from this to "Are We There Yet?"...thats just depressing.

RAB has a great post this morning on Maddon's moves and the change up. I had forgotten he played the reverse platoons. Forget silly bunts, THAT is some inspired managing.

This Yankee team is looking alot like 2005-07 - win in the regular season, struggle in the post-season without great pitching. Lee would have been a fantastic acquisition, but I'm sure glad they didn't give up Montero.

Well, it's certainly one way to reduce the population of angry political black men without causing much of a stir :-'

[3]--->[1] if that wasn't obvious...

[2] nah I don't think this team is like those teams. I still feel much more confident going into a first round series with Sabathia, Pettitte, Vazquez, Burnett than I would with (say) Wang, Mussina, Randy Johnson, and Jaret Wright. Its not perfect, but you can definitely win with it.

[5] CC stands out above Wang. But otherwise?

Burnett = Old Unit
Pettitte = Moose

As for Vaquez, I have no clue until he pitches in October. But the HR rate is so scary to think he's a bust waiting to happen. Hughes too. He gave up as many HRs in July as he gave up in the rest of this season combined.

They're good enough to win, but against the Rays' pitching? The Yankees are looking more and more like the second best club in the division, most especially with A-Rod and Jeter slumping badly.

[6] Burnett who the hell even knows, but he's already shown he can pitch in the playoffs here and win which is more than Randy ever did. So for that fact alone I gotta give him a slight edge. Although I totally understand not trusting him.

Moose from '05 through '07 had a 1.301 WHIP and an ERA+ of 103, Pettitte is pitching this year to a 1.202 WHIP and an ERA+ of 140. Combine that with his track record, and I'll take my chances with Pettitte.

Vazquez can go either way, but I sure as hell would take him over Jaret Wright or Shawn Chacon. Hughes is gonna be in the pen by October, so that I'm not even gonna think about.

[0] i feel you alex, better known as a goose and we all wanna smother shit.

[3] that's for damn sure.

[7] I agree with your assessments, and Pettitte as a LHP in Yankee Stadium helps too, but the variability of Burnett and Vazquez presents the very real possibility of FUBAR games in the fourth inning.

The real problem is:

Price (147 ERA+) > CC
Nieman = Pettitte
Shields, Garza, Davis, and Hellickson > Burnett, Vazquez, Hughes

Then you add the fact that the TB pen is significantly better than the Yankee pen, and with an excellent closer, and the Yankees without Jeter and A-Rod performing are clearly a second place team.

Should be fun! Can't say I'd mind the Yankees as underdogs either.