5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Since the 2011 season began, almost every local article written about the Yankees has been critical of the team. I’m sick of it. I’ve never seen so much negative news for a team that’s one game out of first place. Even in the beginning of the season when the Yanks were rolling and Boston was miserable, all the news was about Jeter’s lack of production and Phil Hughes’ lack of velocity. Then there was the whole Jorge Posada debacle, which was blown completely out of proportion. Now it’s all about the Yanks trying to get rid of the .203 hitting Swisher. Everyone needs to fuck’n relax! Here are the top five positives from this young season:

5. Russell Martin

Nine homers and 26 RBI by Memorial Weekend? Wow! And this guy only came to the Yanks to give Montero time to develop. Now he’s become one of the Yankees most reliable hitters this season.

4. The Comeback vs. Toronto

Best game of the year. Down 4-1 in the 8th inning, the Yanks’ offense came alive and scored four runs in the final two innings. Down by one heading into the 9th, Jorge Posada hit a one-out double to right to spark a rally. The Yankees then tied the game on a Granderson base hit that scored Chris Dickerson (who pinch-ran for Posada). In the next at bat, Teixeira ripped a single past first base that scored Granderson for the game-winning run. After everything that Posada had gone through in May, it was great to watch him start the comeback.

3. Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia

Coming into Spring Training, both these guys were destined to be released prior to Opening Day. But after having very impressive Springs, they have anchored the bottom of the starting rotation. They have combined for five wins so far and have had very respectful ERA’s (Colon – 3.77 , Garcia – 3.26). Hopefully the Yankees can get at least ten wins from both Colon and Garcia by the end of the season.

Hector Noesi: Future Stud

2. The Rise of the Bullpen Youngsters: Hector Noesi and David Robertson

For the last two seasons, David Robertson has been one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen. But this year, he has been unhittable. In 21.1 innings, Robertson has only given up three earned runs. Batters are hitting a miserable .198 against him and in 24 appearances, he has yet to give up a home run. This season, the Yankees have also found another reliable young right-hander: Hector Noesi. He has only had 3 appearance so far in his young career, but he’s been lights out every time he’s been called from the pen. In 9.1 innings pitched, he has only given up one earned run. With his fastball sitting consistently at 93 mph, he has looked unhittable so far.

1. Curtis Granderson

Unquestionably, the MVP of the team so far. Granderson leads the Yankees with 16 home runs and 37 RBI. He is second in the majors in home runs (behind Jose Bautista) and ninth in RBI. While guys like Posada, Jeter, and Swisher have been struggling, Granderson has been saving this lineup. He has been the most clutch hitter and has grown accustom to the short porch in right field. If Curtis keeps these numbers up throughout the summer, he can very well be an MVP candidate.

This entry was posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Yankees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.