His slow starts are well documented.  However, there has never been a start as slow as this in his career.  During the first half of May, Mark Teixeira went on a tear that saw him hit five home runs and collect twenty-one RBI.  But it was short lived.  So much so that without that stretch, Teixeira’s  current average would be under .200.  Now, there seems to be signs that the big slugger is finding his swing once again.  A home run on Tuesday off Phillies Ace, Roy Halladay, seems to have awakened Teixeira’s slumbering bat.  And it is the Mets who would wind up paying the price.

On Saturday, Teixeira came up in the 3rd inning with a runner on and the Yankees down by two.  He promptly deposited Mets starter, Mike Pelfrey’s 2-1 pitch into the bullpen and the Yankees never looked back.  And, for at least one more day, Teixeira hasn’t looked back either.  On Sunday, Teixeira came up in a crucial, albeit early, situation.  Again, he delivered.  This time, the victim was Mets Ace Johna Santana.  This time, the damage was far worse because the bases were loaded.  Despite it being the only offense the Yankees generated on Sunday, it was more than enough for CC Sabathia, as the Yankees rolled to a Subway Series win that gave them sole possession of first place in the AL East.

Another sign that this current surge is no fluke is the level of competition Teixeira is teeing off on.  Halladay, Pelfry, and Santana aren’t names that you’re going to find at the back of a Major League rotation.  They are All Stars & possible future Hall of Famers.

Mark Teixeira’s bat will go a long way in determining how long the Yankees can hold on to their current position.  So, it is important to note that his two home runs this weekend came as both a left handed and right handed hitter.  His power and consistency are showing signs of life from both sides of the plate, which means teams will have a hard time matching up against him no matter who they send to the mound.

Many have said that the Yankees have made their way into a first place tie with Tampa in spite of Teixeira’s struggles.  Those pundits always seem to forget about the superlative defense that he brings to the diamond every day.  But there is no denying that it was Mark Teixeira’s bat that has powered the Yankees into first place on this Father’s Day.  If he is finally breaking out of his season long slump.  The rest of the American League might need to be put on notice.  Because with Rodriguez and Cano behind him, the Yankees may just redefine Murderers Row.

Figuratively, of course.

But still, today is June 17. The Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees are tied atop the division with identical 41-24 records. The Red Sox sit in third place at 39-28. No other team in all of baseball has more than 38 wins.

Let that sit in for a second.

Settled?

Yeah, so the third place team in the AL East would be leading any other division in baseball. And we can’t forget about the Toronto Blue Jays, who are in fourth at 36-31 and have absolutely mashed the ball so far this year. Seriously, the only thing coming from Toronto this year to produce more hits than the Blue Jays is Drake, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your feelings on Drake. Certainly, those teams have the luxury of being in a division with the Baltimore Orioles, who are the not so proud owners of a league-worst 18-48 record.

I’d imagine things will change. I don’t necessarily think one of those teams will fade, but I don’t expect them to end the year with the three best records in baseball. It’s quite possible the top two teams will be one and team in the American League, and maybe even all of baseball. But not all three.

Early on, it looked like the Rays were going to run away with the division, maybe even literally as they’ve got some crazily fast dudes down there, and the Red Sox were going to pitch and defend their way into a disappointing end to a once optimistic season. Now, the Rays have slowed down and David Ortiz remembered he’s David Ortiz. Sure, some other stuff probably happened, but that’s the gist of it. In the middle, the Yankees have had some positives and negatives, but remained mostly consistent.

They aren’t getting too much production from their 3 and 4 hitters, as we’re quite aware of Mark Teixeira’s struggles, and Alex Rodriguez has been just sort of floating along this year. He returned to the lineup last night after missing the past four games with tendonitis in his right hip, although he was the DH and didn’t play the field. He went 1-3 with an RBI double and a walk in the 6-3 loss to the Phillies. On the year, he’s batting .291 with eight home runs and 44 RBIs, which are fine numbers, but not what he’s produced in the past. Of course, that can be partly overlooked because of the ridiculous year Robinson Cano is having so far. Just click here. Look at all those Cano faces. I wish each category got a different picture for absolutely no reason.

But can we really expect Cano to keep hitting .370 all year? Or for 38-year-old Andy Pettitte to continue pitching so effectively all season. And how will Phil Hughes, who has yet to pitch more 86 innings in the majors in a single season, hold up all year?

