A Golden Season

First off, I'd like to say that besides the fact that Joe Torre is the worst situational manager in baseball today, I would without a doubt want Joe back again next year. 13 straight years with a playoff berth is 1 year away from the record setting Atlanta Braves. Joe has been there for every single season. Joe Torre has bleed Yankee pinstripes for the last 13 years. And although it seems like every season Torre is viewed as New York's most wanted by mid-season due to to his questionable decisions and mellowness, he always finds a way to rally the troops and bring his team back to October.

This year has definitely been the most challenging and mentally-burnt out season from a Yankees ball cub I have ever seen. This was a team that three months ago had a record of 36-39 while trailing the Sox by 11 games and was 8 games behind the wild card leading Cleveland Indians. The turn around that this team has perfected is truly an unbelievable story. Me having the honor to watch this season through the good times and bad, only to come back and make this miraculous comeback, compares to receiving a gold medal in the Olympics. Oh, and who was the man behind this? Mr. Joe Torre

Some of the Yankee-haters around the baseball universe may say that the Yankees didn't completely turn around because they couldn't beat the Sox. All I can say is good for the Sox, they finally are actually making this a two-sided rivalry, as opposed to the Yankees kicking their ass every year. First breaking the curse, now the division. But hey, there are still a few games left to play, who says we can't still overtake Boston?

Another thing I'd like to mention are the great turn around's of Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrera.

Most bomber faithful including yours truly were pleading for an Abreu trade. I felt that he came last year as a savior to propel us over Boston, but his time had run out and that now was the time to move on. Boy did he prove me wrong. To go along with sparking defense in right field, Abreu has had, well, and Abreu-type year. With four games remaining in the 2007 season, the Venezuela native Bobby Abreu is hitting .282 with 16 home runs and 99 RBIs. Not to mention a rock solid .408 OBP.

Due to the fact that Cano was still very young and had had a year that most major leaguer's would die for in '06, I believed he would come out of his early-season funk. By the all-star break he was showing signs of breaking clean, and finally by early August the good ol' Robby Cano came out to shine, and show us all that he still has it, and to expect more great things to happen in the future. With 4 games left to play in the regular season, Cano is hitting .305 with 19 home runs and 94 RBI. Sure, the batting average is nowhere near last seasons .342 BA, but I'd take a .300/19/100 guy any day of the week. Especially from the offensively challenged second base position in today's game. Oh, and he's still only 25.

Last is a guy who I honestly thought was lighting in a bottle last season after his early-season misfortunes in '07. He came in and started most games, yet by the end of July was only hitting .254. Sure, this guy was never a highly touted prospect while in the farm, but I had at least hoped for him to develop into a solid starter after the '06 showing. Yet of course, the Melkman found a way to break out and by the end of August he was hitting .294. Yes he has slumped in August bringing his BA down to .275, but when I look back at Melky Cabrera's 2007 season, I will remember one thing. Heart. When it looked like Melky would become just another utility outfielder at best, he came back and showed us all his true talent. Again, expect great things from this guy in the future.

Along with these three players, the Yankees fought back in the hardest of times, and scored a victory, that of yet another playoff appearance. With these three men, the Yankees as a franchise fought back little by little. We had Doug Mientkiewicz' startling gold glove defense. We had Wilson Betemit deliver some big hits in some big games. We saw 17 year veteran Mike Mussina lose his spot in the rotation only to win it back later. And then we had the trio of the future in Hughes-Chamberlain-Kennedy come up and earn their pinstripes. And then we brought back the Rocket who helped mentor the future big 3 while pitching and winning some huge games for us in Boston. And then we saw A-rod and Posada come up with career years while staying hot all year, which will end in an MVP for Rodriguez and maybe even a silver slugger for Jorgie.

This team played together as a whole throughout the 2007 campaign. When a few players got hot, it rubbed off on the whole team, which showed how good the team chemistry is on this bombers team. No matter how many people doubted this team, they fought back and worked towards a goal, and have achieved it.

Oh, and how could I forget, the shortstop. The man who has been with Joe Torre for every single one of these 13 years. Captain Clutch, Captain Consistency, Mr. November. Call him whatever you may, but Derek Jeter is the heart and soul of this Yankee franchise and he showed it more than ever this season, coming over humongous odds while leading the Yankees to a thirteenth consecutive post-season appearance. I guess that's why they call him, captain. Captain Jeter.