The Yankees always seem to turn it up in the second half of the season, and if history repeats itself, this second-half will be no different.

Beneath lies a semi-humorous, stat-laden dissection of the Yankees' last 4 seasons, and how they came to make the playoffs each year.

In recent years the New York Yankees have become masters of procrastination, always being ruled out of the playoff picture by many.  Though time and time again they prove to have what it takes to dominate during the second half of the season and invariably make the playoffs when all is said and done.

Truth be told, the Yankees' winning percentage has not decreased after the All-Star Break since the 2004 season when they faltered from .640 to .623; winning 101 games in the process. Yes, these were the good old days when the Yankees dominated the season from start to finish, and had nobody questioning Joe Torre and the boys.  Not to mention, that was Alex Rodriguez's first season in New York, and back then he was a massive underestimate of the circus sideshow he is today.

In 2005, the Yankees went into the All-Star Break placed third in the American League East with a paltry .535 winning percentage. This was the season when the Yankees steamrolled through the end of the season to finish the standings even with Boston, when they began the second half of the season middle of the standings. Yes, this season was the beginning of what now seems like a guarantee in the minds of Yankee fans everywhere--a sort of complacency one feels when the team are off to a dismal start, and nobody is really performing to the best of his ability.

The next season was a bit different, in that the Yankees went from an impressive .581 at the All-Star Break to a bold .599 at the end of the season.  The main difference this time, though, was how crucial their consistency proved to be. At the All-Star Break the Yankees sat three games back of Boston, who were favored to win the division. Nobody could have possibly forseen the Yankees' 5-game sweep of Boston, and the final AL East standings showing New York ten games ahead of Toronto, with Boston placed third. No, that was unimagineable at the time, but the Yankees somehow pulled it off for the second year in a row.

The most recent case was last season, when the Yankees approached the half-way mark with their lowest record in years, a mere .500 in the middle of July.  The Yankees had been written off by many sports journalists across the country, and many Boston fans began gloating as early as the All-Star Break.  This was the season that drilled the point home into the minds of Yankee fans everywhere, by ensuring them that the Yankees could make the playoffs no matter what tradition said about records at the All-Star Break, and regardless of what sports journalists had to say.

Now this season, 2008, the Yankees started off poor once again, but there remained a glimmer of hope that the Yankees would repeat the miracles of recent seasons, and not miss out on the playoffs in the final season at the legendary Yankee Stadium. With 6 wins in a row since the All-Star Break, it is beginning to feel like the Yankees could achieve the improbable again; but like always, only time will tell, and the full story will be told come the end of September.