It hasn’t been an easy road.  Going into Spring Training many so-called experts were split as to how well the Yankees would do in 2009.  In Sports Illustrated 13 sportswriters predicted the AL East.  Four predicted the Bombers would finish first, six chose the Boston Red Sox and three picked the Tampa Bay Rays.  Six of the writers predicted the Yankees would be the wild card entry and only two felt New York would be crowned American League Champions.

Flip over to ESPN and only Tim Kurkjian selected the Yankees as the 2009 AL East Champs and the winners of the American League crown.

Then there was the whole Alex Rodriguez drama, which started just as Spring Training got underway.  In January Joe Torre’s new book, “The Yankee Years,” had some derogatory things to say about A-Rod.  Then in February, Rodriguez’s name was leaked out of a list of 104 players who had tested positive in 2003 for performance enhancing drugs during an MLB sanctioned screening in order to see how bad the steroid/HGH/PED problem was in baseball.  There was no punishment attached to a positive test at the time.  A-Rod came out and admitted his use.

Things continued to get worse for Rodriguez as an injury to his right hip was discovered and he learned he needed to undergo corrective surgery to remove a cyst and repair a partially torn labrum in the hip.  The predictions were that A-Rod could miss up to 10 weeks of the regular season.  On top of all of that a news story broke that Rodriguez was linked to New York madam Kristin Davis, who is allegedly the same peddler that supplied ex-governor Eliot Spitzer with hookers before his dalliances became public, causing him to resign from office.

The Yankees also had some damaged goods players they were worried about.  Hideki Matsui was returning after having had surgery on both knees over the past couple of seasons and wasn’t projected to play the outfield until late June, early July.  Jorge Posada was returning after a winter of recovering from having surgery performed on his throwing shoulder to repair a torn labrum.  Lastly, Mariano Rivera had his throwing shoulder cleaned up and at nearly 40 everyone wondered how that would affect him.

The Yankees also started the new season with three new faces on the squad.  In the off season New York signed pitchers CC Sabathia (FA – Milwaukee), AJ Burnett (FA – Toronto) and probably one of the best signings in recent years, first baseman Mark Teixeira (FA-Los Angeles Angels).

On paper the Yankees looked as formidable as any team, but the proof of their toughness would have to be established between the white lines.

The season began horribly for the Yankees.  With Alex Rodriguez on the sidelines the Yankees staggered to a 13-15 record in their first 28 games.  They failed their first major test of the season by getting swept in a 3-game series against the Red Sox in April (24-26).

Then on May 8 the fortunes of the Yankees turned around with the return of A-Rod to the lineup.  The Yankees were facing the Baltimore Orioles and pitcher Jeremy Guthrie.  Guthrie was the same guy who outpitched Sabathia on opening day as the Orioles beat the Bombers 10-5.

Guthrie threw one pitch to Rodriguez and A-Rod knocked the ball out of the park.  It was as if A-Rod was telling baseball, ‘I’m back and I’m on a mission.’  A-Rod’s return energized a struggling Teixeira who had had a rotten opening month.  With A-Rod to protect him Teixeira’s home run and RBI production took a turn upward, as well as his batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage.

The Yankees looked like they were taking two steps forward and one step back.  In their first meeting against the Angels, a club has always given New York fits; the Yankees took 2-of-3 at the Stadium.  That euphoria quickly evaporated at the Red Sox came in for a two game set and took both games from the Yankees.  The Rays also came in for two games following the Sox and they won both of their encounters.

Instead of getting down on themselves the Yankee players jump started their performance and began to climb out of the hole they had dug for themselves.  After the Rays left town, saddling the Yankees with the aforementioned 13-15 record the Bombers went on a tear for the remainder of the month and after two months of play the Yankees were 29-21.

After June it was 44-32, but there were still some potholes in the Yankees’ road to the playoffs.  They went to Boston for another 3-game series and the Red Sox continued their dominance by once again sweeping the Yankees out of town.  New York’s 0-8 start against Boston was the worst start in franchise history.  Until they could figure out their arch rivals winning the division, let alone making the playoffs, was going to an improbable task.

The Yankees ran into other glitches along the way.  They dropped 2-of-3 against both the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins.  However, after leaving Florida the Yankees won 14 of 16 games giving them a huge boost as they flew into Orange County to take on the Angels in a 3-game series that would end the first half of the season.

As everyone recalls the Angels continued their mastery over the Yankees by sweeping them out of Angel Stadium.  It was a frustrating setback going into the all-star break.

