Not including the PPD game on May 11 in Detroit, The Yankees have played 17 straight games, including a doubleheader.

Through these 17 games, the Yankees have accumulated seven wins and ten losses.

Now, that's not a horrible situation, but it is the way that the Yanks have been playing lately that is becoming a problem to the organization and fans alike. 

Throughout these consecutive games, the Yankees have scored a total of 115 runs.

The fact that they have scored a lot of runs is great for a known power team who happens to lead the major leagues in runs.

The Yankees have allowed 85 runs over the course of these games, due to some bad outings from starters as well as the bullpen.

What pours even more salt on the Yankee's wounds is the fact that they had a chance to gain ground against the AL East leading Rays, but were swept at Yankee stadium.

The Yankees also dropped two games against the division rival Boston Red Sox.

Worst of all right now, they lost three games to the Detroit Tigers, who are now only one game back of the Yankees in the Wild Card race. 

There's no denying that star players have been in and out of the lineup over the last month and it has put additional pressure on other players to get the job done.

In some situations, certain Yankees have stepped up to make up for the lack of great everyday hitters like Curtis Granderson, Jorge Posada, and Nick Swisher

These three stars have been largely absent from the middle to the end of May.

Francisco Cervelli is playing excellent ball, batting an astonishing .354 and picking up 19 RBI.

Brett Gardner has also shown that he can hit well in the number two spot, batting a robust .294.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, the bad has outweighed the good over this long May stretch, and to add insult to their many injuries, they have seen certain players slump.

Mark Teixeira, a player known for his bat, is batting .209—he is visibly in a funk.

Players who would not be seeing much playing time, if not for injuries, are making costly errors, as well as not making the most of multiple game changing situations at the plate.

We are also seeing mistakes out of the bullpen, made from veteran closer Mariano Rivera and young gun Joba Chamberlain, who have both had some rough times throughout this stretch.

Chamberlain's ERA currently sits at 4.50.

The top of the Yankees' starting rotation had difficulty getting the job done, as AJ Burnett saw his ERA hit 3.66 and CC Sabathia's hit 3.99.

Oh, and they lost Nick Johnson—he was batting .167 prior to injury.

The relief for the Yankees comes in the fact that they do not have to play baseball on May 24.

They get a much, much needed day of rest to rethink their game plan and try and get some sort of winning streak going.

The fact of the matter is, the Rays are not getting any worse anytime soon.

Tampa Bay has won eight of their last ten, and they're carrying their momentum into June.

With Detroit right behind them in the Wild Card, the Yankees need to start stringing victories together ASAP.

Within the next two series, they will also have to face the Blue Jays, who are now only one game behind in the AL East race.

Luckily for New York's bigger picture, their next few series also include sets against Cleveland (16-26), two against Baltimore (14-31), and Houston (15-29).

Now, beating up on bad teams doesn't prove much but at this point in the season, and as hurt as the Yankees are, it's as the old saying goes:

A win is a win.

This piece can also be found @Inside Out of the Park

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At the start of the season, the Yankee outfield was seeing great production out of both Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Unfortunatley, both of these players have been cut down with injuries.

According to a recent update from NBC news, Granderson is able to jog and hit without pain, but, "still isn't running at top speed or changing directions, which will tax his injured groin more than light jogging in one direction."

Granderson is still expected to be out another two weeks with his injury.

Granderson's injury may be one that takes away from his speed and range in the outfield and his ability to steal bases.

Swisher, according to mlb.com, is having a difficult time batting lefty, and isn't proving to be much of a factor against right handed hitters.

The bright spot for Yankee fans is out in center field, where everyday starter Brett Gardner is looking great to start the season, batting .317 with 2 homers and 12 RBI. He has also stolen 17 bases and has been a sure thing in the field.

The players who have come in to replace Swisher and Granderson are Randy Winn and Marcus Thames who most Yankee fans do not put much faith into.

All it takes is a quick Twitter search of the words Marcus Thames and you will get great quotes likening Thames to a lawn chair in left field.

His batting stats aren't all to pretty, despite his batting average of .354.

While Thames will mostly be used in place of the injured designated hitter, Nick Johnson, Yankee fans will get a heavy dose of Randy Winn.

Winn is hitting just .209, with one homer and six runs batted in. 

The combined mediocrity of these two players brings the idea of looking on the free agent market for another outfielder, just in case Granderson or Swisher's injuries last longer than projected.

The Tampa Bay Rays don't look like they are slowing down anytime soon, and the Yankees may need to address this outfield situation before its too late.

The outfield free agent market yields player like Willy Mo Pena and Jermaine Dye.

Dye, being the more notable player of the two, with great career accolades.A career .274 hitter, Dye has 325 home runs and was a two time all star selection in 2000 and 2006. He also won the 2006 silver slugger award, and was a part of the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox.

Dye had a good 2008 season, batting .292 and hitting 34 home runs.

Pena's statistics are a bit less flashy, a career .253 hitter, but much younger than Dye at 28 (compared to 36) and may have a bit more potential.

This problem may be able to fix itself when both Granderson and Swisher are inserted back into the lineup.

