No no, don't bring up a "reverse" curse or whatever sillyness.

Now if the World Series-drought for the Yanks becomes about a decade-long, then WE all can start being depressed about the club's situation.

Whos on the mound tonight?

The Moose is Loose. He needs velocity on his fast ball.

He's only getting up to about 89 mph so far.

DS

Johnson has pitched well, but his fastball also is peaking at 92 mph, well short of the 98 mph he has been used to. Mussina, however, needs to get his rhythm going and use the knucklecurve effectively.

From what I heard on Mike & the Mad Dog, the Yanks are going to need to cut a pitcher. Groom has pitched very well, while Stanton has struggled. Karsay? Could the axe fall for him? I hope they don't ditch Sturtze, he was great for us down the stretch.

If they do drop somebody, let's hope his last name is Brown. :p

From ESPN, Omar Daal is the only FA pitcher available at the moment. I wonder whether the Yankees have another Chien Ming Wang down there in Columbus somewhere...

Oh "Admiral" Halsey, where have you gone....

Bring back Lieber!

DS

New Look Yankees ?

Bullshit. I tell you how you fix the Yankees without this movement:

1.) Fire Kevin Brown, and bring up Sean Henn or another Yankee prospect.

2.) Fire Jason Giambi since he can't hit a baseball with or without steroids.

3.) Move Bubba Crosby to center field. Retain Matsui and Sheffield at current positions.

4.) Find a reliable second baseman. I don't care if it's Andy Phillips, Rey Sanchez, Tony Womack, or another minor leaguer.

5.) Figure out what happens during batting practice with Don Mattingly. I don't see how someone like Donny Baseball can turn an order that (on paper) could arguably rival Murderer's Row and have them hitting only 2, 3 hits a game for the entire team.

6.) Evaluate the bullpen, and let's see who we have from Columbus that can step up and who will be sent down. There isn't much room for discussion here.

7.) Leave either Ruben Sierra or Bernie Williams as the DH (until they are both healthy). See #2 for Giambi.

There isn't much to cheer about by beating Tampa Bay. In fact, if they didn't, I would have said that this season was almost over.

If I were George, I would ask to have their contracts redone.

Womack to left, Matsui to center, Bernie to the bench to share DH duties with Giambi, Robinson Cano up from Columbus to play 2B.

Not exactly a murderer's row.....

C-- Posada (Semi washed-up)
1B- Tino (Almost completely washed up)
2B- Cano (Unproven rookie)
3B- A Rod
SS- Jeter
LF- Womack (Not they type of offense you want from a leftfielder
CF- Matsui
RF- Sheffield
DH- Giambi/Bernie (Both pretty much done).

Four legit stars, the rest of the guys way into the downsides of their careers, plus an unreliable bunch of starters and an unreliable (exept for Mo) bullpen.

.500 and third place, anyone?

I would say, they are not as good as their payroll would have you believe.
.

My prediction of 82-80 might be ambitious.
How about rookie phenom Andy Phillips - 4 whiffs.

I'd play him at first base ahead of Tino against lefties.

Again, as I said, on paper. There is no denying that most of the roster is playing well below potential.

Posada: Definitely has some issues. While he is still strong defensively, his batting skills have seriously dropped since his great 2003 season.

Martinez: He is still the *best* defensive first basemen in the game despite his age, with an excellent lifetime .995 fielding percentage. I'd still put him in the batters box over Giambi any day.

Cano: AAA 2B. We really don't know much, other than that he is one of the Yankees top prospects, though from what I hear from ESPN and YES he isn't projected to be much more than an everyday player.

A-Rod: His batting skills are varying from day to day. Still having problems adjusting to 3B. I wonder what would happen if Torre worked him out at SS for a few games.

Jeter: Still the Yankees most consistant bat. Though he's in his prime, and still one of the top 5 shortshops, Tejada is clearly the premier defensive shortstop in the league. His effort and leadership are, however, unparalled.

Womack: He's been a disappointment. I really was confused as to why we let both Enrique Wilson AND Miguel Cairo loose after the season, except for the fact that Womack was an excellent base runner and stealing threat. However, the pop in Cairo's bat is missed.

Matsui: Also struggling a bit, I still think his solid batting mechanics and fielding place him near the top of the team in value. It will be interesting to see how he handles the transition to CF, though they said on Baseball Tonight he was the best CF in the game a couple of years ago before he came to NY.

Sheffield: Still performing well, but is showing signs of age. Nothing to snuff at though, he is the Yankees big bat from the right side.

Giambi: Will the real Giambi please stand up? No. Please sit down. Why didn't we terminate this bum's contract after the whole steroid thing?

Bernie: Very, very streaky at the plate. His fielding skills have diminished because of his age and knee problems, but he still can get it done. He should probably move into a more mentor type role for Bubba Crosby.

Sierra: Best possible choice at DH when he is healthy.

Starting Pitching: Johnson will need to be more Johnson-esque, and Pavano will have to keep pitching effectively. Mussina did alright last night, but also has to step it up a notch. The jury is still out on whether Jaret Wright can become an effective starter. And Kevin Brown should be flushed the same way other brown things like his namesake are sent down the toilet.

Bullpen: The bullpen, even with Mo, has been ineffective. Sturtze started slow and now is hurt, Gordon is...clueless, and Stanton has been questionable. Groom has actually been a pleasant surprise, since we need a good left-hander in the 'pen. Karsay was clearly expendable. Felix Rodriguez needs to not turn into Felix Heredia. I hope we keep Colter Bean up, he seemed to do a pretty good job from what I saw.

