Those Damn Yankees

I was scared this day would come though I was sure it would. I picked the yankees to win the East before the season began and after months of feeling like an idiot I now remember why I made that prediction in the first place. The pitching I took to be decent but the offense was, and is, downright scary. Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Arod, Matsui, Giambi, Cano, Posada, and then whoever the hell they feel like letting play first base. Look at that lineup....that's ridiculous. Giambi hit 37 homers last year, Cano and Jeter nearly won the batting title, Matsui is good for 100 RBIs, Abreu brought his .450 OBP from Philly, and then of course Arod. It's ironic that the player that probably spent the most time on his image over the last decade has one of the most tarnished at the moment. I don't understand how the New York media has found so much to complain about. It's as if they were worried that when Arod came to NY he would supplant Jeter as the face of the Yankees and Jeters biggest fan club (the NY media) couldn't have this. Even though Arod is a greater run producer and, at the time a better fielder, each writer had to reassure Jeter this was still his team. It doesn't matter a whole lot now as the season is turning around, albeit over garbage teams like the ChiSox and the Pirates. Yeah the 3rd game in Fenway was a classic but the Yankees just as easily could've been down 3 or 4 going into the 9th. A number of balls were smoked but just happened to be hit at fielders. The Sox hitters nearly always took quality at bats but just couldn't get the bounces. I don't know about this Sox team. I had them winning the World Series out of the Wild Card slot again just because I didn't think there was any way for their hitting to match up against the Yankees. So far that's been inaccurate but I don't see Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilus continuing to hit like this. No doubt they are good hitters but Lowell has more power than we've seen in years and Youk is a career .288 hitter. Pretty soon Manny will have to turn it around or we might start talking about more than the Wild Card for the Yankees. The reason I still like the Sox in the playoffs is because of the stacked pitching that accompanies the above average offense. Noone is going to want to face Schilling, DiceK, and Beckett in a playoff series. On top of that Wakefield is a solid number 4 who can eat up innings. Okajima has been a pleasant surprise and Papelbon is back to him dominant self. I just don't see anyone beating them in a 7 game series when they are playing good baseball. Still though, it's impossible to count out the Yankees. The offense is resurgent and Clemens is back. I despise Clemens but he is an asset. His numbers will be inflated for the first month or so I think because his legs are two months fresher than the rest of the league. The last couple of seasons he had minor problems later in the season so I see him helping the Yankees make the playoffs but he won't have anything left in the tank for October. In the end it might not matter if Detroit and Cleveland continue to play good baseball. Both teams are 10-9 vs the AL East while the Yankees are an embarrassing 8-15. Regardless, here's to a great baseball season.