The Yankees have the best record in baseball going into the second half of the 2010 season.  How did they get to this point?  Here are some of the huge moments that got them here:

20.  Francisco Cervelli
Jorge Posada has been beat up so far this first half of the season.  The Yankees thought Cervelli was ready for situations where me might have to come off the bench and play everyday if Posada is hurt.  The Yankees made the right choice.  One thing Cisco has been effective with this season has been getting hits with runners in scoring position.  If you had a baserunner at second or third, fans and teammates immediately felt comfortable when they saw Cervelli come to bat.  Even the ever superstitious Derek Jeter started using Cervelli’s “Gazoo” helmet when taking batting practice thinking the big head gear had some luck.

19.  Jorge Posada has back-to-back grand slams
When returning from the DL, Jorge Posada had to find a way to be comfortable in the DH spot until he was able to catch again.  He answered those questions by hitting two grand slams in back-to-back games.  The last Yankee to do that was Bill Dickey…another catcher.

18.  Curtis Granderson hits his first home run as a Yankee in his first AB
On opening day in Fenway Park against Boston, Curtis Granderson comes up to his very first official at-bat as a New York Yankee.  A few pitches later he blasts a home run to give the Yankees an early lead.  Granderson also hit a home run in his last AB of the series which was a big clutch hit in the 11th inning of that game.  My response to these feats:  “Welcome to the Yankees, Curtis Granderson!”

17.  Brett Gardner steals home
Also on opening day in Boston, Brett Gardner did something that we always feel he’s capable of doing.  Derek Jeter starts to run to second to attempt a stolen base.  Suddenly he stops about three-quarters of the way.  At first I’m thinking, “What are you stopping for?!”  Then I realize that Brett Gardner is on his way home.  Jeter was distracting Victor Martinez to let Gardner go home, and Gardner was able to distract Dustin Pedroia from tagging out Jeter.  Therefore, it resulted into a double steal.

16.  Nick Swisher’s great defense
If there’s one thing Yankees fans have noticed about Nick Swisher this season, it was his defense.  Nick Swisher was always a good outfielder, but whatever he worked on with Robbie Thompson and Dave Eiland, it has turned him into a supurb outfielder this season.  Swisher’s made some great defensive catched that have saved a lot of ball games this season.  He’s been covering a lot of the right field ground and has jumped all over the walls to make catches.

15.  Cervelli makes a dugout catch
Francisco Cervelli has always been known to be an energetic catcher, but he is also a great defensive catcher.  When playing the Baltimore Orioles at home, a pop-up takes Cervelli all the way to the Yankee dugout.  But a dugout is not going to stop Cervelli from making a catch.  He leans over and almost topples into the dugout.  Joe Girardi had to catch him to make sure he wouldn’t fall.  This is one of Cervelli’s best defensive catches of his young career.

14.  Javier Vazquez gets on a roll
No one struggled in the first month of the season more than Javier Vazquez.  Whatever it is that was mentally going on is unknown, but it was having a negative effect on his pitching.  His velocity was down and his location was bad.  Vazquez had his first great outing against the Detroit Tigers on May 12, but because of poor run support he took the loss that day.  Ever since that outing Vazquez’s ERA has gone down and he has had two no-hitter bids going into the sixth inning.

13.  Mark Teixeira’s three home run game vs. Boston
Mark Teixeira did something in May that no Yankee had done since Lou Gehrig.  He hit three home runs in the same game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.  Tex was having abnormal struggles at the plate going into this game, so these home runs were huge for him and the team.

12.  Mariano Rivera works magic vs. Arizona
The Yankees were able to come back in extra innings in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  In the bottom of the 1oth, Rivera got himself into a bases loaded and nobody out jam.  Somehow he was able to get out and win the game.  He was able to get two pop ups and a strike out to end the game.  Rarely do you see and ending like that to a game.

