brewhavingaball

It is a ritual that has come to be routine in the Bronx.  It makes people nervous or ecstatic prematurely, but everybody notices, and just about everybody over-reacts.  Some thought this year might be different with Joe Torre in LA and Joe Girardi running the Bombers, but, alas, the same script is being employed.

After a slow trip out of the gate to the 1/4 pole, the Yankees have become, well, the Yankees again.  Point to A-Rod’s return from injury, or a nice combination of blundgeoning the ball and enough pitching, or New York finally hitting spring weather (two months behind the rest of the country), but there is no denying this looks like the run that gets them back in contention.

Consider that the Yankees were 20-25 on Wednesday morning and that the latest 3 losses had come to the scuffling Mets and the surprising and surging Orioles, who had just moved to 24-20 by winning for the 8th time in their last 10 games.  And that 8th win was a 12-2 drubbing of the Yankees, that dropped the Yankees a couple games buried in the AL East’s cellar.  That isn’t part of the script.  Usually the Rays, or the Jays, or the O’s keep the Yankees from occupying the basement in the standings, but not this year.

It seems the response has come.  The Yanks have not lost since Tuesday night - winning 4 in a row and looking to make it 5 with Chien-Ming Wong facing Jarrod Washburn (of the 6.99 ERA) at the Stadium today.  But this run might be prolonged, this might be the one that removes them out of harms way for most of the season.

After today the Yankees travel to Baltimore to face that Oriole team that has lost all four since Tuesday, and seems that it may have pinched itself.  Then comes a 4 game set in Minnesota with a Twins team that has given up 6 or more in 5 of its last 7, and more than 4 in all of those 7.  Then the Yankees return home to face the Blue Jays and KC (who has lost 6 straight as of today).  Here it comes, a demolition of a young Baltimore team, hot bats running through Minnesota, Yankee confidence and mystique intimidating a decent Jays side, and then a standard issue whacking of the Royals.  What do you think - 11-4, 12-3, if you count today in this streak?  They won’t be under .500 after it, whatever they do.

I don’t root for it, but don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.  Now is when the Yankees turn into the Yankees.  Boston can be the focus after that.

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