New York Yankees' Most Memorable Highlights of the Season's First Half

Ups and downs, slumps and streaks, unfathomably poor hitting and solid pitching has kept them in the thick of a playoff spot. While it's hard to sum up 84 games of baseball for a major league club, all of the above adequately describe the life and times of the 2013 New York Yankees.

At 45-39 and riding a three-game winning streak, the Yankees keep teetering on the brink of a lost season. Yet every time they've been close to defeat, they've risen to their feet and responded with timely hitting and shutdown pitching. 

It's cause to believe that this squad still has what it takes to make it to the postseason for the 18th time in 19 seasons. Even amid the pessimism, losing streaks and extraordinarily weak hitting at times, the Yankees are only 2.5 games back in the wild-card standings with more than enough games to make up the deficit.

There have been highlights this season for the Yankees, even though this team hardly reminds you of the championship teams of the past 18 years. Robinson Cano is back hitting like a monster and Hiroki Kuroda has fired his share of gems.

It will sure take more highlights, a little luck and some more victories for this Yankees team to play October baseball. For now, in chronological order, enjoy these highlights from the season's first half.

Hiroki Kuroda Fires a Complete Game Shutout Against Baltimore

On April 14, Hiroki Kuroda pitched a complete-game shutout, thoroughly dominating the Baltimore Orioles to win the first series this season against the O's. Considering the Yankees and Orioles have been very close in the standings all season, this game may end up being huge all the way until the end.

Chances are the Yankees will rely on Kuroda to make other excellent starts against Baltimore, though he was supposed to take the mound Friday night at Yankee Stadium and unfortunately was scratched due to a sore hip flexor.

In May, Kuroda threw a brilliant outing at home against Toronto, pitching eight innings of shutout ball to help the Yankees win the first of a four-game sweep against the Jays. Kuroda's April gem against Baltimore remains the Yankees' only complete-game shutout of the year.

Travis Hafner Helps Lifts the Bombers over Arizona

On April 17 at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers' bats were dormant for the first six innings against Wade Miley and the Diamondbacks. Thanks to a gritty two-out rally in the seventh inning, the Yankees tied the game.

That set the stage for a two-out long bomb for Travis Hafner on the first pitch from David Hernandez. That home run was perhaps the shining moment of Hafner's April and for that matter his season so far in Yankee pinstripes.

Not lost in this dramatic Yankees victory was a gutty eight-inning start from CC Sabathia, who lasted long enough to get the win thanks to Hafner.

8-1 Record Versus Toronto

The Yankees are 8-1 versus the Blue Jays in 2013, much to the surprise of mostly everyone in baseball. After all, this was a Yankees team predicted by some to finish last in the American League East, while the Blue Jays were the darling pick of many to win the division.

The Blue Jays have gotten hot over the last month but still sit in last place in the division. A big reason for that is the Yankees. The Bombers' mastery of the Blue Jays, particularly in the Bronx, hopefully will continue as the Yankees have four more games at the Stadium against the Jays in August.

Ichiro's Walk-off Blast Lifts Yankees over Texas

On June 25, Ichiro Suzuki blasted a home run deep to right field to help lift the Yankees past the Rangers in the series opener at the Stadium.

This was a huge hit in a hard-fought victory for the Yankees against a ballclub they may well be fighting with for a wild-card spot deep into September.

Ichiro has not had a very good season but he still brings value to the Bombers with his superb defense in the outfield, his versatility in the field and batting order and his timely hitting. He's not the hitter he once was but this future Hall of Famer is still someone you don't mind seeing up in big spots.

Robinson Cano's Excellent Season

Two weeks ago Robinson Cano's OPS dipped down to .846, hardly a bad number but close to a season low for the Yankees' all-world second baseman. Two weeks later, Cano sits at .917 and is red-hot, once again lifting the Yankees to victories with his powerful bat.

Cano has his good and bad moments, but it's hard to kill the guy for lack of consistency. This is his first season in pinstripes where he's had little-to-no protection in the batting order and he's still having one of his best seasons in the majors.

He's currently fifth in the American League in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and tied for fifth in the AL in home runs. The bottom line, in case Yankee fans were wondering, is that the Bombers can ill-afford to let this superstar leave in free agency.

Cano will likely be overpaid and given a contract perhaps a bit too long in years but he belongs in the Bronx.

Andy Pettitte Becomes Yankees All-Time Strikeout Leader

Say it loud and say it proud Yankee fans, Andy Pettitte is the new strikeout king in the Bronx. On July 1 in Minnesota, Pettitte eclipsed the great Whitey Ford and is now atop the leaderboard in career strikeouts for the Yankees.

Quite an accomplishment for the 41-year old Texan with the long Southern drawl. All the more amazing given Pettitte's Texas detour for three seasons during the middle of his career when he played for the Houston Astros.

Pettitte got off to a brilliant start this season before an injury in mid-May and hasn't quite been the same since. It's highly possible that this gritty competitor is playing through pain. This may be his final season in Yankee pinstripes and while he's not been as sharp lately, he's still an incredibly important part of the pitching rotation.

It's time for baseball historians to give some serious thought to whether this man is a Hall of Famer. His on-field accomplishments in the regular season and postseason are excellent for a player who's always pitched in big games and for most of his career under huge pressure on playoff teams.

The man now has 250 wins and is the all-time leader in postseason victories. He may be the greatest starting pitcher in Yankees history. Put him in the Hall of Fame, I say.

CC Sabathia Wins His 200th Career Game

CC Sabathia picked up his 200th victory in Minnesota on Wednesday night, lasting seven innings and working his way out of several jams. It was a tough, feisty victory for the big man and indicative of his willingness to last deep into games despite a high pitch count.

Sabathia will turn 33 years old in a few weeks and may be in the middle of a Hall of Fame career. Sabathia very likely should be under contract in the Bronx through 2017, barring injuries. He'll likely need to reduce his weight as his career keeps moving forward to avoid wear and tear and stress on his big frame.

This is a very committed competitor we're talking about, who is paid handsomely for his craft and should continue to win lots of games for the Yankees. There's a great feeling knowing Sabathia is on the mound every five days.

Mariano Rivera

Every time I want to write about the great Mariano Rivera, I find it difficult to put into words what this man has meant to the Yankees, the fans, baseball and to those many lives he's touched through his charitable foundation and his generous actions as a human being.

Rivera will finish his career as one of the very, very best players for a franchise whose list of excellent players is sometimes hard to believe. All of Rivera's accomplishments have come as a man who pitches for only one—sometimes two—inning at a time.

Yet his impact on the game has been so great. For God's sake, the man mostly throws one pitch! Rivera's greatness is in no way diminished. Mo's entrance into the game signals imminent doom for whomever the Yankees are playing that day.

It always has and it always will.

When you really think about how much he can affect the game in just one inning, it's equal parts perplexing and remarkable. There are only 78 games left in the Yankees' regular season—and hopefully more in October where Rivera shines the brightest.

Do me a favor: Enjoy these days. Enjoy these games when the Great Mariano enters into the game from the outfield bullpen. Allow yourself to feel the goose bumps when Metallica's "Enter Sandman" starts pumping through the speakers at Yankee Stadium.

You're witnessing one of the greatest athletes in the history of American sports and one of the greatest baseball players in history. Perhaps Rivera's lasting mark is that, by all accounts, he's an even better man.