With Nick Johnson potentially gone until June and previously batting under .200, a need for a hitting outfielder might be critical late in the season.

Someone who can play the DH spot as well as play the outfield may be just what the Yankees need to complete their 2010 run.

After a few more abysmal performances from Thames ands Winn, I would not rule out the acquisition of another solid outfielder within the next few months for the Yankees.

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The Phillies, after witnessing Martinez's performance in Game Two of this series, believe he is the right choice to get the win and force a game seven.

Martinez has performed well this postseason, posting an ERA of 2.08 and has showed signs of pitching like his former self.

The argument for Pedro is that when there is a big game situation, you can still put the ball in his hands in order to get the job done. Unfortunately for the Phillies, Pedro's start in Game Two did not net them a win, but a loss.

Taking a closer look at Martinez's stats in the Game Two loss show that there is little blame that can be placed on him for the loss. Any pitching performance in the World Series that reads six innings pitched, with six hits, and three earned runs, may be able to get you a win, especially against a formidable Yankee lineup.

The Phillies offense was just not there in Game Two, hitting A.J. Burnett just four times with the only RBI coming from Matt Stairs.

In Game Two, A.J. Burnett was absolutely stunning, and his stuff was able to keep the Phillies guessing all night.

Fast forward to Game Five, where the Phils had seen what Burnett has, and were able to give him an early exit in the third inning.

Pedro, who was able to keep the Yankee hitters quiet for the most part with eight strikeouts, may suffer the same fate Burnett had in Game Five.

If you are a starter and a lineup as good as the Phillies or Yankees sees you more than once in the World Series, expect to be shelled—unless your name is Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia.

The same thing can be said of Andy Pettitte, who had a decent outing in Game Three, but could see some trouble if he gets the start tomorrow night.

With two shaky bullpens, each team's starters will have the pressure turned way up in Game Six.

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The Yankees are currently riding the gravy train into the middle of August, and one of their best producers has been Damon.

His numbers are the sort we haven't seen since he was wearing a Red Sox uniform.

In his last five games alone, Damon has eight hits, five of them doubles.

In those five games he has driven in three runs, and hit two homers.

Damon is absolutely on fire right now, but it has been a steady fire all season, which is beginning to heat up.

I previously wrote an article about Damon being the quietest offensive producer on the Yankees and he has been proving me right.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/219942-johnny-damon-quietly-making-noise

Right now, Damon's batting average is sitting pretty at .289, and his OBP is at a respectable .370.

Watching Damon at the plate this year has been magical.

He is constantly showing his ability to work counts, get on base any way he can, and produce for his team.

Damon is putting up numbers that are making other No. 2 hitters, on good teams in the league, look second class.

I say this because this season Damon has driven in 67 runs, compared to Dustin Pedrioa's 50.

He has hit 22 homeruns, compared to Pedrioa's nine, and that's just the No. 2 hitter on Boston.

Damon trumps the Angel's number two hitter, Eric Aybar, has only 43 RBI and five homeruns.

Even Detroit's Placido Polanco's season stats, seven homeruns and 53 RBI, are weak compared to the monster year Damon is having.

Damon is batting like one of, if not the best hitter in his slot in the lineup in the league right now.

He is a bat that has been clutch when needed, as well as getting it done on a day-by-day basis.

Damon is done defensively as a player and everyone can see that.

But this year has shown Yankee fans that he is still incredibly valuable to the organization.

At the end of this year, when Damon becomes a free agent, the Yankees should look into signing him for his bat alone.

The game was tied at one, and had been close all the way through.

It was very apparent that this game was going to be decided by one the swing of the bat.

But this time, it was a swing of a bat and a body that missed home plate.

After putting Andy Petite in a bit of a jam, with runners on second and third, Joe Girardi replaced Petite with Phil Coke.

Coke has been absolutely stunning out of the bullpen of late, and was figured to be able to get the job done in this sticky situation.

Coke gave up a ground ball to Mark Teixeira, who fired the ball to Jose Molina, who then tagged Caesar Izturis for the second out of the eighth.

Teixeira’s throw was gold glove worthy, as he was off balance, but it wasn't even the best defensive play of the game.

That one goes to the play directly after it, when a wild pitch from Coke was chased down by Molina, tossed back to Coke covering, and ended up making Brian Roberts the final out.

The ball was clearly far enough away from home plate that Roberts should have had the run easy, but apparently he did not get a great jump on his way home.

On top of that, he slid wide of the plate, and attempted to stretch his leg out to touch it.

Coke had enough sight on the play to notice Roberts was nowhere near the plate with the upper-half of his body, and quickly slapped a tag on Roberts, turning a potential game-changer, into an out.

The play, of course, was a two-part effort, combining Coke's tag with an amazing throw, while falling down, by Jose Molina.

Thus completes another situation where a game decided by a walk off home run, could have been changed by a simple play of heads-up base running.

If Roberts' gets a better jump on the base path and doesn't completely miss the plate, the Orioles could have won the game.

Girardi said of the inning, "you don't make those plays, you don't necessarily win the game."

And oh how right he is.

Check out this video for the best angle of Robert's missing the plate and the amazed look on his face after being called out by the Umpire.

