and Andy Phillips were stepping up to the plate and delivering and playing some stellar defense. Miguel Cairo was filling in at short and third, also putting in some quality at bats and playing solid defense. Then Mother Nature stepped in and we all know you don’t fool Mother Nature.

Wednesday the rains came and cancelled a game and momentum. With that it also washed away the Yankee fans confidence that this new Yankee team look was the wave of the future. One that could capture the magic of that 1996 season. Four losses will command soul searching for any good team. This is still a good team and character has to be nurtured.

The present Yankee squad is a very good mix of some seasoned championship veterans, All-Stars, and rookies who are hungry. With a coaching staff that is second to none in experience, why be concerned? Well, for one, they have huge problems with all but one aspect of their pitching staff. Mariano Rivera. Unfortunately Mariano cannot start, or relieve himself (other than bathroom breaks) for three innings and close the game. Otherwise the Yankees could weather out this passing storm without pushing any panic buttons.

With the cross town Mets starting to look like a World Series caliber team I sense fingers of Yankee fans searching for the delete, panic and quick fix buttons. You know the ones. They are as big as Stienbrenner’s payroll. I’m hoping that Yankee brass, Cahsman,The Boss, whoever, are restraining from reading the media and fan reaction then doing something stupid.
Yankee pitching is the problem and that should be the focus for improvement by management. Forget about adding corner outfielders who are thumpers at the expense of young talent. The veterans will produce and the rookies will follow. We’ve experienced that so why rock the boat. It will happen again.


It has been suggested that Randy Johnson go into the bull pen and pitch long or short relief. Hard to do at his age and at this point of his career. Intriguing thought though, but that won’t happen. With Octavio Dotel in the shadows his performance alone could have a ironing effect on the whole bull pen. That is of course if he comes back and pitches like his talent allows him. Big if.

The Yankees are hovering around first place and no American League East team seems capable of running away from the pact. There are still six weeks left to the trading deadline. By then, the teams who are willing to dump players and salaries will be well known. At that time the Yankees will have a very good idea of how well this current group of players will mesh. I subscribe to the patience theory here. After all, come late August and September the Yankees could have a very formidable bench with the return of Matsui and or Sheffield, although I think it is a stretch to include Sheffield here.

Jeter, A-Rod, Giambi and Damon will all come around and the rest will follow. Pitching, pitching, pitching that is the problem and has been the problem for four or five years. So let management focus and address those issues and back off the panic button when it comes to offense. Don’t be pressured into media and fan reaction for once. This is still a quality team with the foundation to be a contender for many years.

By Ron Prezzano

Gary Sheffield is one of the most feared and intimidating hitters in all of baseball. Period. Randy Johnson was one of the most feared and intimidating pitchers in all of baseball. Period. Gary Sheffield and Randy Johnson have been sharing the same clubhouse for two years, but that is all. I don't see these two hanging out together and exchanging Christmas cards in the off season. Heck, I don't see these two hanging out with anybody in the off season. I guess that is part of what makes them intriguing and intimidating. The fear factor.

Sheffield's bat in all the lineups that he has been penciled into, in his career, has given the opposing team fits. Even in a lineup that includes Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Hedki Matsui and Derek Jeter he is considered the most feared to pitch to. So when it was learned that Sheffield would be out for most of the season, due to wrist surgery, Yankee fans collectively wondered what would happen to the Yankee swagger. The swagger that Sheffield implanted on this team and carried like a torch. In that regard the Yankees will miss him dearly.

This is not all gloom and doom for the Evil Empire, who have been decimated by injuries to key starters like Hedki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, both who are out of the lineup for most of the season. They are now starting to recruit fans with their new style of energized baseball. The emergence of talent, from their farm system to the parent club, has made a few die hard skeptics take notice and put the cloud of Sheffield's absence on the back burner. If this trend continues, good for team New York and a shift from the top heavy All-Star power hitting lineup that had playoff holes riddled through it. 

Besides the fans the one person that will miss Sheffield's presence the most is Alex Rodriguez. There is added pressure on A-Rod to be the big intimidating bat and Yankee fans know how A-Rod handles that pressure. It's not that teams will pitch A-Rod differently with Sheffield out of the lineup. The fact is it will be the fans expectation, which is already enormous, for A-Rod to take over that intimidating swagger. That won't happen as A-Rod is not made up with that ingredient. Anthything less than a stellar Championship season, as far as fans are concerned, will all fall on A-Rods shoulders. So A-Rod misses out the most here.

