Yankees uphold tradition

The Yankees six game winning streak has them in a familiar place--deja vu all over again. August is on the horizon and the pennant race is on, life is good. If someone had suggested in spring training that Generation Trey would have two wins, Posada would pull up lame, Farnsworth would solidify the bridge to the Great Rivera, Sexson and Ponson would be in Pinstripes, Cano would be MIA for half a season, Jeter and Abreu would slip and the Yanks would be trailing first place juggernaut Tampa by a mere 3 1/2 games it would have elicited guffaws. It is what it is and it has worked. Girardi has evolved from question mark to savant.

The season now gets amped up as Boston hosts New York in Fenway:"Yankees tomorrow. At Fenway. The return of David Ortiz. Maybe the return of Manny Ramírez. Joba Chamberlain and Josh Beckett throwing darts.
Get there early. This could be the beginning of the pennant race in the American League East.
"A Big Bash At Boston Against the Bronx Bombers," The Yankees didn't get to this stage without help. There is a tendency to dwell (OK, obsess) over the flaws of the home team. Fortunately, the other guys have issues as well: "Take away even a few of those miracle finishes and these Sox would look more like their ancestors from 2005 than 2007, the former a group that somehow made the playoffs despite a wretched relief corps.
You see where we’re going with this?
In road games decided by one run this season, the Red Sox are 2-14; only the Atlanta Braves (0-17) are worse. On the road, when scoring four runs or fewer, the Sox are a positively mind-numbing 3-26, a record so convincingly dreadful that only the Pittsburgh Pirates (1-24) are worse."

When times get tough it's good to rely on veteran leadership: "Manny Ramirez [stats] surprised most of the Red Sox [team stats] clubhouse yesterday morning by showing up for work with a sore right knee.
With nobody knowing how or when he hurt it, manager Terry Francona had to take him out of the starting lineup." Manny being Manny? " After removing a large ice pack strapped to his right shin, all the way up to his knee, Ramirez spent much of the time before the game sitting in front of his locker, crooning along with Spanish songs he was selecting from his iPod. He used a rolled-up magazine as a microphone, frequently pointing it towards passers-by, encouraging them to sing along.
Saying he was auditioning for “Dominican Idol,” Can you imagine this act in the Big Apple?

The Yanks and Sox have one thing in common, here's part of a phone conversation between GM Epstein and Manager Francona, "Anything important? Big trade? There was no trade to report; however, some might argue that the Red Sox could use some sort of a jolt to give them a better chance at defending their 2007 World Series championship." Boston's issues could lead to overconfidence so lets get real, here's our team architect at work, "We have an obvious area for someone to fill with our DH spot," Cashman said." Like I said, Girardi is a genius.

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