1/3 of the Way Through and Feelin' Fine

So Far, So Good for Philthy Phil and Co.

It's the time of the year when we are usually in our manic comeback faze, climbing the division ranks and moving past .500. A piece of me misses the excitement of watching my Bombers stage this drama in the face of all the naysayers (which actually turned into, "They're the Yankees, they always start slow," In the last year or two.) I still remember the arcticle in SI about how we were done when we had that awful start some back. It might have been the reverse curse that year, but we went on a roll from that point forward. A bigger piece of me, however, is finding serenity in this new found steadiness. The conversation after the Blue Jays game about how looking at players performance early in the year above/below their abilities can give a good prediction of the team down the stretch pegged exactly something I've been thinking about. So far, we have a great looking balance heading into the rest of the season, something I firmly believe Bombers management considers when building this team.  Baseball Prospectus tries to determine a teams winning percentage based on their formula's of relative averages. They don't, however, take in all the crazy variables of the game we love.

I've been swamped at the restaurant, so I haven't had a chance to participate in the game threads, something I really want to do, but I always read the comments after work. Great stuff and really fun. Often times I'm too tired to write anything. At 2:00 AM in the morning that tiny picture of Ed almost looks like Wade Boggs, my brain is drained, and my wife needs a back massage (something I'm still lousy at...). Anyway, I thought I'd take this morning to write about some things so far this season and how I feel. I hope you enjoy it.

Curtis Granderson vs. Austin Jackson

This was something that grabbed my attention after the Detroit series. It seems some people are doubting this trade and I'm still not one of them. I stand by my belief that Jackson will hit around .280 with very little power numbers and tons of strikeouts when all is said and done. He is a singles hitter with speed and at this point, I'd rather have Gardy (Yes, that's Gardner, but Grandy too), even with their stats the way they are. We just don't have a place for this guy in our offense. Our team is first in runs and for a big change we are actually not just powering our way to the top. I feel much more comfortable with this approach, especially in close games and later in the post season. Grandy, his short DL stint aside, has truly been a ray of light out there. It has been nice to have a star in center. He's brought good defense, a positive attitude, and is starting to hit. He even hit one out vs. a lefty! This is the kind of guy we need NOW. On top of all that, he is a somewhat patient hitter who helps with my favorite 'hidden stat' of making pitchers arms work. Young Jackson is about as impatient of a hitter you can ask for. This might change as he matures, but the fact is, we are in it to win it right now.   

Nick Johnson vs. The Emergency Room

Poor NJ. Right after we get done ribbing him about the 'walking stick' thing with all the funny pictures, he gets hurt again. At the beginning of the year, I looked at this guys career injury list and thought to myself the guy MUST be due for a break (but I still wondered what kind of break...). Kinda like when the batter who is 0-30 against a certain pitcher and comes up and smacks a homer. Well, I was wrong. I almost feel bad for the guy and want to convince him to immediately retire in Hawaii and send me postcards. Unfortunetly, he would probably wind up falling into a volcano or something. Why do I think of this guy as being some 70 year old kindly man, smiling and waving to all the kids from his wheelchair? There is a bright spot to all this. If he can comeback and be healthy down the stretch, he's still a great asset. If we're still winning despite a player being injured, having them back and healthy can only help the team. Keeping the DH spot open right now actually helps give our older vets a chance to rest, lowering their chances they'll wind up like poor NJ, who still manages to get hurt as a DH. Get well soon Nick, we're all pulling for you!

Tex Mess  

Another thing bugging me lately is Tex. Everytime I watch him at the plate and check the boxscores after the game, I find myself disappointed that he is not red hot and bombing everything out. The fact is he's heating up a little and I have to look at his struggles early on with hopes that he will tear up the stretch with even more force. It's another good sign we're winning and leading the league in runs despite our number three guy hitting .220 with an OPS of .716. His defense has still been good despite a couple of shaky games. He's a great example of our team's pick-me-up offensive scheme. I guess I'll leave it like it is, "Don't Mess With Teixeiras!" (Well, he's actually from Maryland, but you get the point).

Philthy Phil and Joba the Hut

What happened here and who in the world could have predicted this? It was a given that the time would come when Phil would arrive, but this has been an incredibly great development. Granted, we have a long way too go, but he looks so nasty. Our rotation in general has been brilliant this year and CC has yet to come into his hot spot. People are starting to talk about Phil more and more now. The Bombers brass definelty didn't hold on to this guy for no reason. Joba, Joba, Joba. In all fairness he has had some lights out appearences, but he's also had some disasters of biblical proportions. I sometimes wonder if he isn't getting bored out there in teh pen and nipping at the bottle a little. Was all this meddling too much? He is turning 25 this year and what are the long term plans for this guy? I admit the whole 'grooming the closer' concept is idiotic, it was just something I threw around in the offseason to get your guys feel for what the Yanks are thinking here. For Joba, failure is becoming something of a not an option deal, and that can never have a positive impact on a young player, especially one who has gone through as much as him.

Javy, Baby!

He's working it out. Amazing, huh. Turns out we don't desperatly need Roy Oswalt after all. Where did that nonsense start anyway? It actually got me to thinking about it after ahwile.  It also turns out Javy will resemble his AL self, which is fine because he will eat innings and keep our underbelly safe. Teh pen is still something we need to work on, but I'll save that for someone else's post. It's funny how vicious we, as fans, can sometimes be. Wasn't it just yesterday the NY press was reporting such trash as how Javy failed to sign autographs in Puerto Rico? This town really goes for the throat. It was good to hear the cheers at the statium. Better then good, it was excelliente.

The Best Infield in MLB History Just Got Better? 

Robinson Cano. Wow, our MVP thus far and maybe the AL 1/3 season MVP. If he starts in the all-star game, we'll have a whole infield of players who have done such. That's pretty amazing and I'm not sure if its even been done before. Even more oustanding is the fact this infield may one day be an all HOF. I really like the way he is swinging the bat and can't see him having a sudden, huge drop off. I still believe his patience will keep him from winning too many batting titles, but who knows, maybe Joe Morgan called it for this year. If he hits .340 and only walks 30 times, I know I don't care. The RBI's, the confidence, the power, all there. He has been the total package.

CERVELLI FOREVER!!!!

Nuf said.

Well, there's my thoughts on some stuff, feel free to comment if you'd like. I'll post again at the halfway point. Thanks for a real entertaining time, Ed, Brandon, Darth Duggan, Scooby, Jscape, FreeBradshaw, and everyone else who makes this the #1 place in SB Nation (even you Cashman Bashman).