Matt Carpenter and the Recent History of Unlikely Yankee Heroes
This spring if you were asked to name a guy that would nearly single-handedly carry the Yankee offense for an extended stretch this season, you might have listed 100 names before you came up with Matt Carpenter. But here we are nearing the end of July and a man whose career was dead in the water two months ago has become indispensable for the Bombers. After getting picked up off the scrap heap in late May, Carpenter ingratiated himself to the Bronx faithful with an impressive barrage of home runs, hitting six in his first 10 games as a Yankee. He found a higher gear in July. Bouncing around in Aaron Boone's lineup - whether it be at the corner outfield spots, first base or designated hitter - he posted a .442/.529/.727 slash line with seven home runs and 21 RBI's for the month leading up to the All-Star break. He ended that with a 6-for-15 crescendo in the week before the break, which included three home runs and 12 RBIs. For his efforts, Carpenter took home the AL Player of th