Apparently, the break was exactly what the Yankees needed.  After play resumed following the all-star game the Yankees ripped off eight straight wins, and 10 of 11 before running into a bump in Chicago as the White Sox took 3 of 4 from the Bombers.

That hardly slowed the Yankees down as they went 19-6 over their next 25 games including taking 5 out of 6 from the Red Sox.  In fact the Yankees continued to steam roll through the American League.  In their final 32 games the Yankees put up a record of 21-11, and in doing so they took 2-of-3 from the Angels in a return visit to Anaheim, and then flew home to sweep the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in their final regular season meeting.  That series allowed the Yankees to split the season series at nine games apiece.  That was an incredible feat for a team that started out 0-8.  Additionally, the Yankees split the 10 games played against the Angels something that neither Yankee nor Angel fans had seen in quite a while.

The Yankees finished the season with the best record in baseball at 103-59 and won the AL East by eight games over 2^nd place Boston.  Going into the playoff rounds the Yankees were brimming with confidence.

In the divisional series against the Minnesota Twins the Yankees held it together to sweep the Twins 3-0.  The series was a close match, but the Yankees pitching and timely hitting proved superior.

The championship series (no offense to the Phillies) the Yankees were pitted against the Angels.  The Angels came into the series with a lot of confidence as well.  They met the Red Sox, a team which had ousted the Angels from the playoffs 3 times this decade.  However, in a ritual of exorcism the Angels swept the Red Sox into a early exit from the playoffs.

It was the Yankees turn to do the same with the Angels and in a great series the Bombers did just that taking the Angels out in 6 games behind the arms of CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, plus the bat of Alex Rodriguez.

That set up the 2009 Fall Classic against the Philadelphia Phillies, who many have called a mirror image of the Yankees.  Good starting pitching and a powerful lineup.

The Yankees lost Game 1 facing Cliff Lee, who on that night was pitching like was from another planet.  Sabathia took the hill for the Bombers, but wasn’t quite up to Lee’s standards.  He made two mistake pitches to Chase Utley who knocked both of them over the wall.  The Yankees lost 6-1 and in doing so dug themselves a hole.  Of the last six World Series, the loser of Game 1 also lost the series.  The Yankees had to right the ship.

Game 2 saw AJ Burnett starting for the Yankees and the Phillies countered with Pedro Martinez.  Both pitchers were brilliant, but Burnett had just a little bit more as the Yankees nipped the Phillies 3-1.

Philadelphia was going home with a split, and had aspirations of a 3-game sweep over the Yankees.  New York refused to cooperate, winning both Game 3, 8-5 and Game 4 with a dramatic 9^th inning rally to drop the Phillies 7-4.

Tonight the Yankees have the opportunity to close out the Series and Philadelphia in order to take their first ride down the Canyon of Heroes in 9 seasons.  The only thing standing in their way is Cliff Lee.  If he pitches like he did in Game 1 the Yankees may have to wait a day.  If AJ Burnett pitches like he did in Game 2 they may not.  This game comes down to pitching and which team will be the first to blink.

If the Yankees can win just one more game they can rinse a lot of post season disappointment and history out of their mouths with some bubbly.  In the immortal words of Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, “Just win, baby.”

1 = 27.

The New York Yankees, for all of the drama A-Rod brings into the clubhouse for both his on and off field antics, are a better team with him in the lineup than on the sidelines.  No one knew how the Yankees would respond following an examination of A-Rod’s right hip, which revealed a cyst and a partially torn labrum that would require some kind of surgery to repair it.  After a further examination by Dr. Marc Philippon of Vale, CO it was determined Rodriguez could have a less invasive surgery to clean up the hip in order to play this year and after the season undergo a more thorough procedure to completely restore the hip.

A-Rod underwent surgery on March 9 and was expected to miss approximately 9 to 10 weeks.  That would’ve projected his return to the club around mid-May if everything went according to plan.  In the meantime the Yankees started the season with journeyman Cody Ransom playing the hot corner.  Ransom, although talented with a glove, was not an offensive charge in the lineup.  Ransom’s offense was pretty offensive. Before he went on the disabled list with a torn quadriceps muscle Ransom was hitting .180 with no home runs and 6 RBI in 50 trips to the plate.

Also feeling the effects of a missing Alex Rodriguez has been Mark Teixeira.  Teixeira was brought in during the off season to replace an aging Jason Giambi at first base.  Teixeira signed a huge 8-year deal with New York to provide offense and upgrade the defense Giambi couldn’t provide.