Randy Johnson is forty two years old and no matter what his physical condition the age is catching up with him. The fast ball is not as intimidating and he is not adjusting to the facts of life. The fact that he was able to be a power pitcher for most of his career is a marvel in itself. Not too many  major league pitchers have accomplished that, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens to name a couple. Clemens made adjustments and Ryan had a devastating curve ball and just the right amount of wildness to help him out.

Randy's size along with his fast ball were enough to make major league hitters quiver in the batters box. After all, his release point was a good foot closer to home plate than almost any other pitcher. Throwing at ninety-eight miles an hour, from that distance, probably felt like one hundred plus miles per hour by the time it reached home plate judging by the reaction of most hitters.

Randy has lost enough off his velocity allowing batters to feel more comfortable at the plate. His command of his slider is not good. His location has been consistently poor. His pitches are up and in the American League fast ball and slider pitchers who throw up in the strike zone will get hit and hit hard. On the days Randy has command and keeps his pitches down in the strike zone  he can still be a formidable pitcher. He does not have the stuff to be a dominant intimidating pitcher anymore. Adjustments have to be made. So far Randy has not accepted his loss of velocity and thus has not made the right adjustments to his style of pitching. Stubbornness is a trait that is not easily overcome. Until Randy accepts this glaring flaw and makes some changes his career will continue on it's downward trend.

So the answers to the question: Will the Yankees miss Sheffield? A-Rod will. If the present combination of energized Yankee call ups play like they have played in the last couple of weeks I think the Yankees as a team may not. My only worriy is that if Sheffield does not come back this year will we ever see him in a Yankee uniform again?

The answer to the question: Is Randy Johnson done? That is up to Randy and his abillity or inabillity to make changes. The Yankees have him for another year. That is enough time for the rest of us to answer that question.

                                    Ron's Baseball InsightS

In this wonderful storied game of baseball the rules are bible to many who are ensconced in it's captivating statistical library. Almost perfect to the purist. With the exception of the Designated Hitter rule, baseball has changed very informally over the past century. Surely a game that plays without the use of a clock has time to investigate the fairness of unfairness.

With the exception of the senior circuit National league, Baseball around the world has excepted and prevailed using the Designated Hitter rule. So I am not going to suggest that baseball readdress that rule. Even though certain purists will argue at nauseam it has ruined the game. It makes for good point counterpoint conversations in sports venues across the universe. I like that.

What needs to be addressed here is the unfairness of the way baseball rules pitching decisions.

Currently, when a starting pitcher pitches five innings, come rain or shine, he is credited in the pitching decision be it wins or losses. That is fine. I like that. He has pitched more than half of the game and he has set the tone for that contest. This pitcher can continue to pitch three and two thirds more innings and get pulled out of the game because of tiredness, pitching match ups, etc. He could be leading at this point. Enter the relief pitcher and he immediately gives up the tying run or runs not attributed to the starting pitcher. The reliever gets the final out of the inning and the score is tied. Blown save for the reliever. I like that. No decision for the starter. Here is where I get cross eyed. The Starting pitcher's team (who has blown the lead) scores in the next inning to win the game. The Reliever gets the win. There is a definite problem here and that leads me to a suggestion for a rule change.

Surely the baseball gods must admit purgatory has been served and lets move on to fairness. Everyone makes mistakes. Just look at the Kansas City Royals.

I am not asking for major surgery here only fairness. If a starting pitcher is available to keep his team in a position to win or lose a game after five innings then why not let him keep his win advantage into the tie for all nine innings. If the reliever allows the tie, either by inherited runners or by his own evil deed, why punish the starter? He has pitched the majority of the game and left with his team winning, or in case of a tie, not losing. The reliever pitches a third of an inning and could get the win? that is not fair. I still don't like that.

Let the starting pitcher be available for the win in a tie game up to regulation time. Nine innings, just as long as the team and the reliever have not given up the lead or tie the starting pitcher gave them. Remember the starter has pitched the majority of the game. After nine innings and the game goes into extra innings the rules could remain as they are now. Perhaps even taking into effect the innings pitched by the starter and the length of the game. Remember I am after fairness here. I like that.

