Yankee Doodle Dandy

So A-Rod gets his 500th home run and the Yankees are now within a half game of the Wild Card. Phil Hughes is back and Joba Chamberlain is apparently on his way to the Show. Cano and Cabrera are raking and adding an element of youthful exuberance to the club that we haven't seen in some time. Mariano is Mariano.

Of course, it's also worth noting that Clemens has been bad, Pettitte is on a downward trend, Mussina has a lot of work to do to salvage a lost season, and Igawa is back at AAA stinking it up. Farnsworth is still with the club although Myers is gone. Giambi is back, but one has to wonder how he will fit into a club that is on a roll. Will he hit .111 for a few weeks and drag us down in any important situations?

The good and the bad of the Bombers at least looks a bit more like the good and the bad of a contending ballclub again. For a very long time the good and the bad of the 2007 Yankees looked a lot like the roller coaster ride that a bad ballclub endures on its way to Fall vacation. The light at the end of the tunnel is there. If the club plays anywhere near the current clip the rest of the way, we will absolutely run away from the pack in the Wild Card and make things very uncomfortable in Boston.

The rest of the way, I'm looking forward to the contributions of our young guys most. It's a pleasure to see this again in 2007 after watching it in 2006. Now, we've forgotten the proposed trade of Melky Cabrera for Mike Gonzalez, who is now out for the year after arm problems. Some of the best trades are the ones never made, to quote an overused cliche. For all the criticism that Cashman has to weather, and in many cases rightly so, he also needs to get a pat on the back for being smart enough to hang onto our young guys. His commitment to building the organization at all levels is his saving grace as a GM. He's done it brilliantly, and we should see it all pay off in 2-3 years when we see our minor leagues fuel our roster in the Bronx.

The later part of this month sees a number of very tough series, so it's best that we continue to take care of business now to build our case for the playoffs. If we can shave 2 more games off the Sox lead before we meet them for a 3 game stand at the end of this month, we could make some real noise.