Kevin Youkilis, Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner and Lyle Overbay would be a middle of a batting order that would have struck fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers.
In 2006, not 2013.
There has been so much written about how the Yankees were doomed to be basement dwellers this season after they put together a team of misfits, castaways and has-beens as they awaited the return of Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez.
There was no way the Bronx Bombers could keep up with the reloaded Red Sox, upstart Orioles, perennial doormat-turned-contender Rays or the Toronto All-Stars, but here we are, halfway through the pivotal (at least for the Yankees) first month of the season and the Yankees are just two games behind Boston in the AL East.
It would seem as if this was an anomaly, the fact that Wells, Youkilis, Hafner and Overbay are four of the team’s top five hitters (who qualify for the batting title), but this is no rare occurrence.
Just look at last season. In 2012 the Yankees had three other “washed up” veterans play key roles as they made a run into the ALCS. Eric Chavez filled in more than adequately for Rodriguez as he recovered from a broken hand, Ichiro Suzuki experienced his own rebirth when he donned pinstripes in the second half of the season and of course Raul Ibanez dialed the clock back a few years and found his power stroke in the postseason.
Ever since the Yankees started opting for low-risk, high-reward veterans, these players have all seemingly played an important role in the team’s success. And it’s not just the hitters either, lest we forget the contributions received from Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in 2011.
There’s something special to a baseball player about putting on the Yankees’ pinstripes, and because of that you can never count a player out when they come to New York.
Games through April 16:
1. Braves (12-1) (Previous Ranking – 1) – Not only do the Braves have one of the league’s hottest hitters in Justin Upton (and the lesser known Evan Gattis), but they also have one of the league’s best pitchers in Paul Maholm.
2. Rockies (10-4) (4) – Closer Rafael Betancourt has five saves and a win to his name thus far in 2013 and has turned into one of the National League’s most dependable relievers.
3. Athletics (11-4) (6) – Not necessarily known as an offensive juggernaut, Oakland has scored at least six runs in nine of its 11 wins this season.
4. Red Sox (9-4) (2) – Difficult to think about anything Boston-related this week, but the city needs the Red Sox to be as successful as they have been in order to help forget Monday’s tragedy.
5. Rangers (9-5) (9) – Lance Berkman, who the team took a flier on this offseason, is hitting .389 with eight RBI in 11 games this year.
6. Nationals (8-6) (11) – Bryce Harper has cooled off considerably since his red-hot start, but Washington remains one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the National League.
7. Tigers (8-5) (19) – Detroit’s combination of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have 37 hits, six home runs and 36 RBI through 13 games.
8. Cardinals (8-5) (12) – Lance Lynn’s ERA is 5.40, which is not a great number, but he is 2-0, has a 10.20 K per 9 rate and is on pace for 200-plus innings and strikeouts.
9. Giants (9-5) (16) – Madison Bumgarner has managed to keep the Giants’ pitching staff respectable as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain struggle early on.
10. Diamondbacks (8-5) (7) – Kicked off a nine-game road trip with a 4-2 loss against the Yankees, their first loss away from home this season.
11. Yankees (7-6) (20) – As much skepticism as the Yankees have had surrounding them early this season, they manage to sit just two games behind the Red Sox thanks to stellar pitching and timely hitting.
12. Dodgers (7-7) (8) – Losing Zack Greinke will hurt, but Los Angeles should be able to weather the storm thanks to Clayton Kershaw leading the staff and if its offense can get things going.
13. Mets (7-6) (5) – Dillon Gee’s slow start has been overlooked due to the success of Matt Harvey, but if Gee cannot figure out what is wrong, the Mets will be pressed to bring up Zach Wheeler.
14. Orioles (7-6) (13) – After he started the season with six home runs and 19 RBI in his first nine games, Davis is 3-for-13 with no home runs or RBI in his past four games for Baltimore.
15. Royals (7-6) (17) – Somehow is 7-6 with a plus-8 run differential despite having just five home runs through 13 games.
16. Reds (6-7) (3) – Injury to Ryan Ludwick is hurting more than Cincinnati had originally expected because of the lack of production from Chris Heisey, who is hitting just .149 this season.
17. Rays (4-9) (14) – Offensive struggles have plagued the Rays, who have just two players (Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria) hitting above .250.
18. White Sox (6-8) (10) – White Sox regulars Adam Dunn, Alejandro De Aza, Dayan Viciedo and Tyler Flowers have combined for 62 strikeouts this season.
19. Angels (4-10) (15) – Considering how well he played last season, to say Mike Trout is off to a slow start is an understatement, but who on the Angels isn’t struggling?
20. Pirates (6-7) (27) – Won four out of five against the Reds and Diamondbacks before dropping the series opener to St. Louis on Monday. Pittsburgh is coming around and looking like the team that was in contention in the Central for much of last season.
21. Phillies (6-7) (23) – Roy Halladay must have read this column last week when I wrote that he was finished because Doc came out and hurled eight innings of one-run ball against the Marlins.
22. Twins (6-7) (18) – Joe Mauer is riding a nine-game hitting streak and has four hits and three RBI in each of his past two games.
23 .Mariners (6-9) (23) – Hisashi Iwakuma picked up where he left off last season and is currently 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA, giving the Mariners depth behind King Felix.
24. Blue Jays (6-8) (22) – It was only a matter of time before Jose Reyes suffered an injury playing on the turf of the Rogers Centre. Now the star shortstop will miss three months with the latest injury (sprained ankle) in his career.
25. Indians (5-7) (24) – Has not fared well against the Al East. In six games against the likes of the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees, Cleveland is 1-5.
26. Cubs (4-9) (25) – Despite a 2.75 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 19.2 innings, Jeff Samardzija is 1-2, mostly because he has gotten a total of six runs worth of support in his three starts.
27. Brewers (4-8) (26) – As if the start to this season couldn’t get any worse for Yovani Gallardo, the Brewers’ ace was busted for DWI on Tuesday morning.
28. Padres (4-10) (29) – Three of their four wins have come against the Dodgers.
29. Astros (4-10) (30) – Jose Altuve continues to be a hitting machine, batting .345 early on this season.
30. Marlins (3-11) (28) – Giancarlo Stanton, the only reason to watch Miami, is hitting .167 with no homers and no RBI, but should return Thursday after missing five games with a shoulder injury.
