Remember at the Trade deadline, when the Red Sox didn’t trade anyone, and the Yankees went out and got Abreu among a couple other players? Looking back on that now, Red Sox nation has to be kicking themselves right now, while the Yankees are looking like big time trading deadline winners.
The three new Yankees donned the pinstripes last week and helped fuel the back half of a fortnight in which the club almost could do no wrong. What had been a season of hope for would-be American League playoff teams set on bumping New York out of the postseason picture turned on a confluence of Yankee-friendly events: nine wins in a recent 10-game stretch, the arrival of the reinforcements and the team’s return — tenuous though it is — to its familiar perch atop the A.L. East.
The Central might have lost another contentor now that Liriano is out. With Liriano, the Twins had a legit shot at the WC. The White Sox have struggled in the pitching department as of late, and the Twins had the best 1-2 Punch in baseball (to go along with a couple other quality starters). Now that he is on the DL indefinately, the AL playoffs should look something like this:
AL West – Oakland
AL Central – Detroit
AL East – New York
AL WC – Chicago White Sox
08/11/06 at 11:25 pm
I still can’t believe that the Red Sox didn’t make a major move while the Yanks went out and solidified their lineup for the stretch run. I had a chance to watch the Yankees in this last three game series against the White Sox (my home team). Abreu is definitely going to make a difference for them!