What a relief. When McCann hit a homer early in last night’s game against the Indians, the series finale, I said, “Please don’t let this be it. They need to pile on.” And so they did. I don’t know whether Stephen Drew is eating his Wheaties or going gluten free like Tex or what, but he’s been Babe Ruth lately despite his pitiful batting average, and any runs the Yankees have scored have been due to him and other bottom-of-the-order types. But last night Ellsbury awoke from his slumber, which is exactly what this team needed. Gardner followed suit. Beltran has quietly improved. Didi’s been off-the-charts great. And a victory finally came.
Evo seems to be our stopper. He keeps winning even though it’s never really pretty. I don’t know what’s up with Betances and Miller, but they’re scaring me lately. They’re always turn their innings into dramas. I remember the days when they took care of hitters one-two-three.
A-Rod looks spent. Has his comeback runs its course? Or does he just need a day or two off? I guess we’ll see in Toronto, where Girardi plans to rest him on Saturday, I think. The fact is he’s old. He’s had two hip surgeries. As good as he’s been, he might have hit a wall. Or not.
The star of the Cleveland series in my mind, despite the losses, was Didi. Has he ever turned things around. He’s been his own highlight reel at shortstop, and his offense has been surprisingly reliable. I take back all the bad things I said about him.
Oh, and I must mention Greg Bird, our latest rookie to join the team. We’ve all been hearing a lot about Bird – what a great hitter he is, how Cashman wouldn’t part with him in any trades, etc., and last night we got to see him in the flesh. Even though he went 0-for-5, I have to say he looked like he knew what to do at the plate and he hit the ball hard a couple of times. I think he’s got potential.
And now another series against the (gulp) Blue Jays at their place. I fear their offense. I fear their pitching (Dickey even more than Price). I fear their turf. (Why can’t they get grass already.) But maybe, just maybe, the Yankees are feeling better about themselves after the win last night and will play like the first place team they used to be.