“Tex” had a good spring training, and although he is regarded as a notorious slow starter at the beginning of the year (career .249 BA including 2009) it was hoped that his hot spring would carry over into the regular season.  However, with the absence of A-Rod Teixeira has struggled.  In April, without Rodriguez to protect him, Teixeira saw a lot of breaking balls and pitches off the plate.  Tex ended the month with a .200 average with 3 home runs and 10 RBI.  He struck out 12 times or one strikeout per 5. 83 at bats.

His struggles continued going into May as Teixeira’s average continued to plummet.  By May 12 Teixeira was hitting just .191.  His strikeout total had jumped to 25 in 109 at bats (every 4.36 AB).  Frustrated by his lack of production Teixeira began hearing the boos from fans as he looked completely lost at times in the batter’s box.

However, on May 8, a week before he was projected to return, A-Rod made his first appearance of the 2009 campaign.  Facing the Baltimore Orioles and RHP Jeremy Guthrie Rodriguez made a dramatic statement as he hit the first pitch he saw out of the park to give the Yankees 3-0 lead.  In one swing A-Rod lifted the spirits of the entire team, which had been scuffling from the opening bell.

Prior to May 8 the Yankees were 4.5 games out of first place, standing in 3^rd place behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox with a 14-15 record.  They had been embarrassed by the Red Sox losing five straight times both in Boston and New York.  They had a habit of getting behind in games or if leading the game, losing the lead and then losing the game.

Since A-Rod’s return the Yankee clubhouse seems to have refocused and reenergized.  In the past 9 games, with Rodriguez in the lineup, the Bombers have posted a 7-2 record.  They took 2-of-3 from the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, 2-of-3 from the AL East Division leading Blue Jays and after coming from behind again today hold a 3-0 series lead over the visiting Minnesota Twins. The Yankees go for the Sweep on Monday.  More on that series later.

Although, A-Rod has struggled so far with his timing at the plate, because of his inability to perform in live game situations, he has picked his spots to elevate his team.  Besides his spectacular first at bat, first pitch, 3-run home run against the Orioles Rodriguez has chosen other moments to shine as well.

On Saturday night Rodriguez hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning to record his first hit at the new Yankee Stadium.  The home run also broke a 4-4 tie and stunned the Twins for the second game in a row.  In Sunday’s game against the Twins Rodriguez etched his will on the game again.  Trailing 2-0 to a brilliant pitching performance by Kevin Slowey A-Rod hit a solo shot in the 7^th inning to cut the lead to 2-1.

The big beneficiary in all of this has been Teixeira.  With Rodriguez batting cleanup behind him, Teixeira has been seeing better pitches and has responded.  In the 9 games since his return and proceeding A-Rod in the order Teixeira is hitting .324 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI.  He is still striking out more than the Yankees would like, but overall they have to be very pleased Teixeira has begun to thaw out at the plate.

Getting back to today’s game at the Stadium against the Twins, New York won for their third straight come-from-behind victory is this 4-game series.  All of the wins have come in surprising fashions.  In addition to A-Rod’s heroics Saturday night, hot hitting CF Melky Cabrera added his own brand of excitement.

Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9^th with two on, two out and the bases loaded Cabrera strode to the plate to face premier closer Joe Nathan.  Cabrera lifted the ball into the left-center field gap scoring Teixeira and PR Ramiro Peña to secure a 5-4 win.

In Sunday’s game the Yankees faced an outstanding start by Slowey who only surrendered two earned runs in 7.2 innings of work.  The Yankees countered with A.J. Burnett, though struggling at times, kept his team in the game.  Burnett gave up two earned runs in 6.2 innings before giving the ball to the bullpen.

After A-Rod’s solo homer in the 7^th inning DH Hideki Matsui doubled off Slowey and then scored the tying run by advancing on RF Nick Swisher’s sacrifice and Cabrera’s fly out to left field.  Slowey’s day was done and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire turned it over to his bullpen.

The Twins kept the game even until the bottom of the 10^th inning when LF Johnny Damon turned on a fastball from RHRP Jesse Crain and sent into the right field second deck to give the Yankees their third come-from-behind victory.  It was Damon’s third career walk off bomb, but his first with the Yankees.  The three consecutive come-from-behind wins hadn’t been accomplished since August 27-29, 1972 the season before principal owner George Steinbrenner purchased the club.

The win also was the Yankees 5^th straight victory, which is the longest string of wins this season.

