August 15, 2009
More and more I'm a believer! 22-6 since the All Star break! This Yankee team is beginning to remind me of the '61 Yankees (only without the historic M&M boys' chase of Ruth's record.) EVERYONE on this roster makes a significant contribution at various times. Thursday it was Matsui (2 HRs), last night it was Tex (again). The Yankee lineup surrounds its two power hitters (A-Rod & Tex) with a multitude of players all having "career" years. Jeter, Damon, Cano, Posada, Swisher and Matsui all coming up with doubles, triples and HRs at various times on a daily basis. This was very much like '61 when Johnny Blanchard, Elston Howard, an ageing Yogi Berra and Moose Skowron all hit over 20 HRs and Howard hit .348 IN ADDITION to Mantle and Maris's combined 115 HRs. And, yes, the pitching has jelled beautifully. But without the kind of offense the Yankees are getting THROUGHOUT the lineup now the Ws would simply not stack up as well.
THIS DATE IN YANKEE HISTORY/August 15, 1961: Although he had already reached his 20th win of the season, Whitey Ford lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Chisox and Juan Pizarro by a score of 2-1 before 49,059 paying customers at Yankee Stadium. Amazingly, Ford nailed down #20 by August 10 that year.
See ya tomorrow!
A Connecticut Yankee In New Hampshire
Keywords: '61 Yankees, 2009, August 15, blogs, Cano, Damon, Elston Howard, Jeter, Johnny Blanchard, M&M boys, Matsui, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Swisher, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra
