CLUTCH PLAYERS... PRICELESS!

You always love it when the team goes out and acquires a decent player and he hits the ground running, immediately playing above their history. We saw it two years ago, when the Yankees picked up Ichiro Suzuki. At the time, he was .261 hitter for the last-place Seattle Mariners and some wondered if we did not buy damaged goods. He turned in a .322 average for his time with the Yankees that season, exceeding his prior OPS by over 150 points.

Brandon McCarthy has definitely put up the same kind of surprise for the team. He began the season with Arizona, posting a 3-10 record and an ERA just north of 5. He joined the team, and Yankees Universe was not exactly jumping for joy. We are jumping for joy now. Since joining, his record is 4-0 through five starts, with an ERA of 2.08. Only once has he allowed more than one earned run. Most notably, he outdueled reigning Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer for a win against the Tigers. He has been exactly what the Yankees need. Now if we could only clone another three of him ….

Chase Headley has rejuvenated the infield and the lineup. Since leaving San Diego for the Bronx, his average has jumped from .229 to .271 and his OPS went from .651 to .735. In his first game as a Yankee, walking in during the middle of the game, without batting practice, he got airtime with a walk off base hit to win the game. Exactly the kind of jolt we needed. That is not to mention his fielding. If he had played all 162 games this season as a Yankee, he would probably be up for a Gold Glove. He has been stellar, giving some of us old-timers flashes of Graig Nettles. He has yet to commit an error in a Yankee uniform, and every run he saves is as good as a run scored for us.

Then there are acquisition like Chris Capuano, Martin Prado, and Stephen Drew, who are helping fill gaps that the Yankees prior to the respective arrivals. You have to tip your hat to Brian Cashman for making the deals that he needed to. If you consider the McCarthy acquisition as the first major move to revitalize the team, consider this. The day the Yankees made the trade, they were at .500 with a 43-43 record. Since then, they are playing .600 ball to the tune of 15-10. There is no better proof of success than winning, and there is no better deal than the one that brings clutch players to the team.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row



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