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Friday night's Yankees-Red Sox game showed us a lot about the remainder of the 2010 season. If not for a Tampa Bay loss in Toronto, the entire evening would be a total wash. Fortunately, the Yankees remain in first place for another day, but one thing is for certain after the last two series and the opener against Boston: the 2010 Yankees are NOTHING like the 2009 World Champions. Let's take a look based on comparisons between Friday's game and last year's series opener between the Yankees and Red Sox (August 6, 2009).

Back on August 6, 2009, the Yankees got three big home runs to blow the game open against the Red Sox, from Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, and Jorge Posada. Flash forward to 2010, the Yankees get a big homer from Mark Teixeira, and then the offense completely dies. In 2010, the Yankees do not have Johnny Damon for no apparent reason- they have Brett Gardner, a decent fourth outfielder who reminds me more and more of Bubba Crosby every single day.

They don't have Melky Cabrera either, who was traded for Friday's losing pitcher, Javier Vazquez. And Jorge Posada didn't play Friday. Francisco Cervelli did, and his error on a simple pop up led to three unearned runs, the difference in the game. The 2010 Yankees simply do not have the same look as the 2010 Yankees. They don't work the count, not many come through in the clutch, and you don't get the feeling that the team is ever going to come back and win a game, even at home.

That game back in August of '09 also featured a clutch two run double by Hideki Matsui, who is no longer with the Yankees. Does anyone out there actually think that Lance Berkman is a better DH than Hideki Matsui? Berkman is horrible, and hitting coach Kevin Long has decided that after a 13-year career, it's a good time to change up Lance Berkman's batting stance. Nice job not giving the new guy too much to think about while he's up there putting up 0 for 4 performances every night. He fits right in with the likes of Curtis Granderson, Francisco Cervelli, and Brett Gardner.

Over their last four games, the Yankees have hit a two run homer in the first inning to take a lead, and they have found a way to lose all but one of those games. Why? Pitching, pitching, pitching. They only won the game that Phil Hughes pitched, because AJ Burnett, Dustin Moseley, and Javier Vazquez are simply not very great pitchers. That is why I have chosen to hit the panic button. Right now, out of the three teams fighting for these two playoff spots, the Yankees (without Andy Pettitte) are clearly outmatched by the other teams' rotations.

Saturday's Yankees-Red Sox game, in my mind, is the most important game of the season. They have a chance to maintain sole possession of first place, and put the Red Sox back to seven games out in the loss column. Should the Yankees drop another with their ace on the mound, they'll try to salvage a series split with AJ Burnett against Josh Beckett, followed by Dustin Moseley against John Lester. I think that's all you need to know about the importance of Saturday's contest.

Number 600

Alex Rodriguez's 600th home run could not have come at a better time. Besides the fact that it is finally over with, A-Rod hit it in a game the Yankees HAD to have before taking on the Red Sox this weekend. He also contributed to one of those John Sterling "you can't explain baseball" facts. Three years ago, August 4, 2007, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run at Yankee Stadium, and Phil Hughes earned the win. On August 4, 2010, A-Rod hit number 600, and Phil got himself another W. Congratulations to Alex. Regardless of what you think of his past activities, the guy has admitted he was wrong, and carried on, leading the Yankees to a championship last season. I'm happy that number 600 is over, and the Yankees can move on.

Phil Hughes was solid, but it's very painful to watch him pitch. He takes an eternity in between pitches, but it's tough to complain when someone finally shuts down the Blue Jays and ends a miserable three game losing streak. The starters have been nothing but shaky over past week or so, but the Yankees bullpen is really coming together. Boone Logan, Joba Chamberlain, and David Robertson have turned it up since the All Star Break. Mariano Rivera is Mariano Rivera. Damaso Marte hasn't been seen in quite a while, but right now, Boone Logan is filling the lefty role perfectly. You have to imagine when and if Marte comes back, Girardi will keep two lefties out in the 'pen.