After the game, YES Network’s Kimberly Jones caught up with Damon outside the Yankees dugout.  Just before going on camera Damon was given a cream pie in the face by Burnett.  Jones asked Damon what all of the recent drama meant to him and the team.

“This is great.  Three straight walk offs, you know it’s pretty exciting for us,” Damon said.  “Hopefully, this means we’re going to start playing better.  Things feel real good right now.”

It’s also pretty exciting for Yankee fans as well and you can bet they’re feeling real good right now too.

Notes: This was the 11^th anniversary of David Wells perfect game against the Minnesota Twins who lost to the Yankees 4-0.

Brad Halsey’s acclimation process lasted exactly one start. As a 23-year-old Yankee prospect in 2004, Halsey limited the Dodgers to just two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, earning the win in his major league debut.

As a reward, Halsey’s next two starts came in front of sold-out Yankee Stadium crowds who agonized and analyzed every pitch the Houston native threw. Asking someone barely out of college to pitch against the Mets and Red Sox-the Bombers top two rivals in terms of fan passion-can be a daunting task for any pitcher. While Halsey lost to the Mets, he held his own against the Red Sox and picked up a no-decision.

Five years later, Halsey is coming off arm surgery and looking to revive his career. That journey can take a positive turn tonight when Halsey takes the mound as the Ducks Opening Day starter against Southern Maryland.

Halsey last pitched in the majors in 2006, going 5-4 for Oakland. In 40 career starts, he is 14-19 with a respectable 4.84 ERA. The Yankees former eighth-round draft pick and University of Texas standout is just 28 and looking to complete a comeback following his July 2007 surgery to repair a torn labrum.

“I just take it one second at a time and enjoy every time I’m able to throw a ball and my arm feels good,” Halsey said.

The 6-1, 187-pound left-hander impressed Ducks manager Gary Carter and pitching coach Dave LaPoint enough to warrant the Opening Day assignment, which Halsey said is an honor at any professional level.

“It absolutely is an honor,” Halsey said. “There are a lot of guys in this clubhouse who have as much or even more major league experience than I do. Anytime you have an opportunity to start Opening Day, it’s a great thing.”

Former Ducks Bill Pulsipher was one of the players Halsey consulted in researching the Ducks. Earlier in the decade, Pulsipher parlayed a stint with the Ducks into another major league job, giving players like Halsey someone to emulate in trying to make a comeback into affiliated baseball.

Before coming to Long Island, Halsey pitched winter ball in Puerto Rico, where his new team got an endorsement.

“Just knowing some of the guys and for the last two years sitting at home doing rehab, I noticed there were a lot of good players in this league,” Halsey said. “For someone in my situation who has a lot to prove; this is a good place to do it.”

LaPoint said the Ducks signed an outstanding defensive catcher in John Pachot, who spent the last two seasons playing against the Flock for the Newark Bears. Pachot’s game-calling could help Halsey, along with playing under a Hall of Famer catcher in Carter.

“My experience is that catchers make the best managers because they have knowledge of the entire game” Halsey said. “Not only are they immersed in the relationship between the battery, they also have to take a bat up there all the time, which as pitchers, we don’t always have that experience.

“As a catcher, he [Carter] knows all facets of what goes on out there.”

From 1998 through 2007 Posada averaged 21.2 home runs and 83.6 RBI.  His high water mark was in 2003 when Posada hit .281 with 30 home runs and 101 RBI.  The home run mark tied the Yankees single season record for a catcher previously held alone by Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.  As a career .277 hitter, Posada notched his best overall season at the plate in 2007 by hitting .338 to lead all catchers in the majors.  He added 20 round trippers and 90 RBI, and recorded career highs in OBP (.426) and SLG% (.543).  The Yankees rewarded Jorge with a new contract at the end of the season by signing him to a 4-year, $52.4 million contract.

The promise of a going into a new season armed with a new contract faded quickly as it became apparent Posada wasn’t performing at his usual high level.   It became obviously clear that Posada was hurting.  He had no zip on his throws when trying to nail runners trying to steal on him.  In 41 attempted steals Posada was only able to gun down 7 of them for a .171 percentage, which was far and away the poorest showing in his career.

On April 9 the day after a game against the Kansas City Royals where he complained of having “dead arm” Posada had an MRI performed on his right shoulder area.  Originally the MRI revealed a strain on the hinge and Posada was happy he wasn’t headed for a place he’d never been…..the disabled list.

“I am really happy it’s not bad,” said Posada at the time. “It’s good news it’s not worse.”

