NY YANKEES: A Lot Can Happen In 25 Games

 A lot can happen in 25 games, both good and bad. A lot has happened since I gave my Yankees 50 game review just a few weeks ago. At that time I wasn't sure what type of team the Yankees were going to be this season but over the last 25 games it's the team that all Yankees fans were expecting and hoping for. At the end of May the Yankees had a record of 28-22 and were in third place. Twenty-Five games later they stand atop the American League East with a record of 46-29 and a five game lead over the Baltimore Orioles. That's right !! 29 losses. They've lost only 7 games in the last 25 and during that span they had a 10 game winning streak. After beating the Atlanta Braves at home on June 18th they then went on the road sweeping the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves to return home and sweep their cross town rivals the New York Mets. If you want to call it beating up on the National League go ahead, call it what you want. I'll take a " W " any way we can get it !! They can only play who's on the schedule.

     A big part of their turn around has been the play of second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano entered May hitting just .267 with 1 homerun and 4 RBIs. At the end of May he started to get warmer. For the month of May he hit .312 with 7 homeruns and 19 RBIs but in the last 28 games he's on fire hitting .356 with 10 homeruns and 19 RBIs. Through the first 50 games he had struck out 29 times, during the next 25 games he's struck out 15 times. He's just being more patient and selective at the plate. Lately he's hitting every ball on the screws. He's got my vote for MLB Player Of The Month and he is the leading vote getter for AL second baseman in this year's All-Star Game . As a team the Yankees are ranked 6th in runs scored with 358, 12th in batting average hitting .259, 4th in on-base percentage at 3.34 and 2nd in slugging percentage at .453.

     The pitching all season has been solid. The Yankees pitching staff is ranked 3rd in the American League. In the month of June CC Sabathia is 3-1 in with an ERA of 3.03. He is 9-3 on the season with an ERA of 3.45. Ivan Nova is 3-0 in June with an ERA of 1.26. Overall Nova is 9-2, his ERA is 4.03. Phil Hughes is starting to put it together. In June he is 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA. For the season Hughes is 8-6 with an ERA of 4.48. Hiroki Kuroda is 3-1 in June with an ERA of 2.38. For the season he's 7-7 with an ERA of 3.40. If you've read any of my earlier blogs you know I'm not a big fan of Kuroda. He's thrown some good games where he was a victim of a lack of run support so he was unable to factor in the decision. His ERA is certainly acceptable but as a number 3 starter he should have a record better than five hundred.

     Speaking of five hundred, didn't everyone go nuts because AJ Burnett was a five hundred pitcher. That was was one of the reasons fans wanted him out of New York. Oh, by the way. Burnett who is now with the Pittsburgh Pirates is 9-2 with an ERA of 3.31. Hmmm makes me wonder what would have happened had Burnett still be in pinstripes. I knew he would pitch well this season. The Yankees are paying $11.5 of Burnett's $ 16 million a year salary along with Kuroda's $10 million a year. Last time I checked 11.5 plus 10 equals 21.5. The way I see it their paying $ 21.5 million for a five hundred pitcher. Maybe they should have kept AJ and saved a couple bucks. But then again money has never been an issue with the Yankees.

     The bullpen has been strong. Filling in for the injured Mariano Rivera as the closer is Rafael Soriano. Soriano is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.88 with 17 saves. He's done a fine job, let's hope it continues in big spots, especially in October. David Robertson has returned from his injury and is back in the 8th inning set up roll.

     That's the good news. Now for the bad news. CC Sabathia will miss his next two starts with a grade 1 groin strain. He will go on the 15 day disabled list and return after the All-Star Break. Andy Pettitte will miss at least 8 weeks after fracturing his left ankle on come backer off the bat of Indians Casey Kotchman. The 40 year old Pettitte will go on the 60 day DL . Outfielder Brett Gardner who has been out since April 17th with a strained right elbow is hopeful he will rejoin the team after the All-Star Break.

     Pitcher Adam Warren was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take a spot in the starting rotation is making his Major League debut as I am writing this blog. At Scranton Warren was 5-5 with an ERA of 3.86. Straight from my television in his debut against the Chicago White Sox, Warren lasted just 2.1 innings giving up 6 runs on 8 hits which included homeruns by AJ Pierzynski and Paul Konerko. Contrary to what I just said about the bullpen being strong tonight wasn't the case. Cory Wade and David Phelps imploded as the White Sox went on to win 14 to 7.

     The bright spot in tonight's game was a leadoff double in the first inning by Derek Jeter which moved him past Cal Ripken Jr. into 13th place on the all time hits list with 3,185. Who says we don't give you up to the minute news and info ?

      I will take a look at what's hot on the trade market and what rumors are floating around. Stay tuned !!