11.  Alex turns a triple play in Oakland
Alex Rodriguez was able to start something that hadn’t happened to the Yankees in over 40 years.  When Kurt Suzuki grounded to Rodriguez with baserunners at first and second, he collects to ball and steps on third for the force.  Then instead of the expected throw to first, he throws to Cano at second who then throws the ball to Nick Johnson at first for a 5-4-3 triple play

10.  Yankees rookies come through huge
Kevin Russo, Colin Curtis, and Chad Huffman are the big names in this category.  Each one of them has come through in huge clutch situations where the Yankees were either tied or down by a few runs.  These three have also played some great defense.  Kevin Russo is a natural infielder, but when he was called to play left field he did not disappoint.  Russo has been so huge for us that the Yankees decided to DFA Randy Winn instead of sending Russo back to AAA.  That’s saying something.

9.  Brett Gardner’s inside the park home run
On July 4th, I was able to cross something off on my “Things I Need to see Live at a Yankees Game” checklist.  With two outs, Brett Gardner hits what everyone thought at first was a fly out to end the inning.  Suddenly I noticed DeWayne Wise seemed to struggle and he lost the ball in the sun.  When the ball dropped to the ground, I looked over to Brett Gardner and he was already rounding second base.  I was jumping up and down so much I almost fell from the grandstand to the terrace (not a long fall but still would’ve hurt lol).

8.  All-Star Swisher goes 4-for-4
After hearing the huge news that he was going to the all-star game, Nick Swisher went 4-for-4 against the Seattle Mariners.  I remember tweeting after each one of his hits, “This is why Nick Swisher is an all-star!”

7.  Huge win vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers
Andy Pettitte had a huge struggle in a game against the Dodgers where the Yankees were losing by a few runs.  In the top of the 9th against the closer Broxton, the Yankees were able to rally and come back to win.  From the rookies to the veterans, every one in the lineup was able to contribute and come back to win at the last minute.  This is the biggest win of the season for the Yankees so far. 

6.  Robinson Cano’s power
What else is there to say about Robinson Cano?  You can’t say enough great things about the first half he has had this season.  He has a .336 BA and has hit 16 home runs and 58 RBI.  He has 115 hits and 61 runs scored.  He is a contender for the American League batting title this season.  His biggest challenger will be Miguel Cabrera.

5.  Andy Pettitte proves age is just a number
Another guy you can’t say enough great things about.  Andy Pettitte is heading toward the end of his career and he’s pitching as if he’s just starting it.  He’s having one of the best seasons of his career with a 11-2 record and a 2.70 ERA.  If he keeps it up he could be a Cy Young Award contender.

4.  Alex’s three grand slams
Not many Yankees have hit three grand slams before the all-star break.  Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly were two past Yankees that have accomplished this.  Alex Rodriugez now has his name next to them for this feat.  Two of these grand slams came when Mark Teixeira was intentionally walked to load the bases for ARod to be pitched to.  The last one was after Tex was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  It didn’t seem intentional, but I’ll pretend it is.

3.  Phil Hughes flirts with a no-hitter
In just his second start in Oakland, Phil Hughes took a no-hitter into the 8th inning.  Usually I fall asleep for late games on the west coast, but my eyes were glued to the TV during this game.  Not only did he pitch a one-hitter, but he struck out a both season and career high 10 batters.  I felt really bad for Hughes when this bid was broken up, but I couldn’t be more proud of him.  This outing really showed how much he has matured since last season.

2.  Marcus Thames’ walk-off hits
Marcus Thames has had his struggles this season, but he was able to come up huge in two big at-bats this season.  One May 17th against the Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez hit a HUGE two-run home run to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.  A few batters later, Marcus Thames hits a walk-off two run home run to win the game.  On July 4th, Marcus gets his first AB since coming off the DL in the bottom of the 10th inning.  He hits an RBI single to win the game.  Two pies so far this season, and they both belong to Marcus Thames.

1.  CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and Phil Hughes are winners
These three pitchers have done something that has never happened before in franchise history.  They have each collected at least 11 wins going into the all-star break.  All three of these guys have just been stellar on the mound and very demanding.  They are on pace to collect amost 65 wins between the three of them by the end of the season.  Yankees pitching is always at it’s best in the second half.  If these three are already superb in the first half, then I’m looking forward to a rockin’ second half.