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The Yankees have won nine games in a row, their longest winning streak since May 2009. They've won 19 of their last 23 games, a winning percentage of .826. That's tremendous baseball for almost a month. For all the doomsday talk we were hearing not long ago, the Yankees' current record of 40-25 is a three games better than their record was at this point in 2009. Huzzah. Soak it all in and hope it continues as the Yankees begin a homestand tonight with the Atlanta Braves. CC Sabathia and Mike Minor, who gave the Yankees fits last time around, will square off again as the Yankees try to push their win streak into the double digits, which they have not done since May 2005.
- During this successful stretch, the one member of the rotation who has not pitched well is CC. Solution? The fastball isn't rotating well. Hopefully CC rounds into form soon--if he's the weakest link in the Yankee rotation, then things are going pretty well.
- Oh hey, CC has the answer! Fantastic. Looking forward to it tonight.
- Nick Swisher missed yesterday's game after suffering a contusion in Saturday's game and suffering "the worst charley horse ever," but he hopes to return to the lineup tonight. Also Joe Girardi is in favor of expanding instant replay! Always nice to hear.
- This article is a few days old, but The Hardball Times had a list of baseball's all-time best players in June. Note how many Yankees are on that list (Bill DIckey, Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jack Chesbro, Wade Boggs), and even Yankee announcer Ken Singleton is in on the fun. LOOK OUT.
- I just learned today that Justin Pope is the manager of the low-A Staten Island Yankees. He has a pretty great story behind him though, and reading the article made me remember the forgotten Sterling Hitchcock trade of 2003, in which they acquired Pope from the Cardinals (ha). The link also shows the new 2012 draft picks on Staten Island's roster. Let's hope to see many of them in pinstripes by 2016 or so.
- Uh oh. Wally Matthews just compared Ivan Nova to Greg Maddux. You have been warned.
I'll leave you with this perhaps-terrifying note at the bottom of the Swisher article:
The Yankees were without a backup catcher on Saturday after Stewart pinch-hit in the pitcher's spot in the 12th inning. Girardi said that the likely emergency catcher would be Jayson Nix, though Raul Ibanez also caught when he first came up as a pro.