I just read some rumors that Clemens might be traded to either New York or Boston before the July trade deadline. If that's true, we need to get him, plus we can't afford for Boston to get him.

I saw that on Mike & Mike this morning, though I wonder whether that would happen. I don't want Clemens back. I'd much rather take a look at other options around the league. Besides, there aren't any players the Yankees would really be willing to trade for Clemens (as they said) besides Roberto Cano and other AAA-prospects. I don't forsee this being likely unless they are *really* in the hole and suspect that Clemens would help them make the playoffs.

I'm kinda the same way with you. I'd like to see him continue to rot in Houston (he isn't getting any run support like Johnson last year). However, if it could mean we would win the World Series by getting him back, I'd like to see him back (espeically if we got him and Boston tried to). I also would love to see a rotation of Johnson, Clemens, Pavano, Mussina

I still don't want Clemens, despite how viable that rotation would be. That bastard screwed us this past offseason, and I wouldn't want him back. I'd rather go down with the current ship that try to buy back that asshole.

I feel the same, but I'd rather win the World Series than see Boston win again or see Clemens go back there

If you think the Yankees are a good team this year and just need one more top quality starter to get them over the hump, then Clemens could make the difference.

Unfortunately, though, I think the problem is gonna prove to be just as much on offense as on the mound.

They'll be looking around for a leftfielder or centerfielder that they can rent - someone like Arizona's Luis Gonzalez if the D'backs fall out of the race.

And it looks like not going after Beltran this past off-season was a mistake -- I mean how much worse are the Mets than the Yanks now?

Actually, Cameron would be a great fit for the Yankees. I think the Mets would like Victor Diaz to play every day, and a Matsui-Cameron-Sheffield outfield would be a good one for the Yanks.

And I know what you Yankee fans are thinking about a David Wright-A Rod comparison, but would anyone be really shcked if they both finished around .300 with 30-35 homers and 100-110 RBIs?

If the Yanks want to cough up a decent pitching prospect or two, they can have Cameron.

I wonder if they even have a decent pitching prospect or two that they can cough up.

How about Cameron, Heilman, and Matsui for Cano and Pavano?

As a Mets' fan, I'd do that in a second. I believe Omar Minaya would too.

I think it's a fair trade talent-wise, and it helps both teams.

I doubt if Pavano is ever going to be as successful in the AL as he was in the NL, as is the case with most pitchers who switch from the National League.

Heilman has shown flashes this year, and Matsui, I think, is better than Womack (at least offensively).

So the Yankees upgrade at 2B and in CF, with a moderate loss at third starter.

THe Mets give up two regulars, but can now play Cairo (while waiting for Cano to develop if he's not ready yet) and Diaz without too much of a drop-off, and improve their starting pitching.

I wonder what the Yankee fans would think of this deal?

No way. We don't need Matsui. We need Pavano more than him. Plus Pavano's just starting at as a Yankee too. Give the guy some time

I think it's more of a money issue than a talent issue. The Mets would LOVE to unload Cameron's and Matsui's contracts.

Hmm...I was close. I figured the Yanks would cap out at 9 earned runs tonight, but I was wrong.

Cameron would be a nice fit, though I wonder who we would give them. Pavano I wouldn't give up. Wang either - he seems to be the best pitching prospect since Halsey. Also, depending on how Henn does tomorrow night, it could also factor into any trade.

However, I think the Yanks need to stop flucking around and just get back to playing baseball. Put players back where they belong and let it work itself out (or better yet, follow my instructions a few posts back).

You know I was just thinking that it's probably a good thing that I'm not in New York right now watching the YES Network nightly watching the games. I'd have no hair left (not that I do now since I shave my head) but I'd go nuts watching the games. I think the last game I watched was a couple of weeks ago when Randy Johnson won in the Bronx against the Rangers. I will be in New York on the 26th though and I plan on watching as many games as possible. If the Yanks are still under .500 by the All-Star break, I'll probably hang myself. Screw the second half, I wouldn't even want to see it by then. I just don't understand what's going on. This is a team that was 1 out away from the World Series at least twice last year and they're 11-15 in their first 26 games. What is going on with the starting pitching (besides Kevin Brown)?

Short Answer: They got old fast.

Posada, Bernie, Mussina, Gordon, Rivera, and Randy Johnson are all past their prime, and, with the possible exception of Johnson and Rivera, it's unrealistic to expect them to perform at the same level that they have in the past.

Also don't forget that as players age, even if they keep their performance level up, they become more prone to injuries.

Giambi, Tino, Quantrill (and the rest of the bullpen) and Kevin Brown are basically useless, and Womack is a nothing anyway and certainly no better than Miguel Cairo.

I wouldn't count them out just yet, but if Sheffield starts to show his age anytime this season, either by a performance drop-off or with an injury, and either Johnson, Pavano, or Mussina misses many starts, don't be surprised if the Yanks finish around .500

Hell, Bernie Williams taken out of the outfield is not a good long-term sign for the squad.

Anyone heard those pitiful reports of Yankees wanting to maybe trade for Roger Clemens in July?

Thoughts:

*Who would the Yanks trade to Astros for? Last I heard, they're farm system is bone dry at the moment.

*Would Clemens REALLY want to go? He has the option to terminate any possible trade.

*What OTHER veteran players might be on the market for the Yanks to trade for? I mean tell me, since I'm clueless at the moment.