Strong pitching, offense breaking out of slump
QUEENS - Thank goodness the Mets are on the schedule.
If anyone needed a respite after over two weeks of horrendous play, it was the Yankees, who were making inferior competitors allow them to play their worst baseball since the early part of the season.
After losing five of their last seven to the Nationals, Marlins and Braves, the Yankees have won their last four games and have been reminiscent of their 19-6 run.
In last night's 5-0 win over the Mets at Citi Field, the Yankees laid out the blueprint for exactly how they want to win, and need to win if they intend to get to where they want to go this season.
Part of the plan is to have CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett as their unbeatable 1-2 punch that can win anywhere at anytime ad dominate a lineup by missing bats.
Sabathia struck out eight in his seven innings in Friday's 9-1 win, yielding only three hits and a run while pitching perfect in six of the seven frames.
Burnett was able to top that and more last night, striking out 10 and not allowing a hit until the sixth inning.
When you watch him, you see how he can be the pitcher who can go out in a postseason game and win a short series no matter if the Yankees have home field advantage or not. It is a combination the Yankees have not had since the championship years.
What you are seeing from the offense is their ability to wear down pitching staff and eventually score runs later in games. As evidenced last night, the lineup that on paper should have KO'd Mets starter Tim Redding only tallied one run over the first five innings.
Problem for Redding was that his pitch count was rising and it would only be a matter of time before the Yankees would strike, and they would do that in the sixth inning.
A double, RBI single and another double quickly made the score 2-0, and with Jorge Posada at the plate, the Yankees would break the game open with a three-run homer to make it 5-0.
This can all be traced back to Wednesday's game in Atlanta when it appeared as if the Yankees were on life support.
Having not reached base for the first four innings against Braves starter Tim Kawakami, Brett Gardner would reach on a walk to start the fifth. But he would be picked off when replays showed he clearly got his hand back to the bag in time. This incensed manager Joe Girardi, who argued his case to the umpires before being ejected.
The next batter Francisco Cervelli, almost on queue, delivered the teams first hit with a home run to tie the score and energize the team.
For a team that looked to be in a malaise, they needed the spark.
They have not looked back since. Winning that game 4-2 and then being victorious the next night game the team a different feeling leaving Atlanta then they did upon arrival.
By coincidence, the Mets just happened to be on the schedule and they too are falling prey to the suddenly venomous Yankee onslaught.
When you watch baseball over the course of six (sometimes seven) months, you realize what a long season it is. It is the ultimate game of peaks and valleys, highs and lows and how very rarely a season is just smooth sailing.
Some unexplainable things go on along the way.
How they lose two of three games to the Nationals?
No one really knows. That is just baseball.
How can a team look so awful for a stretch as the Yankees had in the 13 games and yet completely not resemble that team the last four days?
You watch them now and they look unbeatable. Of course, having great starting pitching will make any team look confident. Hell, the San Francisco Giants are the best team in baseball whenever Tim Lincecum is pitching despite having baseball's most putrid lineup.
For the Yankees, having their offense wear down pitchers and force them along with their defense to make mistakes and follow that up with great starting pitching, and that is a great formula for win it.
They are going to need it the rest of the season.
QUEENS - Thank goodness the Mets are on the schedule.
If anyone needed a respite after over two weeks of horrendous play, it was the Yankees, who were making inferior competitors allow them to play their worst baseball since the early part of the season.
After losing five of their last seven to the Nationals, Marlins and Braves, the Yankees have won their last four games and have been reminiscent of their 19-6 run.
In last night's 5-0 win over the Mets at Citi Field, the Yankees laid out the blueprint for exactly how they want to win, and need to win if they intend to get to where they want to go this season.
Part of the plan is to have CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett as their unbeatable 1-2 punch that can win anywhere at anytime ad dominate a lineup by missing bats.
Sabathia struck out eight in his seven innings in Friday's 9-1 win, yielding only three hits and a run while pitching perfect in six of the seven frames.
Burnett was able to top that and more last night, striking out 10 and not allowing a hit until the sixth inning.
When you watch him, you see how he can be the pitcher who can go out in a postseason game and win a short series no matter if the Yankees have home field advantage or not. It is a combination the Yankees have not had since the championship years.
What you are seeing from the offense is their ability to wear down pitching staff and eventually score runs later in games. As evidenced last night, the lineup that on paper should have KO'd Mets starter Tim Redding only tallied one run over the first five innings.
Problem for Redding was that his pitch count was rising and it would only be a matter of time before the Yankees would strike, and they would do that in the sixth inning.
A double, RBI single and another double quickly made the score 2-0, and with Jorge Posada at the plate, the Yankees would break the game open with a three-run homer to make it 5-0.
This can all be traced back to Wednesday's game in Atlanta when it appeared as if the Yankees were on life support.
Having not reached base for the first four innings against Braves starter Tim Kawakami, Brett Gardner would reach on a walk to start the fifth. But he would be picked off when replays showed he clearly got his hand back to the bag in time. This incensed manager Joe Girardi, who argued his case to the umpires before being ejected.
The next batter Francisco Cervelli, almost on queue, delivered the teams first hit with a home run to tie the score and energize the team.
For a team that looked to be in a malaise, they needed the spark.
They have not looked back since. Winning that game 4-2 and then being victorious the next night game the team a different feeling leaving Atlanta then they did upon arrival.
By coincidence, the Mets just happened to be on the schedule and they too are falling prey to the suddenly venomous Yankee onslaught.
When you watch baseball over the course of six (sometimes seven) months, you realize what a long season it is. It is the ultimate game of peaks and valleys, highs and lows and how very rarely a season is just smooth sailing.
Some unexplainable things go on along the way.
How they lose two of three games to the Nationals?
No one really knows. That is just baseball.
How can a team look so awful for a stretch as the Yankees had in the 13 games and yet completely not resemble that team the last four days?
You watch them now and they look unbeatable. Of course, having great starting pitching will make any team look confident. Hell, the San Francisco Giants are the best team in baseball whenever Tim Lincecum is pitching despite having baseball's most putrid lineup.
For the Yankees, having their offense wear down pitchers and force them along with their defense to make mistakes and follow that up with great starting pitching, and that is a great formula for win it.
They are going to need it the rest of the season.
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