Dancin' in the streets

Summer's here, and the time is right...

The Summer of Excitement™ is definitely on.

Something tells me that 39 year-old Al Leiter, brought up from the Florida Marlins on Saturday (with the Yankees only owing the minimum -- $400K -- of his $2.8 million salary), was inspired by the moment and will not be so inspiring as AL teams adjust to him. But it was a pleasure to watch.

On Thursday, we learned that Chien Ming Wang may have torn his rotator cuff (MRIs scheduled for today, I believe), and the Yankees had not named a starter for two of the four games against the Sox. On Thursday, we were hoping to get out of Boston with a split, allowing the Yankees to hold steady at 2-1/2 behind the Red Sox. On Friday, we watched a pitcher the Yankees had traded a couple of "game used" athletic supporters for fail to throw strikes in a game the Yankees would lose 17-1.

This morning, the Yankees are 1/2 game out of first base, and in second place ahead of the Orioles. Who would have thunk it?

Not to get too giddy, though. They have a long, hard road trip that's only just beginning (and the Red Sox's second half schedule appears -- on paper -- significantly easier than the Yankees'). And the Yankees still don't have a starter named for tomorrow's game.

But today we celebrate in the knowledge that maybe the Bronx Bombers can slug their way through a season with a pitching staff that goes from "okay" to dreadful from night to night.

Oh, and by the way, Dear Readers, Al Leiter is the very epitome of the convergence of politics and baseball. This should be, at least, be innarestin'.

UPDATE: Had my rotation figured wrong. Looks like Mike Mussina pitches on Tuesday, with the quintessential journeyman, Aaron Small, set to take the mound on Wednesday.