Yankee Starting Pitching.

"Such is the status of the Yankees' pitching staff that a 39-year-old with an ailing back is the best option."


I trust Brown in game three and I trust El Duque in game four. In fact, my suspicion is that El Duque's sore shoulder will magically get better with two runners on base and two strikes on the batter.

But the subtext of this story is the ridiculous demise of Javier Vazquez. This guy was hyped as an ace, as a Cy Young candidate. Last year, in the NL, he had a 3.24 era and 241 k's. He was 10 - 5, 3.56 at the all star break.

Now, he's pitching out of the bullpen and probably won't throw a single important pitch in the postseason.

Can the Yankees get Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera back?


Overall, I think the Yankee starting pitching is quite underrated. Mussina and Lieber combined for 5 runs in 13 2/3 innings (more or less) for the first two playoff starts, not too shabby for an Achilles' Heel. Brown and El Duque should match up well against the likes of Lackey, Lohse, Wakefield, etc.

(How did Jon Lieber do in "Pettitte's spot," by the way? Not to belabor the anti-Pettitte point, but I'd rather have the guy who has already rehabbed from Tommy John surgery than the guy about to get Tommy John surgery.)

I will concede that the current Yankee staff does not compare favorably to the best recent Championship Yankee staffs ... Clemens, Pettitte, Wells, Key, Cone ... Irabu, Rogers, Gooden, Weaver, Neagle ...

The thing is, the 2004 Yankees aren't playing the 1998 Yankees.