What Happened?

At one point the AL East was competitive, unpredictable, and worth writing about. Well, in a span of four days, the Yankees swept the Red Sox under the rug like yesterday's garbage and the AL East was pretty much decided. Now the Yankees are on cruise control, and the Red Sox are scrambling to hold off the Rangers and Rays for the wildcard. The Red Sox could potentially jump back into the race with a sweep of the Yankees this weekend, but based on what was seen two weeks ago, that is unlikely. So what happened? Here are a few reasons why the Yankees were able to turn the tide.

1) Off-Season Acquisitions

The New York Yankees ultimately ended John Smoltz' career as a Boston Red Sox in the opening game of their four game series (something I called for a week earlier). Brad Penny has been a scary proposition on the mound for the Red Sox and Rocco Baldelli has been one category above useless. The Red Sox were praisedfor their shrewd spending this pastoff-season, netting these three players for under 15 million. Well, when none of them produce, it is still a waste of money even if they were acquired at a discount. Meanwhile, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett have been the best pitchers on the Yankees' staff, which is exactly what they paid for, and Mark Teixera is an MVP candidate. He also hit the game winning home run in the 4th game of the sweep against Boston. Sure, the Yankees spent 4 billion dollars this offseason, but they can afford it and none of their fans are complaining.

2) Changing Approaches

The Yankees had a lethal top four in their starting rotation during their World Series run from 1996-2001; including Roger Clemens, David Cone, David Wells, Andy Pettitte, Orlando Hernandez, Jimmy Key, and of course, Kenny Rogers/Sterling Hitchcok. Ok, so the last two were a stretch, but the Yankees could throw the ball and get to their effective late inning relievers. In recent years, the Yankees have decided to bash the ball around and throw Sidney Ponson, Aaron Small, Shaun Chacon, and Kevin Brown's corpse at opposing lineups. Needless to say, it didn't work. Fast forward to 2009, and the Yankees have the recipe for success back in place with AJ, CC, Joba Chmaberlain, and a scorching Andy Pettitte poised to anchor their playoff rotation and lead the Yankees to the promise land. They spent the trade deadline trying to find a fifth starter at a low price. I don't think they've finished looking, but it will depend on how they make out against Boston this weekend. If they cruise, they will probably ride out Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre to a division title. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have an unproven Clay Bucholtz, an unproven Junichi Tazawa, and an ineffective Brad Penny manning the 3-5 spots on their roster. Dice-K is out with Chien Ming Wang Disorder, and John Smoltz is working as a Walmart greeter. Instead of finding a pitcher at the deadline, the Sox decided to "shore up" their immobile corner infielder spot in their infield by adding Victor Martinez. Granted, Martinez is a great bat, but when he was playing first base against the Yankees, Lowell was at 3rd, and Youkilis was in left field, the Red Sox were a disaster in the field. Not a great recipe for success.

3) Phil Hughes

Where did he come from? After struggling as a starter, Hughes was moved to the bullpen and has taken over the 8th inning role. He has been outstanding in this role and the Yankees do not have any desire to move him out of it. They have been searching for a reliable 8th inning guy since they lost Jeff Nelson. Now, opposing teams need to build a lead on the Yankees in the first seven innings or they are in serious trouble. This 8-9 inning combo has been lethal for the Yankees in past post-seasons.

4) Timely Hitting

A-Rod, Tex, and Johnny Damon all had clutch home runs against the Red Sox during their weekend serious. The Old Yankee Stadium magic was in the air on Sunday night, when Damon/Tex went back-to-back for a record setting time this season to beat the Sox and their invincible right handed reliever, Josh Bard. That had to shake the youngsters confidence, and it capped off a series that could not have been written better for the Bronx Bombers. The swagger is back.

5) Team Chemistry

For the past few years it has seemed quite stressful in the Yankees locker room. Every second article written about the team resorted to the shared dislike between A-Rod and Jeter. The other article would be about firing Joe Torre. Now that jokesters AJ Burnett and Nick Swisher have been brought in to join Robinson Cano, the team seems more lighthearted and they appear to actually like each other. No longer are we reading about Jeter's disgust with A-Rod. I'm sure most of the team still thinks A-Rod is a twit, but as long as he is hitting and the Yankees are winning, it isn't that difficult to deal with. The Yankees are loose in the clubhouse and it translates to the field.

At this point in the season, the Yankees have to be considered the favourite to represent the AL in the World Series and win the whole thing. Meanwhile the Red Sox are scrambling to make the dance. Would I have predicted this in March? Negative. Am I happy about it? You bet.