Kuzul

Quick, name me one other team in the majors right now who has sustained more injuries than the Phillies and ACTUALLY continued to play extremely well; all things considered.

I’ll give ya a minute.

Yeah, I couldn’t think of any either, and that’s because there really isn’t any. Sure, there are a couple of teams who have dealt with a season long injury list (Boston anyone) but nobody has duplicated what the Phightin’ Phils have in the 2010 season.

This is a team that has lost Placido Polanco (twice), J-Roll (twice), Chase Utley who recently returned, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz and newest member of the DL Ryan Howard.

But in their place have come players who, for the most part, have filled in more than admirably when they were needed most.

Players such as Wilson Valdez, Ross Gload, Brian Snyder, Domonic Brown, and Ben Francisco have all filled in when asked and have done so with effective results on defense and on offense.

But time really does heal all wounds, and everyone except Howard has found their way back onto the playing field at just the right time.

Albeit, they are still chasing Bobby Cox and those pesky Braves! Don’t you just hate going away parties?

If the Phillies are going back to the postseason they are going to do it either by winning the division, or via the Wild Card, but there are a few things that they must do in order to keep the torrent pace that lifted them from 7 games out of first to nearly 2 games out of first.

Let’s take a look.

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The state of the New York Yankees has caused legitimate worry.

Latest news:

·Alex Rodriguez—out.

·Andy Pettitte—return pushed back to mid-September.

·Nick Swisher, AJ Burnett—playing hurt.

Now, the Bombers are tied atop the AL East, as the Tampa Bay Rays have played catch-up.

The Boston Red Sox are lurking not far behind and just activated 2B Dustin Pedroia from the DL. Pedroia is a powerhouse.

No one count out the Toronto Blue Jays either, this team is unbeatable when hot as Tampa, New York and Boston have recently experienced.

Even squeaking out a win on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees looked tired, and dare I say old.

Sans-A-rod has never fared well for the line-up. The Yankee bats tend to center themselves around A-rod’s talent, which is just human nature. The team can win games without A-rod and that is what must happen till he gets healthy.

Cano, Gardner, Graderson, Cervelli, Joba, Robertson, and Hughes were great at the start of 2010.

These young Yankees, as a group are as talented as the Rays or Braves. The difference is budding bombers have an arsenal of veteran all-stars to fall on when the going gets tough. It’s a nice luxury.

Those same veterans, like A-rod, Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Pettitte, Burnett, and Sabathia lead the youngsters, minus Granderson, to a championship in 2009 and now it’s time to pay them back.

It’s time for fans to start facing reality about the state of our elders, but also embrace the future because it is bright.

For now, the remaining regular seasons games will test the reigning champs who have no cushion wins to lean on. That is why losing to teams like the Royals is just making the quest harder.

Just getting to October is the focus because no point in thinking about it yet. Even as a member of the elite AL East guarantees nothing because the NL teams are better than ever.

The truth is it’s time for the fans to encourage the team, who are in the midst of transitioning. No more booing one mistake, just be quiet out of respect if it is all you can do.

Personally, the 2009 and current 2010 Yankee teams are different. They win as a team, lose as a team, fight as a team, support one another as a team and that is rarefied air in sports these days.

It’s about time the fans followed because there is no ‘I’ in team.

Only teams win games, which lead to post-season berths but genuine champions repeat, so LET’S GO YANKEES!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the All-Star Game now over with, it’s time to look ahead to the second half of the season.

The National League finally ended its string of losing at the Midsummer Classic, beating the American League, 3-1.

Does that mean the NL has the advantage in this year’s World Series? Or, can the Yankees create another dynasty and win their second consecutive Fall Classic?

Plus, what other teams will surprise and which current surprises will flop? Here are all of the bold predictions for what to look forward to during the stretch run of 2010.

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