Moving Forward

It's a busy life, but I had appointment viewing here in SE Georgia. What do I get? Bernie Williams Moving Forward for the 51st time. Anyway it's a great chance to take the Yanks temperature, which is of course very hot. Moving Forward indeed. 

Today I took my son for a bike ride in the park in Savannah GA, and even the locals on park benches know the Pinstripes have taken 6 straight and are now 2 games up in the division. And I think it's cause the Pros are in for the Joes.

Don't get me wrong, Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli became fan favorites because they hustled and over-achieved. Molina, Ransom, and Hinske are just achievers. A top-notch backstop and a couple of multi-purpose explosive hitters. Every time these guys are out there they make a difference.

The time off  makes me think about all the topics I've embraced from the beginning of the year:

1) Melky instead of Gardner - Melky's got the edge in ABs (263 to 194), but the production has been similar. It's clear that Gardner is more Girardi's kind of guy (better on D, 19 SB) and has shown more power than we expected (3 HR, 5 3B), but Melky's been clutch. He was a "center"piece in '07, but doesn't look like he's got that next level like the aforementioned #51.

2) Molina is the C, Posada is the DH - Girardi seems to have worked out a pretty good 3-man rotation with Posada, Molina, and Matsui in the two spots. Posada looks a little less flawed out there, and is still deadly at the plate.

3) Is Joba a starter or reliever? - I say starter, but who knows? The Yanks have played 94 games, and he's pitched 95 innings - that sounds on about pace what the baseball people had in mind. I love how his whole future still rides start-by-start. I don't know if keeping him in the rotation is the right move, but it's definitely not the wrong one. But I do know that...

4) The Yankee bullpen is great - None of us were saying that in May. You can argue thus far that Hughes has been effective as Joba in '07. Aceves is a godsend. Coke's been pretty good. And Damaso Marte's coming back!

5) Mark Texeira for AL MVP - Still very much alive. But I'll take the Gold Glove if he doesn't get the top slot. The best defensive 1B in the game. And a big time bat.

6) Bad OF defense - I like that they're subbing out for Damon now instead of Swisher. Not that Swisher's anything great, but he's got some great to go with the bad. Unlike Damon, who's just got a very reliable bat to go with the bad. This is where having Melky AND Gardner is extremely important.

7) Tight Manager - He looks like a genius now that the team's healthy and pitching well.