Yankees Dynamic Duo

[Green Jets & Ham]

MLB.com

Yankees Dynamic Duo Getting it Done

By Mike Petraglia

Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez aren't about to let David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez run away with the reputation as the best 1-2 punch in baseball.

Take a close look at their respective weekends at Fenway Park, and it's not difficult to see why the Yankees flew to Texas on Sunday night having captured three of four pivotal games from the Red Sox.

The Sheffield-Rodriguez combination produced five homers while driving in 10 runs, helping lift a team that had huge starting pitching questions heading into the series.

"We're starting to find our niche," Sheffield said. "I tell Alex every day, 'I'm good for two [RBIs], and he tells me he's good for two, and that's four right there. Somebody's got to come up with two more and we'll win.

"What we wanted to accomplish, we accomplished. This is one task, but we've got more to come. Going into the next series, we have to play with more intensity."

Rodriguez homered in three of the four games, including an important insurance shot against Tim Wakefield over the Green Monster in the eighth on Sunday night, putting New York up, 5-1.

Chemistry, according to Rodriguez, couldn't be better right now between the two.

"We've spent a lot of time together, more than last year. I've always said he's like my big brother and he inspires me, I know that. He's just a fearless hitter," Rodriguez said. "I love him, he loves me. We're very tight. We spend a lot of time off the field together. We talk a lot about hitting, situational hitting, and I think right now we're in a situation where we're feeding off each other."

Sheffield, who went 8-for-16 in the series with four doubles and two homers, says his weekend doesn't change his opinion that Rodriguez is the offensive leader of the team.

"There are just certain things you tell a person like Alex," Sheffield said. "Being in the spotlight like he is, he's one of the guys that everybody expects to carry a ballclub, but he has to relax and trust his teammates, and I just want him to know he can trust in us."

Joe Torre had Rodriguez batting third and Sheffield fourth when the two arrived at the beginning of the 2004 season.

"We started this [1-2 punch] in reverse when they first got here last year," the Yankee skipper said. "We tried a lot of different things but once Alex sort of established himself this year with us, it was an easy decision to make. Once he started being as comfortable as he is right now, it was a natural thing to do.

"In order to win, if you look at the great teams and the teams that have been successful, you've got that bang-bang 1-2 punch. You have Ortiz and Ramirez [in Boston]," Torre said.

Then there's Sheffield. He hammered a Wakefield 0-2 pitch over the Green Monster seats in left for his 19th homer in the third, staking Al Leiter to a 4-0 cushion. It was also his 434th career long ball, tying him with Juan Gonzalez for 32nd all-time.

Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon is more than partial to teammates Ortiz and Ramirez. However, even he realized what type of impact the Yankees' 1-2 punch had over the four games.

"They were pretty dominating this series," Damon said. "I'm not sure how many home runs or doubles they did hit. When those guys are on fire, they can carry your team because you know [Derek Jeter] is going to be on base."

[Blackout]

sheff-arod-matsui might be the best three headed monster too

god knows edmonds/pujols/rolen isnt what it was last year

[JonEJet]

1-9, the Yanks have the best lineup in the game......easily

[TaborJet]

Arod has become Arod, finally. No one will question whether or not he is clutch.

[Blackout]

1-9, the Yanks have the best lineup in the game......easily

but womack has really braught us down this year, thankfully hes not starting anymore

i estimate he's braught the teams BA down atleast 10 points this year alone