No Ted Lilly and no Hiroki Kuroda make the Yankees a nervous, nervous team. I thought I'd try to put that in proverb form, so enjoy it. However, looking around at the other AL playoff contenders, the Yankees aren't alone in their rotation woes. By no means does that make me comfortable, but it does make me a little less uneasy.
If the season ended today, the Yankees would square off against - guess who? - the Twins in the ALDS, and would probably face Francisco Liriano and Carl Pavano in the first two games. I'm not worried about that, not with CC and (hopefully) Andy (not AJ) starting Games 1 and 2. Yeah, I know: back to back lefties are bad, Andy's a gamer and should be lined up to start Game 7, etc. I don't care. Let's focus on not needing a Game 7. From there, the Twins would be likely to start Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey in some order, who are both decent/solid-average pitchers, but don't really scare me. With AJ and (hopefully) Phil (not Javy) starting Games 3 and 4, I can live with that. If a few games have to be decided by the bats, I like the Yankees chances.
The same situation seems to play out against the Rays and Rangers. Both teams have two solid, above-average starters followed by two decent/serviceable ones. If the Yankees play their cards right, meaning getting Andy Pettitte back to full strength and including Phil Hughes in the postseason rotation, I'm actually not as worried as I thought I'd be.
- On that note, Pettitte had a "great: bullpen session today. Expect a simulated game in a few days, followed by a minor league rehab start, and then he should be back in the majors in about 10 days.
- Anybody else notice Curtis Granderson lately? He's posted a .793 OPS since the All-Star break (pretty good in a down year for offense) even though his BABIP is probably still a tad low considering his line drive rate and speed.
- Here's a less than encouraging, but not unrealistic, spin on the upcoming Derek Jeter contract issue. I hate to admit it, but:
(The Yankees) can’t expect to pay Derek Jeter $18 million and A-Rod north of $25 million in 2013 and 2014 and compete at a high level (emphasis added). Even the Yankees’ resources are limited, and poor investments at such high levels are tough to overcome.