While A-Rod will be the headline for today, I'd like to do something I haven't done very much since the inception of this blog: credit Derek Jeter. The offense has been scuffling, and the team is out of first place. So what does Derek do? He has a 4-4 afternoon at the Stadium, raising his average to .280. Derek goes on these tears sometimes and all of a sudden, he's up around .300. He scored three runs, setting the table for every Yankee rally of the day. With Swisher and Tex heating up behind him, maybe Alex can get on a power surge now that the flashbulbs will die down.

The Yankees have an off day Thursday before an enormous series with Boston begins on Friday night. It's not enormous because of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. It's enormous because the Yankees, Rays, and Rex Sox are probably baseball's three best teams. Even with the Red Sox decimating injuries, they have hung in there. Two of these three teams will reach the playoffs, while one will go home. In my mind, if the Yanks can take 3 out of 4, Boston becomes buried in the standings. However, despite their injuries, the Yankees will still have to take on Josh Beckett and John Lester. Whatever happens, get ready for a long, long weekend full of four hour games and see-saw battles.

RAYSing Eyebrows

It's August 1st, and even after today's debacle in St. Petersburg, the New York Yankees are still in first place by themselves. That's normally no cause for concern, especially after the "successful" trade deadline moves made by Brian Cashman and the Yankees' front office. Lance Berkman, Austin Kearns, and Kerry Wood are certainly upgrades over Marcus Thames, Colin Curtis, and even the great Chan Ho Park. Things are looking up for the most part with a tough last two months of the regular season remaining.

Today, however, was one big question mark. After an emotional, thrilling win Saturday night fueled by several clutch home runs, Joe Girardi and the Yankees had the chance to take their second consecutive series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the team with the second best record in baseball, and the team right behind them in the A.L. East Standings. The ace of the team was on the mound, but the lineup was outrageous. I respect Joe Girardi's willingness to rest veteran players to keep them fresh for the stretch run, but was it necessary against the Rays? Couldn't this have waited until the Yankees return home Monday against Toronto?

Sunday's lineup did not feature Alex Rodriguez, who is beginning to show signs of frustration due to his pursuit of home run number 600. It did not feature Brett Gardner, a spark plug at the plate and on the bases, despite having a right handed pitcher on the mound for Tampa Bay. Finally, the lineup did not feature the American League Gold Glove Award winner at first base, Mark Teixeira. Instead, Girardi stuck Lance Berkman at first base, giving the new Yankee a shot in the field, and he inserted Austin Kearns into left field, who failed to reach base at all.

Lance Berkman did pick up his first hit as a Bomber, but his play in the field likely cost the Yankees two runs. Early on, a bloop pop up by Kelly Shoppach went off his glove, allowing the game's first run to score with two outs. If that ball is hit to Mark Teixeira 100 times, Tex makes the play 100 times. Hands down. Later in the game, Berkman failed to scoop up a relatively simple one hop throw from Robinson Cano. That runner eventually came around to score. If Tex gets that throw 100 times, he probably makes it about 90 to 95 times. I know Tex deserved a "half day" off, but this could have waited until tomorrow.

CC Sabathia was not great, but he just always seems to pitch well enough to win. In his last two outings, the mighty New York Yankees have not been able to score a run in support of him. Tough to win that way. Sabathia probably deserved to pitch seven innings and surrender only one run, but he still would have lost anyway. I was impressed with Kerry Wood's debut. The guy hasn't pitched since July 11, and he showed how good his stuff was by striking out three batters. Chad Gaudin had to help him get out of the eighth inning, but Wood is clearly an upgrade over Chan Ho Park, whom he replaced on the roster.

