Yankee Gauntlet Comes to a Close

The New York Yankees have finally finished their 21 game in 20 day gauntlet, as the stretch ended just as it started: with Alex Rodriguez struggling. I really feel that Id be beating a dead horse if I went on and on about how abysmal A-Rod has been playing, both in the field and at the plate; Ill spare him and you all and just say that the guy hasnt been playing nearly as well as hes capable of. All of this poor play can be easily erased if A-Rod has a successful September and October, much like his great season last year was erased by a poor outing in the postseason.

But, I digress. The Yankees went 11-10 in this stretch of three consecutive weeks without a day off. The stretch was salvaged by a five-game sweep of the Red Sox up in Fenway, so people arent really getting upset about how poor the Yankees played in this stretch, minus that Red Sox series.

Besides the Boston series, the Yankees did not win a single series in the entire stretch. They started off losing 2/3 to the White Sox, split a 4 game series with the Angels, lost 2/3 to the awful Baltimore Orioles at home, lost 2/3 to the Seattle Mariners, who previously had lost 11 straight games, and then losing 2/3 to the Angels. As aforementioned, all of these losses are forgotten because of the pounding that the Yanks laid upon Boston.

Im not trying to downplay the Boston series, because not even in my wildest dreams did I think theyd sweep the Red Sox, but you cant overlook the rest of the stretch. Unfortunately for the Yankees, they do not play the Red Sox every game. If the Yankees had it that way, then wed win the division by 30 games, at the rate this season series is going.

The most disappointing aspect of this stretch was the way they finished it up, losing to the Anaheim Angels, a team that seems to just dominate the Yankees. Randy Johnson is going to need to pick it up, because even though hes giving them innings, allowing four to five runs per start is simply unacceptable. Jared Wright hasnt been pitching all that well anymore, and Moose is on the DL. Chieng-Ming Wang may be carrying this rotation for the last month of the season. Its time for the Yankees to step it up, starting with this midweek series against the Tigers, to solidify a position in the postseason.

On a lighter note, despite losing 4/6 to the Mariners and Angels, the Red Sox were unable to gain any ground on the Yankees divisional lead. They stand at 6.5 games up, and Boston seems to be dead in the water. On a better note, the Athletics have been playing pretty well and remain 5.5 games up on the Angels, a team that Id prefer not to play in the playoffs.

The New York Sports HQ will be covering issues regarding professional baseball, football, hockey, and basketball. Under special circumstances, we will also be covering other sports, such as golf, soccer, auto racing, and horse racing. We will provide insight, up to date news, opinion pieces, and all sorts of other information regarding the New York Sports world.

http://www.nysportshq.com/

Yankee Alex Rodriguez Stirring It Up
The floundering Yankees managed to win one yesterday. Many are questioning A Rods tatics in the top of the ninth. With the Yankees up by two runs, Alex Rodriguez was running from first on a pop fly by Jorge Posada. As the Blue Jay Clark, 3b, was preparing to catch the pop fly with McDonald, ss, backing up the play; A Rod let out a yell. This yell w...

Yankees Land the Big Fish in Abreu
As expected from just about everyone in the baseball world, the Yankees made a move before the trading deadline. What wasnt expected was that the Yankees would reel in such a huge catch: two-time All Star Bobby Abreu and pitcher Cory Lidle, who may turn out to be the huge sleeper that the Yankees need to hold up the back of their rotation. The Ya...

Friday Night Lights
The lights were on and the music was blaring from the old Yankee Stadium speakers in center-field, as the crowd filed in slowly on this middle-July evening. After tossing warm-ups in the bullpen prior to the game, Jose Contreras made the long walk from the bullpen to the visitors bench, to a mild chorus of boos as bitter Yankee fans showed that the...

Unmasking the Business Phantom Part 1 - Playing Business Without Rehearsal
We think in generalities but we live in details, I wonder how that phrase of word applied. It has been a long time I been seeing myself as an observers in most of the things that interest me, no doubt and with no exemption the business it self. And to put bias out the play and to genuinely consider my self as an observers, one must set aside him se...

2006 New York Yankees Preview
2005 Overview:The New York Yankees simply werent themselves for much of the 2005 season. The Bombers starting pitching proved spotty for much of the year while their offense regularly scratched and clawed for runs during the entire first half of the season. Newly acquired starter Randy Johnson struggled to become the power pitcher the Yankees had h...

How To Use Your Charcoal Grill As A Smoker
Ever wanted to smoke a brisket or salmon but could not because all you have is the normal round backyard charcoal grill? Well you can and you also can smoke foods just like a pro. See the key to smoking is cooking slow and low. This means long cook times and low cook temperatures. The idea is to indirectly cook the foods with the heat from the smok...

This Week Make or Break for BoSox
The Boston Red Sox began a three-game series in Oakland against the first place Athletics Monday night. The Sox trailed the New York Yankees by 6 games in the A.L. East and the Minnesota Twins by 5 games in the Wild Card going into Monday night.The 6-16 record that the Sox have compiled in the last 22 games means one thing: the Red Sox have to ...