What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the Yanks were mired in a 2+ month slump, stuck with a pathetic 23-29 record and sitting 12.5 games behind the first place Red Sox. Giambi, Abreu and Cano weren't hitting, Kei Igawa was busy showing the Yanks that he wasn't even close to being even a third-rate Dice-K, Jeter was fumbling balls at short like it was going out of style, and come from behind wins were a foreign concept.

Some things are still the same this year - Cano is slumping again and Kei Igawa still sucks - but compared to last year, the Yankees are actually looking alright. They're only rockin' a .500 record and they're 6.5 games out of first (5.5 out of the wildcard, if you're already scoreboard watching), but it's a far cry from their performance last year and I think we should be feeling fairly positive about their work thus far. They've won some close games and had to do so without Jeter, A-Rod, and Posada for a good chunk of time; once everyone is back to healthy status things should pick up further.

Baseball Prospectus has projected that the Yankees will win 94 games and finish 3 games ahead of the Red Sox to top the AL East. They'll have to win 68 of their remaining 106 games - 64% of them - which may seem like a lofty goal to some but is surely within the realm of possibility once Cano starts hitting and Jorgie Porgie makes his triumphant (por favor) return this week. Do you think they can pull it off? Can Girardi do what Torre could not - bring this team to the Series (or at least the ALCS... another ALDS bust-out would be too much for my YC heart to bear)? Or will the team suffer the same old problems and choke-ness they've suffered for the last 7 years?