As good a day as Saturday was for the organization, Sunday was almost that bad. The Yankees got a great start from their ace against a tough lineup, but their lineup was missing some key elements, and most hitters failed to make contact against James Shields, who despite his 9-9 record and ERA over 4.00, has been pretty brilliant against the Yanks in 4 starts this season. It will be interesting to see how Joe Girardi sets up the lineup this week against Toronto before a Yanks-Sox showdown begins on Friday. Does Lance Berkman deserve to be hitting second? Should the red hot Swisher have been moved out of his original spot, where he has been putting up a fabulous season? The Yankees' roster greatly improved over the weekend, but many questions remain to be answered.

Who Needs It?

It would be easy to sit here and complain about Alex Rodriguez's journey to 600. He hit number 599 a week ago in the Bronx, and he's yet to crack one over the fence since then. But you'd really only be able to complain about it if the team was losing, and if Alex was in a slump. Alex Rodriguez has been a different person since last season. He doesn't try to do too much, and that homer will come when it comes. A-Rod had a beautiful at bat in the first inning, driving in the first run of the game with a single up the middle, and that's all AJ Burnett and the Yankees needed en route to an 8-0 route of the Indians. I would like to retract my statement last week involving the Yankees' need to trade for Fausto Carmona. If there's any question why, check last night's box score.

Mark Teixeira is really turning it on, and it looks like he'll have no trouble ending up with over 30 homers and 100 RBI's, despite another horrendously slow start. The most important thing tonight was not Alex's base hits (one of which went off the right field wall), not Granderson's clutch at bats, or Cano's unbelievable power, but it was the man on the mound, AJ Burnett. After his little tantrum back on July 17, Burnett has turned in back-to-back scoreless outings to win two consecutive games. With Pettitte out and Dustin Moseley starting Thursday's series finale, the Yankees really needed this one, and Burnett delivered.

The Yankees are now 17-6 in the month of July, which is the best mark in baseball. The problem they are having are the teams below them, Tampa Bay and Boston. Tampa, too, is 17-6 this month, and Boston picked up a huge sweep of the LA Angels. If you think about it, the Red Sox are almost picking up free agents at the trade deadline as their stars begin to come off of the disabled list: Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia. Fortunately, the Yankees have a 7 game lead over Boston, so there's not a need to worry (yet). Tampa Bay is another story, and this weekend's series at the Trop will tell you a lot about the remainder of the 2010 season.

Despite enormous amounts of power in the Yankee lineup, it's more encouraging to see games like tonight won by timely hitting. The base hits by Rodriguez, Gardner, and Teixeira that gave the Bombers a 4-0 lead essentially put the game away in the second inning. It became a show of whether or not A-Rod would get it done. A-Rod, like many other power hitters, hits homers in bunches. Once A-Rod gets number 600 out of the way, expect him to reel off about 4 or 5 more in a week. Other than the end of Tuesday's game, the Yankees haven't NEEDED a home run from Alex at any point. When he has to, he's still come through with the big hit. It's just those final at bats of the game where you see him swinging out of his shoes a little bit.

Every article/video blog entry this week has ended with a trade deadline discussion. I'm not all that sure if the Yankees will be able to acquire anyone at this point, but Scott Downs and Adam Dunn are the two men I'd most like to see in pinstripes by August 1st. Downs, a left-handed reliever from Toronto, has been outstanding this year, and Boston is also vying for his services. Dunn, a perfect DH for Yankee Stadium, hits mammoth home runs and his on base percentage would be a perfect fit. Only a few days remain for Cashmoney to come through.

No Surprise Party

Tuesday, Alex Rodriguez had a chance to give himself a birthday gift by cracking homer number 600. Instead, the Yankees' reputation of failing against pitchers they've never seen before gained some steam, as rookie Josh Tomlin knocked off the World Champs for an embarrassing loss. Over the first two games in Cleveland, Jake Westbrook and Josh Tomlin have looked like Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Is it really a surprise that Tomlin beat the Yankees? Ask Sean O'Sullivan about last Tuesday at the Stadium, when the rookie was masterful over seven innings. Five days later, the Yanks destroyed him as a member of the Royals. Something about that "first time" just doesn't go right for this team.

