The Yanks

This season has been an odd one. I'm not used to watching the Yankees play from behind, let alone from far behind, for the majority of a season. It'd gotten to a point where the glass was half empty in my mind. It's unusual for my typically bleary outlook to spill over into my baseball. I'd begun thinking about what changes needed to be made and addressed before next year. I'd been a whipping boy for any and all baseball conversations in and around the office. And I was without ammunition. What could I say? The Yankees were below .500. I took it on the chin. Gay porn style.

Well my friends, the times they are a'changin. Albeit against lesser opponents, the Yankees have done what has been necessary to make their season relevant again. Well, everything except address their bullpen whoes with a noteworthy addition to their staff. They have, however, dropped the dead weight that was Scott Proctor and Mike Myers via trade and assignment respectively. If only Farnsworth was a marketable entity. If recent history teaches us anything, it's that void that is Yankee middle relief will cost them in the postseason.

Last night's game seems to me a punctuation mark to this resurgence. A resounding "us vs. them". Great to see the Yanks dispose of division foes all the while defending each other without hesitation. No brawl but two bench clearings highlighted by Clemens' retribution and dismissal from the game.

"I heard somebody chirping when I was talking to Lyle [Overbay] ... Tony Pena is running his mouth off and I was like, 'What's this guy running his mouth off for?' This dude is a quitter. He managed a team and quit in the middle of the season because he couldn't hack it," said a sour grapes Josh Towers.

I am guessing he was referring to the incident that began at first base and soon after featured A-Rod questioning, as he stepped toward the mound, "Are you talking to me? Is he talking to me? Are you talking to me?!"

It seems the breath of the Yankees ability to polarize is as far reaching as ever this year. And I couln't be happier about it. I can't wait til they take first place from the Red Sox.