But every team has questions, of course. The Rays can have similar concerns about David Price that the Yankees might have about Hughes. And can the Red Sox expect Adrian Beltre to keep leading their offense? (He only signed a one-year deal, meaning he can be a free agent after this season, so I say sure!)

Anyway, we’ve got more than half a season to go. All three top teams figure to fight for the division title and presumably the Wild Card. One team has a real shot at winning upwards of 90 games and missing the playoffs. So the third place American League East team probably won’t finish the season with a better record than any non-AL East team, which is disappointing. But that’s okay.

We should be in for an intense three-way race for two spots — maybe four-way if the Blue Jays can hang around, which would be great — so just try and enjoy it.

Unless you’re an Orioles fan. In which case, sorry about that. The Ravens should be pretty good this year, though, right?

The Yankees’ win over the Orioles Tuesday night has earned them the series win and that means they have won eight of their first nine series in 2010. It all starts with solid starting pitching, and even though Javy Vazquez has struggled, the other four starters have been phenomenal. Sabathia (4-1), Burnett (4-0), Pettitte (3-0), and Hughes (3-0) have a combined record of 14-1 and all of their ERAs are under 3.00. In fact, Burnett and Hughes’ ERAs are under 2.00. With dominating pitching from four starters, it makes the black sheep, Javy Vazquez, look worse because every other starter is contributing but him. But having four dominating starters can also work in Javy’s favor as he will be able to stay in the rotation, although be moved around a little, and work out his problems during games, not on the side. When 80% of your pitching staff gives you a great chance to win, you can afford to do that.

This article wasn’t supposed to be about starting pitching. It was supposed to be about how the Yankees are getting offensive contributions from different and sometimes unexpected guys each night. Going on a tangent about starting pitching shows you just how important it is. Yankee fans don’t need to be reminded of that, however, because they learned the importance of starting pitching throughout the years and saw it at it’s peak in the playoffs last year.

The Yankees’ bullpen hasn’t pitched very well, but the offense has given the bullpen a nice cushion in most games to work with. The source of offense has been a story for the Yankees thus far. With Nick Johnson and Mark Teixeira, the number two and three hitters in the lineup, batting under .200, and Teixeira and A-Rod hitting two home runs each so far, you would think the Yankees were having problems offensively. There is a reason they are still winning games at a high rate. They have actually gotten contributions from unusual sources and strong contributions from one man named Cano. 

Cano has been red-hot and for a few games he was hitting every single ball on the nose and driving them to right field. His nine home runs and 21 RBI can’t go overlooked as a reason they keep winning. It has also been another typical, strong season for the Captain. He is actually second on the team with 20 RBI.

The unusual contributions have come when Randy Winn hit a big three-run home run while replacing the injured Granderson, Cervelli having a big all around game against the Orioles, Thames batting over .400 and taking advantage of his playing time, and Gardner batting over .340 and heating up the base paths. Getting contributions from these guys while some of the big guns are struggling tells you a lot about a team. Somebody has been there to pick up the slack. They’ve been a great “team”. 

Granderson’s hurt, Vazquez is struggling, Posada’s banged up, Mo is stiff, Johnson’s not hitting, Tex is just waking up and A-Rod is having a power outage. This team should be hovering around .500. Instead, other guys are doing their jobs plus a little more, and the incredible starting pitching is allowing the Yankees to score four or five runs and win games. A few years ago they had to score seven or eight runs to win games. That’s no longer the case with the pitching staff the Yankees have today.

When the Yankees arrived in the metro DC area, they quickly put the troubles they faced in Anaheim behind them & prepared for another reward for winning the 2009 World Series. A meeting with President Obama.

But the good vibes were quelled quickly on Tuesday as the bats fell silent and the bullpen couldn’t piggyback on a gutsy outing by Phil Hughes, as the Yankees aided the Orioles in attaining their first home win of the season.

Concern spread across the Empire that the teams quick start may be grinding to a halt and that their bullpen, an incredible advantage in 2009, was showing signs of being very human. But that all changed in less than twenty-four hours. The Yankees teed off on Oriole’s starter Jeremy Gthrie. What was most impressive was that, of the eight runs scored, the 3-4 combo of Teixeira and Rodriguez accounted for only one of them, a sac-fly by A-rod.

