Finally the Yankees find themselves alone
in first place. After the Red Sox got shut out by the Rangers last night the
Yankees sit a full game above Boston. They also have a comfortable 7.5 game
lead in the wild card to fall back on. The Yankees rotation is eating up
innings like its 2003 and the only question mark seems to be A.J. Burnett. With all the winning the
Yankees have done in the past three years it seems like Burnett has not done
his part to contribute. It’s nice to hear that Brian Cashman won’t make decisions based on money, but I will
believe that when I see it. Here are my takes on the week as the Yankees look
to make a push on the best record in baseball.
Alex Rodriguez is back in
the lineup and it will be interesting to see if he can hit 30 home runs again
this season. He always seems to find a way to do it.
How much fun is watching Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira try to outdo each other
with home runs? Now imagine if A-Rod was in on their friendly competition.
Is it too soon to put Jorge Posada back as the full-time DH? It
seems as though the second Joe Girardi
took him out of the lineup he started hitting.
We are approaching
September 1st call-ups. If you were the Yankees, who would you call
up? I would take a backup catcher (Jesus
Montero), another lefty (Steve Garrison
or Raul Valdes), a backup infielder (Brandon
Laird) and another outfielder or two (Greg
Golson and Chris Dickerson).
It is time for Bartolo Colon to showing the Yankees
some more if he wants to be the No. 2 starter in the playoffs. He started the
season on fire and after coming back from the DL has been effective, but not
the same.
The Yankees have a quick
three-game homestand versus Oakland before hitting the road to play the Orioles
and Red Sox. This is where the Yankees can spate themselves a little bit from
Boston. Look for the Yankees to end their six-man rotation after Sunday’s
doubleheader. If I had to guess unless Burnett throws a gem his next time out,
he will be bumped to the bullpen.
