In 2005, the Yankees went into the All-Star break at 46-40, third in the AL East. They finished 95-67, division champs.

Two years later, New York put up an even worse 42-43 in the first half and proceeded to win 52 of its next 77 games, qualifying for the playoffs for the 13th straight season, this time by way of the wild card.

And it might be the same old story in 2008. On July 13, the Yanks were beaten 4-1 in Toronto and headed into the break at 50-45, six games back of the BoSox for the division lead. They also sat behind Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Oakland in the wild-card race.

The second half has gone slightly better. Before losing to the Red Sox on Sunday night, the Yankees won eight straight games, putting themselves right back in the race for both the division and wild card. Over those eight games, New York outscored its opposition by a whopping 34 runs (49-15).

On the pitching front, 22-year-old Joba Chamberlain has been earning the most buzz. On Friday, he threw the finest game of his young career, at Fenway versus Josh Beckett no less. Over seven innings, the hefty righty shut out the Red Sox (who had David Ortiz back in the lineup for the first time since May 31), making way for the New York bullpen to safeguard a 1-0 Yankee win.

"I was the second-best pitcher today," Beckett said despite his own strong performance, "and ultimately that gets you a loss most of the time."

Chamberlain is next scheduled to start Wednesday's afternoon affair at Yankee Stadium versus the Orioles.

Offensively, second baseman Robinson Cano has been the most dangerous Bronx Bomber during the team's resurgence. Cano has 18 hits, including three home runs, since the All-Star break, pumping his batting average from a disappointing .245 to a more respectable .268.

"Robby, he's awesome," teammate Bobby Abreu told the Hartford-Courant. "Awesome. I tell you, when he's hot, everything [he hits] goes through. He hits home runs, he hits doubles. He even gets some walks, works the counts. I can only say one thing: He's a good hitter."

Little Help?

Poor Rich Harden... and we're not even talking injuries this time. The Cubs' new fireballer has been nothing short of spectacular in three starts, yet he's still to notch his first win for the club. In 17.1 innings, the Canadian righty has surrendered just two earned runs on eight hits with 30 strikeouts.

On July 21, his second start with Chicago, Harden went seven strong, giving up one hit to the Diamondbacks – that hit being a solo homer by Alex Romero. But the Cubs couldn't do anything with the bats and lost 2-0.

Harden left his next outing on Saturday after five innings with the Cubs leading the Marlins 2-1, only to watch Florida fight back to win 3-2 in 12 innings.

"I never concern myself with that," Harden said after the Florida game. "You can't control that. It was a disappointing one today because we had the lead most of the game and then lost."

Overall with the Cubs, Harden is 0-1 with a 1.04 ERA and has limited opponents to a .138 batting average. His next assignment is scheduled for Thursday at Milwaukee.

Time to Share the Wealth

Tiger Woods has won the last three WGC-Bridgestone Invitationals, but he won't get a chance to make it four this week at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

The injury that's keeping the world's best player on the sidelines for the rest of the season is also serving to provide the rest of the planet's top golfers a shot at the $8 million purse. Check with the Bodog Sportsbook for all the latest odds to win the Bridgestone Invitational.

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