On the hill, CC Sabathia showed why he is an ace by holding the Orioles to 3 runs in 7.2 innings. And just like that, the Yankees were back to their winning ways. That momentum carried over into Thursday night as AJ Burnett hurled a gem shutting out the Orioles with 8 innings of 3 hit ball before Rivera came on in the 9th to pitch in a non-save situation.

The offense, while quieter than Wednesday, was led by Robinson Cano, the American League’s leading hitter. His two home run performance left him batting a torrid .407. It is Cano who is carrying both the power and run production of the big bats in the middle of the Yankees line up. He his as much responsible for their strong start out of the gate as is the starting staff.

With Texeira’s typically slow start and A-Rod not quite finding his power swing yet. It is Cano who is making opposing pitchers pay. It is unlikey that he will hit .400 for year, but when Teixeira & A-Rod do turn it on. It will be an impressive display of power in the heart of the Yankees lineup.

The pitching staff also seemed to have found it’s grove after it suffered a hiccup out west. Despite the no-Decision, Phil Hughes was brilliant on a night when it appeared he didn’t have his best stuff. CC and AJ followed suit with dominating performances. So, the Yankees head home after the 9 game trip in just about the same shape they left, firing on almost all cylinders.

After a nine year drought, the Yankees won the 2009 World Series and would like to build on it in 2010. Complacency is not in the cards for this team. CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira didn’t sign with the Yankees last winter with one championship in mind. They came seeking multiple championships. Winning in 2009 was a relief of sorts for the Yankees, a team that is expected to win every year, and now that they’ve done it, they will feel some weight being lifted off of their shoulders, but being that they are the Yankees, the team will still feel pressure to repeat in 2010.

The Yankees are a year older, but that’s what was said last year when they were coming off a year in which they didn’t make the post-season. The “Core Four” is growing old together, but there is a great mix of young players and multiple championship-winning veterans that will make up the 25 man roster to start the season.

I hear a lot of talk about the Yankees’ 7-8-9 hitters, of Granderson, Swisher and Gardner, being weak. That may be “weak” when considering it to Yankee standards, but that bottom three is still one of the best in the majors. How many teams can say that they have a guy coming off a 30 home run season batting 7th and a guy coming off a 29 home runs and a .371 OBP season batting 8th? I know Granderson is stymied by lefties and that concerns a lot of people, but I’m willing to deal with him being an automatic out most of the time against lefties if he can tear the cover off of the ball against righties. That becomes a different story in the playoffs, but I’m optimistic that Granderson’s average against lefties won’t be sub-.200 (.183 vs. lefties in ’09).

Another question for the Yankees is which Javier Vazquez will they be getting? The one that struggled somewhat in 2004 (14-10 record, 4.91 ERA) with the Yankees or the one with a 2.87 ERA (15-10 record) with Atlanta in 2009? Since he will be the team’s fourth starter, I’d be extremely happy if he has 13 or 14 wins and an ERA ranging anywhere between 3.40 and 4.00 in 2010. The Yankees haven’t had double-digit wins out of its fourth starter since Jaret Wright won 11 games in 2006 (4.49 ERA). I’d be concerned if Vazquez was being asked to be the No. 2 starter, but as a No. 4 starter, he is more than capable of giving the Yankees more than they’ve had in recent years out of the pitcher in that spot.

Now to the main question. Can the Yankees repeat in 2010?

Yes.

Having a healthy A-Rod for the entire season could mean an MVP season for Mark Teixeira. He finished second in the AL MVP voting last year and he had a poor start to the season. If he can get off to a good start in April and May (unlike last year) he could be looking at an MVP season with 40+ home runs, 140+ RBI and a .315+ average.

A pitching staff of Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Vazquez and Hughes should be better than last year’s staff when they pieced together a fifth starter and the fourth starter, Joba Chamberlain, was on inning restrictions.

If Mr. Consistent, Derek Jeter, stays Mr. Consistent, and Nick Johnson remains healthy the entire season, those two guys will score a ton of runs in front of A-Rod and Teixeira. Robinson Cano becomes a key part of the lineup with the departure of Hideki Matsui. He’ll be counted on to produce with men in scoring position more often while batting either 5th or 6th. He didn’t hit well with runners in scoring position in 2009, so that may be a concern. If he lives up to his abilities, though, it shouldn’t be a problem. We still haven’t seen the best of Cano yet and hopefully we’ll see the peak of his talent in upcoming years.

