8/15/2009

in

Summer months are good to the most successful team in baseball history.

Brian Donnelly

Despite their loss to the Seattle Mariners Sunday, the New York Yankees have won 12 of their last 14 games. However, that isn't their most impressive feat in recent weeks.  
  
The Yankees have, more or less, followed the same pattern since the 2004 season. They get off to a slow start, which gets Boston fans excited and New York fans concerned that the "Evil Empire" of baseball has finally collapsed. Then, miraculously, they turn it around in a charge toward the playoffs.  
  
This season, that tradition is alive and never more miraculous as the Bronx bombers have gone 23-7 since the All-Star break, the best start to a second half in the team's illustrious history. Although some doubted their ability to come back from a slow first half, they now lead the Boston Red Sox in the American League East by 7-1/2 games.  
  
What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that New York has been hit with injuries that could have devastated their season. Top guys like Alex Rodriguez, Xavier Nady, Jorge Posada and their winningest pitcher over the last three seasons, Chien-Ming Wang, have spent significant time out of action. Even with a lineup saddled with injuries, the Yankees have eight players with at least 15 home runs. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says that guys have stepped up this season. That includes utility players like Melky Cabrera, Jerry Hairston, Jr., and Eric Hinske. No Yankee fan will forget the string of game-winning runs Cabrera knocked in or scored early in the summer.  
  
The one stabilizing element has been the pitching, which the front office did their best to bolster with the acquisitions of C. C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnet in the off-season. They further fortified their rotation by making Joba Chamberlain a starter. Since the All-Star break, Chamberlain is 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA.  
  
On the back end of New York's pitching staff, Phil Hughes has made a successful transition from starter to reliever, delivering dominating performances. Of course, Mariano Rivera has been dominant as usual, converting 31 consecutive save opportunities and 35 overall this season. From their recent success has come a lighter clubhouse. Catcher Jose Molina says they all get along, while Sabathia says that they have a lot of fun.  
  
While regular-season success has been a constant over the past 15 years, the Yankees haven't seen a World Series since 2003 when they fell to the Florida Marlins, leaving the question: Can they translate their greatest second half of a season into post-season success?