A blown save for a reliever pretty much tells the story for the reliever. Wins and losses do not always tell the story for a reliever. A starting pitcher should be given the advantage because of the innings he pitches and his ability to keep his team in a position for the win. Wins and losses do tell the story for a starting pitcher. A reliever should not be given the advantage here for fairness reasons.

I'm on a mission. So let's not change the silly names for the foul poles to fair poles but foul rules to fair rules. I like that.

By Ron Prezzano

Billy Crystal said it best. " You look marvelous." That is what this current batch of Yankee hat pickings are staring to look like. Speed, energy, power, youth and a great spattering of veterans. This is a far cry from the Yankees starters at the beginning of this 2006 campaign towards a twenty-seventh World Title. When things looked the bleakest for this injury plagued Yankee team somehow the stars aligned and chemistry took over.

The reacquisition of Miguel Ciaro, who spent last season with the cross town senior circuit Mets, has been invaluable as a replacement player off the bench. He has spelled Giambi at first, Cano at second, Jeter at short and last night A-Rod at third. He can even play the outfield and in a pinch go behind the plate. He plays each of these positions like he is a regular. Just watch his split decision making in crucial situations; always throwing to the right place at the right time. He has quality at bats plus his hustle and enthusiasm are second to none. We don't read much about him, but he is so important to this Yankee team. Management knows this and my hat's off to General Manager Brian Cashman for his diligence in bringing Ciaro back.

The sudden emergence of Andy Phillips was something the Yankees expected but were unable to patiently develop on the senior squad. He plays a very good defensive first base and has started to hit like he did in the minor leagues. He has some power and also shows signs of smart decision making plus he's young. This is a pretty good combination.

Melky Cebrera just continues to impress on a daily basis. He seems best suited for left field. That is the primary  position he will probably play for the rest of the time Matsui is out of the lineup. His batting eye is stellar and will eventually lead to some power. I am equally impressed with his strong and accurate throwing arm. He displayed a little of it in right field last week and continues to show his arm off in left. He is presently tied for the league lead in out field assists. He has accomplished this while only being in the majors since May. He is young, energetic and infectiously happy. That is a welcome combination.

Robinson Cano is a solid hitter and a very good second baseman. He makes the hard plays look easy ,and at times, makes the easy plays look hard. He is very aggressive at the plate and often swings at the first pitch no matter what the situation. It is unwise to tinker with this aggressiveness as he will eventually become more disciplined. Patience needs to be nurtured. Another young, and infectiously happy player in a kids' game played by adults. What's not to love?

Now lets turn to the vets. Derek Jeter is having a career year, if that is at all possible. The only thing missing is an MVP award. Could this be the year?  Injuries aside, Jorge Posada is having a very good season and his leadership behind the plate is a stabling force to the pitching staff. Johnny Damon is fighting through injuries and we know what he brings to the table. Great teammate, great attitude, a very good batting eye and always clutch.

Jason Giambi is starting to get adjusted to the DH role that is meant for just this kind of player. Keeping Giambi in this role for the majority of time will allow Andy Phillips to continue to improve on his talent. This could prove to be a very productive and smart combination.

I save A-Rod for last. We all know the rub on A-Rod and I'll be the first to admit that he frustrates me to no end at times. I started to analyze why I feel this way: he has the numbers, the clutch hits, and he even plays a pretty good third base. So why do I feel his is not so clutch?  It's because A-Rod always seems to step up to the plate with runners on base or in scoring position. This is a fact. The Yankees have runners on base in just about every inning. That A-Rod does not deliver six out of ten times is magnified because he is A-Rod. Folks, A-Rod does deliver. Statistics bear this one out and this is what twenty-five million a year gets you. Sorry A-Rod, I feel like I owe you an apology as this is a pretty good combination.

Pitching is still what counts for the most part and the Yankees are doing alright in that area as well: quietly being in the top tier of the league with it's team ERA. We all know the value of a solid bull pen. It is probably, at this moment, the weakest link in the chain. Where would we be without Rivera? Enough said.

So far management has done the right thing and not knee jerked themselves into a position of weakness. Let's hope they too continue be a good combination and stand pat for the time being; it seems to be working.

Billy Crystal, thank you for the inspiration and Yankees, "You look marvelous."