It’s hard to argue that this team did not improve from a year ago for the mere fact that the pitching staff is deeper now. But other teams have improved as well. The Yankees should be able to hold off the demons in the AL East and get back into the World Series in 2010 barring any major injuries, which sometimes comes with age. I like this team’s chances to repeat as World Series champions.

Two days after being named Gold Glove Award winners, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira have been named Silver Slugger Award winners. Derek Jeter batted .334 with 18 home runs, 66 RBIs, 107 runs scored and 30 stolen bases. Teixeira batted .292 with 39 home runs, 122 RBIs, 103 runs scored and 43 doubles.

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira were recognized for their defense in 2009 and were named Gold Glove Award winners. For Jeter, this marks the fourth time he has won the award and it’s Teixeira’s third time.

Jeter said, “I’ve always taken a great deal of pride in my defense, and being honored with a Gold Glove is an accomplishment I will never overlook.”

The two also figure to be in the running for AL MVP but the award should and will go to the Twins’ Joe Mauer who had an unbelievable season.

The Yankees are the World Series champions for the 27th time in their storied history and there’s no better time to take a look at the upcoming offseason than the day after the season ended. As the team vies for title number 28, all signs point toward Joe Girardi changing his uniform number from 27 to 28 (Yankees don’t want to stay at #27 for long) for 2010 as that’s the next goal of this franchise.

The last time the Yankees came off a World Series championship they made minor adjustments. The biggest move they made between 2000 and 2001 was the free agent signing of Mike Mussina. The Yankees won’t make a big splash in this year’s free agency because there are no major superstars in this year’s free agent class (led by Matt Holliday) and there’s not many placed the Yankees can upgrade (they are the champs for a reason).

The Yankees will start in-house with three guys that could hit the free agent market. They need to make a decision on what to do with 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, catalyst Johnny Damon, and gritty veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte. It doesn’t seem likely the Yankees will bring back both Damon and Matsui. Damon can still run and play the field but Matsui is a pure hitter and will always hit no matter how bad his knees are. Both players have said they would like to return to the Yankees. If they aren’t retained, retirement is not on the minds of Damon or Matsui. The fact that the Yankees have some aging stars under contract would lead you to believe the Yankees are less inclined to retain Matsui as their DH. As for Pettitte, it would make sense for the Yankees to bring him back in 2010 after the season he had in 2009. The question is whether Pettitte wants to come back. He could ride off into retirement as a winner with five rings if he decides his career is over.

Th next order of business, which we may already know the answer to, is what to do with Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. It is almost certain they will both start the season as starters but if the Yankees land a veteran starting pitcher, one of them, more likely Hughes, could land back in the bullpen. This is an unlikely circumstance and expect to see both players preparing to be starters in 2010.

The Yankees went hard after free agents CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira last offseason because they knew this year’s free agent class didn’t have many marquee, superstar names. The Bombers can never be counted out during free agency but they won’t be signing three top tier free agents like last year. A middle ground starting pitcher could be somewhere to look at, as well as a corner outfielder.

The 2010 Yankees team will look similar to the 2009 World Series champion team.

Three free agents cost the Yankees over $440 million this offseason. Money well spent if you ask me. Unlike free agent singings in years past, the signings of CC Sabatha, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira proved worthwhile. The three first year Yankees each contributed in their own way throughout the season and postseason, and helped the franchise win its 27th World Series.

Since 2001, the Yankees have spent lavishly on free agents but never reached their ultimate goal. Names like Giambi, Mussina, Contreras, Brown, Pavano, among plenty of others, dawned pinstripes with bulky salaries but didn’t help the Yankees clasp the Wold Series championship they coveted.

The Yankees and their fans owe it all to the boss. George Steinbrenner has never been afraid to open his wallet if it means success since he took over the Yankees organization in 1973. He’s looking to put the best product out on the field every year and to extend the Yankee brand.

After the 2007 season the Yankees could have traded away their young players for Johan Santana or other stars. Instead, the Yankees went into 2008 with a young team, were left on the outside of the playoffs for the first time since 1993 (1994 was a strike-shortened year), and spent money on the top three free agents in the 2008 class. If the Yankees had known that missing the playoffs in 2008 would mean a title their first season at their new stadium in 2009, they would have happily taken that tradeoff. This team has such a great mix of players that it’s not out of the question to think they could win again in the next couple of seasons. With the Steinbrenner family in charge, the window for a championship always remains open for the New York Yankees.