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A brief flirtation with first place was nice for the Yankees, and taking 3 of 4 from the Sox was even better. The race for the AL East was always the Yankees to lose, and it remains so. this rag-tag bunch of starters is not going to work over the long haul, but it will be nice to see if we can keep it together during this road trip.

Al Leiter was a revelation with his 8 K, 1 run performance in the getaway day game at Fenway that gave the Yankees the series vs Boston. While Big Game Al might not be what he once was, I would love to see him dig deep and find half a season of magic. The loss of Wang is incredibly a hug blow for the Yankees, who have to hope that Brown, Pavano, and Wright can start earning the 10's of millions of dollars that they are paid. Moose and Unit also need to pitch closer to their dominant selves. Amazingly, through all this adversity, the Yankees sit a mere game back of first, and are primed to continue running.

A-Rod and Sheff are amazingly hot right now, and having them in a 3-4-5 with Matsui is a nightmare for opposing pitchers. Jeter is still on-base and scoring runs, Cano continues to hit over .300, and is another invaluable rookie contributer. Giambi looks to have found his way a bit, and when he reaches the minimum at-bat mark he will have the highest OBP in the league. 1-6 are scary in the line-up.

Poor Bernie. Continued gaffes in the outfield have already prompted Bernie to be benched in favor of rookie Melky Cabrera. After that failed experiment, Bernie went back out to the OF, and the problems continued. The newest name on the docket is Eric Byrnes from Colorado, who is a capable defensive player. Hopefully Bernie can get out with another ring, and not too much more embarassment. He has been a great Yankee for well over a decade, and had many years of brilliant play. He deserves a dignified end.

More on the Knicks Later