Posada tried to work through the pain and attempted to strengthen the area, but no improvement came forth.  On April 28 Posada shut it down and headed for the basement.

“It’s the biggest disappointment of my career, probably,” Posada said after making his decision. “Being on the D.L., not being able to participate in games, it’s really tough for me. I thought it was coming along, but it’s not. We have to find out what’s really bothering me.”

Posada returned to New York and later met with Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala. who operated on Posada’s labrum in 2001.  Posada said that he thought surgery wasn’t needed, but was worried the injury wasn’t getting any better.

“It’s not getting any better, so we’ve got to find out what it really is,” Posada said. “The M.R.I. showed a strained muscle, and I think it’s more than that.”

While on the DL Posada rested, took batting practice and playing long toss, trying to strengthen the shoulder enough for him to return to the team.  He was expected to DH and play first base in order to get his bat back into the lineup.

On May 31 Posada threw to twice to second in an extended spring training game and reported no pain in the shoulder.

“The second one was better than the first one,” Posada said. “It felt good throwing the ball. I’m happy with it. I’m happy the way I felt.”

Posada returned from the disabled list on June 5, but didn’t start the game.  The next day Posada told the press that he would have labrum surgery performed at the end of the season.

“It’s good enough. I think it’s good enough to get going here… There’s no discomfort. Obviously something’s messed up in there. We’re going to have to get that fixed after the season,” Posada said.

However, things were not “good enough to get there.”  Posada, when he was allowed to catch a game, continually had trouble throwing runners out.  Teams caught on and they purposely ran on Posada, because he was a defensive liability.  That forced manager Joe Girardi to play backup catchers (especially) Jose Molina and Chad Moeller more.

Not only did Posada’s defense suffer, but his hitting started suffering as well.  By July 19 Posada was hitting only .268 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI.

The next day, Posada went on the DL for the second time and the Yankees went hunting for a bat.  They found one in Pittsburgh in the person of Xavier Nady.  The Nady trade sealed the deal for Posada who said with Nady on board there wasn’t the pressure to return before the end of the season.

On July 30 Posada underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery to repair the labrum, and then began a six month rehabilitation and strengthening program in order to get back to catching for the Yankees in 2009.

The Yankees for their part have brought Posada along slowly.  He reported with pitchers and catchers in mid-February and it was decided Posada wouldn’t catch a game until mid-March.

“If everything goes according to plan, the first month might be a little slower than the other months to ease him back into it, but we have plans for him to be our everyday catcher,” Girardi said.

The Yankees stuck with that plan as Posada had been a DH going 9-for-22 (.364) so far in the spring.  Yesterday Posada saw his first action behind the plate in nearly 7 months.  Posada caught four innings; 3 with Andy Pettitte and one with reliever Phil Coke as the Yankees beat the Houston Astros 5-1 in Tampa.

Posada didn’t have a baserunner attempt to steal on him in the game.

“Today was very important,” Posada said to reporters. “I wasn’t nervous; I was excited. I was really looking forward to catching. It felt surprisingly good.”

The closest Posada came to having a chance to test his arm was when the Astros speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez stood at first base.

“I was hoping he would take off so I could make a throw,” Posada said. “Not try to rush anything, just make a throw, be under control and see how it felt.”

The times Posada did throw, like throwing down to second in between innings, to third after a strikeout and throwing back to the pitcher, he reported no pains or problems with his shoulder.  His teammates seemed just as pleased to see No. 20 behind the plate.

“It was good to see him back there,” Pettitte said to reporters after yesterday’s game. “He seemed normal to me. I guess I’m so used to seeing him back there; the way he sets up is embedded in my head. He said he felt great. The biggest thing for him is going to be when guys try to steal, seeing how his arm reacts.”

So far it’s good for both Posada and the Yankees.  According to Girardi the Yankees are hoping to work Posada into catching between 100 and 110 games this season.  Posada didn’t want to put a cap on the possibilities.

“Let’s not put a number on it,” Posada said. “Today is one of many. I have no idea how much I’m going to catch. I feel good, and if I’m healthy, I’d like to catch a lot more than they’re talking about. We won’t know until we play games and get to that point.”

General Manager Brian Cashman put it this way.

“It’s good that we got to this day,” Cashman said. “We thought we wouldn’t be ready until mid-March to start catching in games – and here we are. So we got to this point, that’s an important first step of many more. These next few weeks, we’ll really see how he’s getting through this.”

At least now, not all of those steps are uphill.