CC Sabathia was not great Tuesday night, but he was good enough to win. He always gives the Yankees innings and keeps the team in the game, but that's tough to do when you don't score until the eighth inning. Once in a while, it's OK to lose a game. But when you play in the American League East, two in a row is just about unacceptable. Tampa Bay continues to win, and third place Boston still has one of the best records in baseball. It's VERY tough to sweep a four game series, but you'd really like to see the Yankees take the next two before a showdown in St. Petersburg.

Not a good sign to see that Jorge Posada was scratched from the lineup with a sore knee. This is no knock on Cervelli, because he was huge when the team needed him early in the season, but Francisco can't hold a candle to Jorge's bat. If the Yankees were to do something at the trade deadline, Adam Dunn is not a bad idea for DH. Jorge is going to have to catch for the rest of the season until, hopefully, Jesus Montero is ready next year. Cervelli simply cannot maintain solid offensive numbers over the course of a full season.

Alex is finally starting to look like he's pressing a little bit. I can't say I blame him much, but to his credit, his fly out in the seventh inning probably would have been in the seats in the Bronx, and this anticipation/distraction would finally be over. One positive came out of tonight: Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless eighth inning. If the Yankees can trade him away for a bag of sunflower seeds, the team would improve by the end of the week.

A Grand Night

The Inside Corner discusses Monday night's 3-2 victory in Cleveland, Alex Rodriguez's pursuit of homer number 600, and the idea of instant replay in Major League Baseball.

Royally Stupid

Today was another brutally long, yet important game in the 2010 Yankees season. Phil Hughes was not great, but he improved off his last start to pick up his 12th win of the season. Curtis Granderson showed signs of last year's power by cracking two homers, and Boone Logan has put together several impressive outings in a row to become a force out of the Yankees bullpen. Although Alex Rodriguez failed to crack number 600 at home, the Yankees' offense exploded and knocked off the Royals, 12-6.

It was a great game, the Red Sox lost again, and the Yanks finished the homestand with a 6-3 record. So why am I complaining? In the bottom of the eighth inning, Alex Rodriguez had a chance to crack number 600 with the bases loaded, which also would have given him career grand slam number 22. Sadly, he was drilled with a 1-2 fastball in his left forearm and came out of the game. I thought the Yankees needed to retaliate, showing other teams that they won't put up with their best player being knocked down and hit in the same at bat. Instead, Chan Ho Park came in to pitch the ninth inning, walked a couple of guys, and showed no heart by not even coming close to drilling any of the Kansas City Royals' hitters.

This is not only Chan Ho Park's fault, but also the rules of Major League Baseball. What if Park hits a guy? Then, you are looking at a suspension. (Would it be bad to see Park suspended?) Seriously, the rules have gotten a little bit too tight for pitchers throwing inside, and umpires issuing warnings. Believe it or not, I would have liked to see Joba Chamberlain start the ninth inning and put one in somebody's ear. That's the way old time baseball was played. There's nothing wrong with it. At least Joba would have accomplished something positive after another horrendous eighth inning. Could the Yankees possibly consider sending him to Scranton to get his head straightened out?

Dan Haren was traded from Arizona today, but it was not to the New York Yankees. Instead, he went to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Joe Saunders and a cast of others. I like Haren, but he's not someone that causes you to want to give up all of your minor league talent. If all the D-Backs wanted was Joba, however, why couldn't the Yankees pull the trigger? Either way, I'm happy to see him with the Angels. Right now, the Angels are certainly not a playoff team, and we all remember what happened last year when the Angels pulled off a "steal" to pick up Scott Kazmir.

The Yankees head to Cleveland before a big series in Tampa next weekend. If Girardi puts him in the lineup, I guarantee A-Rod cracks number 600 in Ohio Monday night. No excessive flash bulbs, no standing ovations. Let's just hope the midges don't return at any point.