Sunday, May 24, 2009

What A Homestand For the Yankees

I think I would agree with Sam Borden of LoHud that this may have been the greatest Yankees homestand ever.

Consider this day-by-day:

May 15 vs MIN: Brett Gardner hits inside-the-park home run and ninth-inning triple, then scores winning run on Melky Cabrera’s two-run walkoff single.
May 16 vs MIN: A-Rod gets his first hit at new Yankee Stadium with game-winning two-run homer in the 11th inning.
May 17 vs MIN: Johnny Damon gives Yankees third-straight game-ending hit with 10th-inning home run to win it. Yankees clubhouse chefs put rush order on more whipped cream.
May 18 vs MIN: Mark Teixeira homers from both sides of the plate and the Yankees reverse their magic, scoring six in the first inning instead of rallying late.
May 19 vs BAL: A-Rod and Teixeira homer again and Yanks score seven runs in the seventh inning to turn a tight game into a laugher.
May 20 vs BAL: Yankees hit three homers in a row in the second inning and blast Baltimore to back Phil Hughes. As games on this homestand go, a pretty boring night.
May 21 vs BAL: Joba Chamberlain goes down two batters into the game after being hit by a comebacker, but the Yankees bullpen doesn’t break and they win again, their ninth in a row.
May 22 vs PHI: Jimmy Rollins homers on the very first pitch of the game and the Yankees don’t recover, finally losing.
May 23 vs PHI: Back to old reliable – the walkoff. Down two in the ninth, A-Rod hits a two-run homer to tie it; Melky Cabrera drives in Robinson Cano with the winner moments later.

So, to sum up: That’s eight games, seven wins, four walkoffs. Oh, and by the way, the pitching match-up for today’s homestand finale is CC Sabathia vs. Cole Hamels. Not a bad stretch of baseball, right?

Not bad at all. They were a few outs from losing this series to the Phillies but now are one win away from their fifth series win a row. Looking back at the Yankees schedule, they've only lost two series of more than two games: the first series of the season against the Orioles and the April series in Boston.

The most wins on this homestand? Alfredo Aceves with 3 followed by Jose Veras with 2.

Amazingly, although I had gone to 10 Yankees games this season, I only attended one of these. But I can say I saw Jorge Posada's walkoff a few weeks back that started this turnaround for the Yankees and A-Rod's first hit at the new Yankee Stadium, a game winning two-run homer that really got this streak going. This team truly believes that they can come back against anyone. Although I'd love to see them win 10-3 more often, I like to see that they have fight in them and don't quit. That's the mark of champions.

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