IT'S TOO SOON TO PARTY!

I want to party like it's 1999. I want to feel like the Yankees have passed this epic turning point in the season as the All-Star break is officially underway....I want to SO badly. I want to start doing jumping jacks and pull out the party decorations but my gut tells me to dial it back a notch or two. Sure, it's nice to say the Yankees are not a sub .500 team right now but these guys better get a tremendous amount of rest because they have a battle waiting and the odds are stacked against them but Joe Girardi says the team is ready for the challenge.

The Cleveland Indians are a tough team. I still can't believe we took three of four games from them in Cleveland and they didn't humiliate us and I am sure they won't let us forget that when they come to Yankee stadium next month. The Yankees are feeling good right now and they pulled off the unthinkable....a four game series victory. If there was a game tomorrow I would already be past it and thinking about the next series. For now, it's nice to enjoy but starting on Friday the Yankees have to start thinking like an army. They won the battle but now it's time for the war.

And that war is going to be extremely difficult. The Yankees are still afloat now but they are teetering toward the edge of disaster. There are 74 games still left to play. There is time to make up some ground but they play AL East opponents 49 times. The Yankees suck this season when it comes to playing AL East teams. There is no other way to put it. They are 10-17 within their division and 5.5 games behind their closest opponent the Toronto Blue Jays and the outside chance for that second wildcard spot.

The Yankees will face the Red Sox, the Orioles and then the San Francisco Giants at home right after the All-Star break. Just all of the exposure to division rivals alone could sink the rest of their season, but add a very hot Giants team into the mix. If the Yankees face the same Madison Bumgarner that embarrassed the Diamondbacks over the weekend it is going to suck. I am already wondering if I should have shots of tequila ready and waiting for this. I don't even like tequila.

The Yankees have their work cut out for them, but Carlos Beltran says the team is capable of coming back. Apparently, we have been this bad because we haven't been able to play consistent baseball, read that HERE. I tried not to laugh when I read that. I hope that wasn't the first time he has said that out loud. Regardless, this is nice momentum but this only gets tougher starting Friday.

We are about to see what this team is truly made of. The first half of the season is gone. I would like to draw comparisons to the 2007 Yankees like the New York Post did but I am afraid that I will turn out to be a big dose of bad luck.

We will wait to see what happens but for now the Yankees need a rest and quite frankly, so do I. Rest up boys and come back with those game faces on!

 --Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer & Editor
  Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