50 Games In, Yankees Off to a Promising Start

Earlier this season, after the Yankees had dropped their fifth consecutive loss to the Red Sox, I was tempted to write off the team’s chances for capturing their 27th World Championship. The bullpen, behind an embarrassing 5.79 ERA, was the second worst relieving corps in the Majors. The once untouchable Mariano was starting to show cracks, serving up almost as many home runs in his first dozen or so appearances than he did all of last season. The starting pitching wasn’t faring much better. From CC to Joba, the Yankees’ front five performed somewhere between wildly inconsistent and wholly ineffective. Offensively, the Yankees were stuck in a rut, despite averaging about 5 runs per game. Mark Teixeira, the Yankees’ high-priced first baseman through Obama’s second term, couldn’t hit his weight, and was even more dreadful in RBI opportunities. Through April, the Yankees, as a team, were hitting an anemic .237 with runners in scoring position. If it weren’t for Nick Swisher’s and Johnny Damon’s unbelievable first month, the Yankees could have easily been 10 games out, buried in the standings before Alex Rodriguez, out with a hip injury, played a single game. (Cody Ransom, Rodriguez’s replacement, had an equal number of strikeouts as he did hits).

But then a funny thing happened. A-Rod returned, and since May 8, the Yankees have gone a league-best 16-6, an impressive streak that included three consecutive walk-off wins and nine straight victories in as many days. At 29-21, the Bombers currently sit atop of the standings, and are finally living up to their moniker. In May, Teixeira hit .375 and drove in 35 runs, while A-Rod, in 22 games, has seven home runs and 17 RBI. Jorge is finally healthy. Jeter is still playing at a Jeterian level. Cano’s kept up his torrid pace. Melky’s finally playing at a consistent level. And the team’s defense is the best it’s been in years. In yesterday afternoon's loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees tied a Major League record with their 17th-straight game without an error.

Behind staff ace CC Sabathia, the starting pitching, which now includes Phil Hughes, is finally living up to expectations. Despite a few recent subpar outings, A.J. Burnett finally thinks he's figured out his mechanical--and mental--issues, while Andy Pettitte has locked down the back end of the rotation. The calls for Joba to the pen continue, but the kid, even with a less than impressive WHIP, is making  a strong case for why he should stay in the rotation, not just this year, but for the rest of his career. In the later innings, Mariano Rivera has returned to form, and Alfredo Aceves, the second coming of Ramiro Mendoza, has quickly emerged as a late-game stopper and reliable innings-eater. Meanwhile, erstwhile starter Chien-Ming Wang is rounding back into form: his velocity—and his signature sinker—is back, and his ERA, once an unsightly 35, is now a more manageable 16.07, spitting distance to Daisuke Matsuzaka, ESPN's favorite titular ace.

Although the team still needs to figure out the bullpen situation--and some questionable roster decisions-- I'm now much more confident in the Yankees' chances of reaching the postseason, after last year's absence, than I was in early April, just a few weeks ago. I even like their odds of capturing that elusive 27th championship this October.