Assessing the Yankees - Week 9

Sunday's victory capped a stellar week for the Bombers as they swept both the Mariners and Angels in three game sets.  The team looks to have rejuvenated itself at the turn of the calendar, giving notice that they are not to be taken lightly in the race for AL East Supremacy.

The Good - The Starting pitching was excellent, turning in quality nearly all week long. As has been said before, the pitching staff will be the deciding factor for the Yankees playoff hopes. With most of the AL East (other than the Rays) struggling to find consistency in their pitching staffs, the Yankees must make this the deciding factor that separates them from the rest of the pack.

- The return on Masahiro Tanaka was more than satisfying as he gave a superior performance in his major league first outing since April 23.  His impressive line (7 innings 3 hits 1 run and 9 strikeouts) and effortless command of the plate was surely a more than welcome sight for the club.  As long as his elbow holds up, the staff could be that much more dangerous.

- Brett Gardner put together a nice week going 8 for 26 (.307) and putting some very good at bats together. With Jacoby Ellsbury still on the shelf and not due back for another month, it will be up to Gardner to provide the spark from the leadoff spot. If he can get on a good streak, it will be all the more beneficial for Yankees.

- It was nice to see both Stephen Drew and Garrett Jones deliver offensively for the team as they have struggled for most of the season. Hopefully this wasn't just a small spurt of good fortune for the two and they can finally start to make some real contributions to the club.

The Bad - Chris Young entered the week marred in a terrible slump. Since May 3 he is 7 for his last 58 (.120) and showing little signs returning to his early season form which saw him hit .313 over the first month. While he has been able to provide some good defense in the outfield, he won't much more playing time if this poor streak begins to directly affect the teams overall performance