Holy Cano-li! New York Yankees Are for Real

The New York Yankees continue to shock the baseball world with one win after another. With Saturday's victory over the Boston Red Sox, they have now won eight in a row. 

During that span, they are hitting .307 as a team, with 6.1 runs per game and a sick 1.56 ERA. Before the All-Star break, the Yankees only had a .266 batting average.

With their 1-0 victory on Friday and 10-3 on Saturday, they now have an 8-0 record since the All-Star break, their second most in franchise history, behind an 11-0 post-All-Star break streak in 1947.

They have climbed back into the thick of the AL East race, only a game behind their rivals, the Red Sox, and three games behind the AL-East-leading Rays, who have slipped in the second half.

Robinson Cano has been red hot during this time. He went three for four with one home run and three RBI Saturday. He is 18 for 34 (.529) since the All-Star break. He has seven multi-hit games and three home runs in these eight games.

By winning the first two games of their weekend series against the Red Sox in Fenway, they have now won their third series in a row. With these two wins, the Yankees have won four straight against Boston. They are also looking for their third sweep in a row. They swept the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins prior to this series. 

During all of this winning, a somewhat blockbuster trade was pulled off on Friday night, with both new arrivals playing in Saturday's game. The Yankees acquired left-handed reliever Damaso Marte and outfielder Xavier Nady from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Yanks sent four prospects to them: Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Dan McCutchen and Jose Tabata.

Tabata was the biggest name in the mix. As their AA outfielder, he was a top-three prospect.

The trade should work out great for the Yankees, as Marte could prove to be a nice guy to bring in when you need him in a spot. He was currently closing for the Pirates while Matt Capps was out with an injury and has some nasty stuff.

He is 4-0 on the season with a 3.47 ERA and 47 K's prior to coming to the Yankees, and he made an immediate impact on Saturday, striking out David Ortiz in a big spot with runners on the corners.

Nady, on the other hand, has played right field for the Pirates, but will move over in left for the Yankees. He makes his return to New York, where he played half of the 2006 season with the Mets before being shipped to Pittsburgh before the deadline.

He was hitting .330 for the Pirates with 13 home runs and 57 RBI. He will provide some good power near the bottom of the lineup, and he should be a solid glove in the outfield.

The rivalry is still heated, of course, as Joba Chamberlain made a throw at Red Sox first basemen Kevin Youkilis, which is the fourth pitch that Joba has made towards his way this year. This one just missed his head and hit the bat for a foul tip.

In a 1-0 game on a 2-0 count, Joba claims the pitch was not intentional in any way. He has too much knowledge for the game to know that he is trying to throw a strike in that situation.

The Red Sox thought otherwise, as a few players almost came onto the field, Josh Beckett being one of them. Saturday, the Red Sox may have responded, plugging A-Rod on a 1-0 pitch in the eighth from Craig Hansen. A-Rod was in some pain as he made his way to first, and he came out in the bottom of the inning due to the big lead.

When asked if it was intentional, A-Rod said, "No."

Sunday, the Yankees will send out Sidney Ponson (6-1, 4.02), whom they picked up earlier this year after Texas let him go for off the field issues. He has been consistent for the Yankees since coming over, 2-0 in five starts with a 4.37 ERA.

Ponson will be facing Boston for the first time this season and is 2-4 with a 7.16 ERA in nine career starts at Fenway Park.

Boston counters with youngster Jon Lester (8-3, 3.20) who is 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 10 career starts at Fenway. His only previous start against the Yankees this season was a shutout on July 3 at Yankee Stadium.

After the Boston series, the Yankees return home for a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, and then the Los Angeles Angels come to town, sporting the best record in the majors.

The Yankees are primed for a playoff spot with their recent hot streak, but they have a lot of work to do still. 

"Today was a big win for us," Rodriguez said. "We try to focus on the first game of every series, and we did a nice job last night. Tomorrow is the biggest game of the year for us. I think that's the attitude we've had the last couple of series, and we need to keep that up."

The Yankees are now a season-high 13 games over .500.