Abreu should maybe take a seat for a few days, he is killing us. If his OBP was in his normal high 300s or low 400s Jeter could lead the league in RBI from the 3rd spot. Damon and Abreu on base and protection from HR and RBI leader AROD followed by switch-hitter .350 plus hitting Posada. Did that ab strain in Spring Training ever heal?
The pitching staff is finally getting healthy and some innings under there belt. The big find DeSalvo, add him and Hughes to the staff next year, see if Henn, Wright or some of the other youngs guys come through and drop 10 years off the age of the rotation and pen. Speaking of pen, Mariano still have velocity and movement on his cutter, he just needs some work. Every year his spring training innings go down and every year his April numbers get worse. Maybe Joe Torre needs to listen to his pitching coach the way he listened to Stottlemeyer, or he needs a new Pitching Coach.
The pitching youth movement is great, but you still need outfielders and a catcher. Posada is getting older and will be a DH or 1st basemen soon. Abreu is expensive, and not what he once was, and Matsui was good but never Godzilla. Even if Melky finds himself and shows last year was not a fluke, we will still need another corner guy.
Okay, now we are down to the nitty gritty. Clemens comes back and you hope to get 6 A+ innings out of him and I don't want to hear how he won't give you the same ERA as in the NL last year, so what. Add a run and it is still better than what you got most of the year. 10 starters, 4 homers in a row, bottom of the league in innings and ERA from the starters. By the end of the year, you could have Wang, Petite, Mussina, Clemens, Hughes with DeSalvo, Farnsworth, Vizcaino (if he finds himself) setting up Mariano. Not bad, just make the playoffs.
And that is where the Bombers can be in trouble. 8 games is a lot and if you look at ESPN or Sportsline, they all go into how many games you are down and when. The only issue is winning the division or at least the wildcard, but with improved play from the Midwest (Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Twins) you may miss the wild card, unless the Central beats each other up. The Red Sox have pitching in the Starting staff and the Pen. If Papelbon holds up and Beckett isn't really hurt (torn skin) and the second time through, Dice-K isn't figured out, they are the team to beat. Papelbon at this point might be the best closer, but can he hold up or will he falter (see Gagne). Epstein knows the trade market and will do what it takes.The Yankees don't need a miracle, just Wang's nail to heal, Clemens to be ready, and guys like Cano, Abreu, and Mo to be themselve.
