Firing off the bullet points on the state of the Yankees at the break, 46-40 (.535), two losses back in both the AL East and wild-card races.
• What a half. More streaks than can be found in Al Bundy's tighty-whities left us wondering: Are they this bad or just playing this bad? Are they this good or just playing this good? Honestly, I didn't know what to think. Every week a new team would show up.
• After an 11-19 start (game log), the Yankees are 35-21 (.625). Playing at that rate the rest of the year would leave them at 94-68. Among AL teams, only the White Sox (107) and Angels (96) are on pace to win that many. So we're right there at the 13-mile mark of this marathon.
• Of course, you'd have to believe that the 11-19 team is dead and gone. And I do. Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang weren't part of that mix, the middle relief has a new look, and the defense has been better than abysmal.
• Notice anything about the next three series on the second-half schedule? At Boston, at Texas and at L.A. Those teams are No. 3, No. 2 and No. 6 in runs scored. It's all about the starters, man.
• If you knew before the season that the Yankees would lead the AL in runs, walks and OBP, and be No. 3 in home runs, with Mariano Rivera having the best season of his career, you'd figure them better than six wins over .500, no?
• Not only is Jason Giambi primed for a solid second half, he actually had a pretty good first half, if you go by the fashionable modern stats that aren't as relaint on teammates as runs and RBIs. Check it: .426 OBP (1st in AL), .890 OPS (15th in AL).
• Hideki Matsui (.320 BA, 14 HR, 70 RBIs, .384 OBP. .915 OPS) deserves to be on the All-Star team, but I'm glad he's getting the rest. Man, has he turned it around, raising his average 58 points since June 2 (game log).
• It took three decades to learn he identity of Deep Throat, and I wonder if it'll take that long to learn whether Joe Torre continued to play Giambi because he had to (contract) or because he really thought Jason was capable of weeks like this.
• More than 52,000 people have attended each of the Yankees' last nine home games, all supposedly sellouts. That's killer. Nice job by all the fans.
• Being that he hits in front of Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez and Matsui, Cano has got to learn to bunt runners over. Just has to. And Saturday's loss showed he really can't do that now.
• Don Mattingly officially got the loudest ovation at Old Timers Day. No one else was even close. It's like a cult thing now. He may not have a ring, but we treat him like a king every chance we get.
• David Justice was miked up for Old Timers Day and, after bragging about going "upper tank" in batting practice, was asked who he wanted to face in the game. He replied, "Anyone who can throw it down the middle with nothing on it." Unfortunately, Felix Heredia was not in the park.
• Wade Boggs freaked me out with his new hair. I guess he bartered it from Medical Hair Restoration for promotion.
Today's Sports Links:
You can find everything at SportsByBrooks.com, where I wrote today's update, including:
• The biggest Sports Illustrated curse ever
• Jose Canseco's smelly Surreal Life dump
• Diamond Dallas Page's yoga book
• The loudest Yankees fan ever
• EA Sports' NCAA Football 06 release
• Where is Evander Holyfield's ear chunk?
PK, you forgot to mention that Giambi's back on the juice. You started saying that about a week ago and I think you are onto something. 1) He's POUNDING the ball again. 2) have you seen the size of the vein in his neck when he's argued with the umps. 3) Torre said this week that he and Donny knew Jason was getting "back to normal" when after a strike out he came back to the dug out raging because he thought he should have gotten a hit off that pitcher.
On a side note, I was watching the Yanks v. Detroit game and I noticed that Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez (who was accused of using steroids by Jose Canseco) seems to have gone on the Sammy Sosa diet. During the game Michael Kay said that Pudge lost 35 lbs in the off-season and he did it by "cutting out the junk food". Is that hysterical or what? I wonder if the fact that he cut Ho-Ho's out of his diet have anything to do with his less than stellar power numbers this season.
Posted by Nick at July 11, 2005 10:24 AM