New York, NY (WFAN)  -- There are a few players on this team that Yankee fans have long wanted to put in front of a firing squad and have executed at dawn. Please, put down your weapons and take two steps back!

Johnny Damon was old and washed up and the Yankees needed to get rid of him fast---dump him in an alley, send him to Siberia, send him fishing with Al Neri…anything. But Damon has provided a spark recently. We saw what a difference he made last year in the second half of the season. And he’s doing it again. Over his last 16 games Damon is batting .359 (7 multi-hit games) with 17 runs scored. His impact would have been felt even more if Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada had been part of the lineup this whole time. But as others have tried to pick up the slack in their absence, Damon has certainly done his part.

If fans had their way, Mike Mussina would be fixing flat tires in Montoursville, PA right now. There was certainly no way he was going to win 5 games all year. Well, Mussina has won 4 straight starts, is 5-3 after just 8 starts, and is actually 12-6 in his last 19 starts going back to last year. This year, he’s 0-2 against Boston and Manny Ramirez has made Mussina into his personal piñata. But against the rest of the league, Mussina is 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA. I still don’t think he’s going to win 18 games, but he’s far better now than any of us thought he would be. And while Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have gone winless, Mussina has helped keep the Yankees afloat.

Chien-Ming Wang was never going to be the ace the Yankees needed. The 38 wins the last two years meant nothing in the wake of last year’s playoff disasters. If the Yankees could get anything for him, it was time to send him packing. But Wang has gotten off to best start of any Yankee pitcher in the last five years. He’s 6-1, 3.12 ERA. He’s beaten Halladay, Sabathia, and Bedard. He’s once again going to be a Cy Young Award candidate. He could win more games than any Yankee since Guidry in ’78. No longer featuring just that killer sinker, he’s giving up fewer hits and striking out more batters than before. He’s become a better pitcher and on a team that’s only .500 the Yankees come to the park every five days knowing they’re going to win.

As much as it pains me to say this, even Kyle Farnsworth has been better. He’s throwing more strikes and giving up fewer runs. Hallelujah!

This isn’t going to be all wine and roses. I know Damon will slump again, I know Mussina will get hit around for a few starts, I know Wang will lose a few from time to time. Lord knows Farnsworth isn’t perfect. But let’s at least take some time to give a few people some credit when they deserve it.

We can always shoot them tomorrow.

Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to yankees@wfan.com.

Sweeny