His face said something like "Really, I'm out?”

I was watching saying, "Really, you missed the plate?"

The first, Johnny Damon's best baseball years are behind him.

The second, it is impossible to make noise quietly, unless, of course, it is 2009 and you happen to be named Johnny Damon.

It is a bit of a long shot to say he will out-do the numbers he did while playing for Kansas City or Boston.

Damon's best statistical year was 2004, with the Red Sox, where he hit 20 home runs, a career high 94 RBI, and had a batting average of .304.

It is sometimes comical to watch Damon in the field now, misjudging fly balls and making bad throws to bases, as he has obviously lost a step or two in the aging process.

That being said, Damon has slipped into a position this year that is absolutely invaluable to the Yankees.

2009 has seen a re-emergence of Damon, on a team with more big name All-Stars on it since Johnny arrived in the Bronx.

A Yankee lineup featuring bigger names like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira leaves Damon at a point in his career where he has become a role player, more than a star.

Players like A-Rod, Teixeira, Jorge Posada, and even Nick Swisher, are expected to be the RBI guys and major hit makers on this Yankee team.

Fans are not looking at Damon to do big things in games, and aren't expecting fireworks from him this year.

Johnny Damon is expected to be the aging player, who does not have much left in the tank.

Fortunately for Damon, the lack of scrutiny has led him to have an excellent first half, and fly under the radar, putting up some of his best hitting in recent years.

When Damon joined the Bombers in 2006, he finished the year with solid numbers: 80 RBI, a .285 batting average, and a career high 24 home runs.

Since that year, Damon has gotten worse, statistic wise, hitting just 12 and 17 home runs, and driving in 63 and 71 runs, in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Compare the past two seasons' stats to Damon's numbers this year, and remember that we are only at the halfway point.

In 2009, Damon is batting .279, and has hit 12 home runs.

His most impressive statistics of this season come in the RBI and OBP categories, where Damon has driven in 50 runs already this season, and has an OBP of .362, currently fifth best in his 14-year career.

With Damon's stats sitting where they are this season, he is on pace to have his best season as a Yankee, as well his best year in since that magical season in 2004.

So, on a Yankee team and in a league where Johnny Damon does not get much recognition anymore, he is doing his best to stay relevant.

And while fans, haters, and baseball analysts continue to ignore Damon's successes this year, he will continue to make noise, quietly.

He may be the greatest closer to throw a baseball in the postseason.

Tuesday night in St. Louis he may have put himself into a new category, as the best All-Star closer in the history of baseball.

To say Rivera has been perfect in every All-Star game he has played in, is an understatement.

Let's take a quick look at his All-Star history to prove his greatness.

In his first year as an All-Star, in 1997, Rivera was called upon to pitch the ninth inning of a 3-to-1 ball game.

Rivera rose to the occasion and sat down all three batters, getting the save and cementing the win for the American League.

The National league hasn't won an All-Star game since.

The next three years Rivera pitched in the mid-summer classic, 2000, 2002, and 2004, he held the National league scoreless in all three games.

In 2005 and 2006 he racked up his second and third saves as an All-Star, once again allowing no runs.

In 2008, Rivera came home to the Bronx and pitched 1.2 innings of, you guessed it, scoreless baseball.

Finally, in 2009, Rivera collected his fourth save holding the National Leauge scorless, and this time, hitless.

So for eight years, Mariano Rivera has faced the best hitters professional baseball has had to offer, and has been perfect.

Rivera constantly shows himself as one of those players who gives it his all, no matter what the situation.

He is a true competitor, shown by his pure pitching dominance, when he is called on to throw against the MLB's best.

Mariano Rivera not only closes the All-Star game, but closes the mouths of the people who argue if certain players try in the All-Star game.

I think you can call eight All-Star games and 0 earned runs, trying.

In the past 13 years of pure American League dominance of the All-Star game, Rivera has an ERA of 0.

What did Mo have to say about pitching in 2009 the All-Star game?

"It was great."

Yes, it was great, and so is Rivera, maybe the greatest ever.

Upon learning that the Bombers had traded for Eric Hinske, most would criticize this move as a sad attempt at another over-the-hill player, but just maybe those skeptics should think again.

In a more important event than one steriod user passing another on the all-time home run list, let's talk about something real.

Saturday afternoon, Eric Hinske as a Yankee, hit his second and third home runs.

Prior to wearing Pinstripes, Hinske had just one home run on the season. He now has four.

Now, I am not saying that Eric Hinske is going to continue to play like this for the Yankees, nor am I suggesting that he will have any lasting impact on a Yankees playoff run this season.

Hinske probabbly will not get significant playing time this season, barring a terrible slump or an injury to a starter, but sometimes baseball teams are like puzzles and every piece counts.

Playoff runs are pieced together from the first day of training camp to the last day before the deadline.

Hinske has shown he still has a bit left in the tank, maybe just enough to get whetever job he is asked to do, done.

His veteran knowledge of the game doesn't hurt either.

If by some chance Hinske continues to produce like this, the Yankees have clearly made a move that will make Cashman look like a genius for the first time since getting Mark Teixiera.