9-2 in postseason since re-joining the Yankees.

The postseason performance catching up to his reputation.

Also, some HOF talk building. Which I only find amusing because this particular discussion tends to avoid the mention of human growth hormone.

Mike Lupica is saving Mariano Rivera's arm for games in December.

"He came running out of the bullpen, running out of all the other Octobers, one out earlier than he should have in the first game of the playoffs. But here came the great Mo Rivera anyway, here came Rivera to show you how much and how badly Joe Girardi wanted Game 1."

Uhhh ...

You know it's the playoffs, right?

You know it's a five-game series, right?

Can you imagine if Girardi hadn't brought in Rivera?

The ethereal world.

"And anybody who doesn't think the Mets can come all the way back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees doesn't remember what the '80s were like in the place I've always called Baseball New York."

What is your deal, dude? What sort of invisible demons are your fighting?

First, the idea that an imaginary place called "Baseball New York" existed in the first place.

Second, the fact that you're living in the '80s. The last time the Mets were better than the Yankees, you didn't have a cell phone, you didn't have an Internet, the astronauts were dusting moon shmutz off their uniforms, the Berlin Wall was up, Barack Obama was in high school, and "Falcon Crest" was your favorite pop culture reference instead of "Dancing With the Stars."

Third, who are the people who don't think the Mets can come back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees? Besides you, who is thinking about the Mets right now?

The Mets should worry about going toe-to-toe with the Marlins in the NL East before they worry about the respective attention they receive from Russ Salzberg.


"The Yankees are often right about big-ticket starting pitchers, but only as long as they're named Clemens or Sabathia."

I know, right?

The guy giving us a New York Baseball history lesson has forgotten about:

1. Jimmy Key.
2. David Cone.
3. David Wells.
4. Orlando Hernandez.
5. Andy Pettitte.
6. Mariano Rivera.

Awww, you're just upset because Johnny Damon didn't make the playoffs. Johnny Damon with his .271 batting average and 8 HRs.

Let's see how many times Lupica can be wrong in two pages. Start with the headline:

"CC Sabathia is a sure thing for the Yankees, same can't be said for A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez"

1) If Sabathia is a sure thing, then you can make reservations for the parade. Sabathia is going to start 2 games in a 5-game series and perhaps even 3 games in a 7-game series.

2) Vazquez won't be on the postseason roster. Burnett should not be. So if the gist of this argument is that the Yankees overpaid for these two pitchers, then you're stating the obvious. But if you're trying to predict playoff doom for the Yankees, you shouldn't look at the back end of the roster.

"This is as disinterested a September as a top-shelf Yankee team has had in a long time."

3) Last year, the Yankees were disinterested in September and they won the World Series.

4) This has been the Yankee way for at least a decade.


"Only now, on the verge of another Yankee postseason, it feels as if the only reliable postseason rotation the Yankees have is CC Sabathia."

5) Pettitte is reliable.

6) Hughes is reliable.


"Whatever Girardi and Brian Cashman say, would ever say, the Yankees have approached their rumblin', bumblin' September as if they will do anything not to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in the first round."

Errr ...

7) The last time the Yankees faced Lee, the Yankees overcame a 6-0 deficit.

8) When the Yankees started taking the pedal off the metal -- around Labor Day -- they had no way of knowing the Twins would win 10 in a row and, frankly, the Yankees still don't know who will win the AL East and who will win the wild card.


"It would be pretty amazing, the big, bad $200 million defending champion Yankees looking to avoid a Rangers team that hasn't been in the playoffs in more than a decade."

9) ??? Why would that be amazing? I think that could conceivably be wise, but I also think the Yankees have no way of planning the Universe like that. As if Cashman is commanding the Royals to beat the Twins and the Rays. I Decree it so.


"No worries, though. Once the season is over, the Yankees will throw money at Lee - less than Sabathia money, more than Burnett - and act as if they have some sort of brilliant plan at Yankee Stadium that doesn't involve spending a couple of hundred million dollars on starters every couple of years."

10) I think Lee will likely replace Pettitte. I don't know who will replace Vazquez (Ivan Nova?).

11) The Yankees can afford Lee because of Cashman's brilliant moves in the outfield. Who needs Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth? (Or Hideki Matsui? Or Johnny Damon? Or Melky Cabrera?)


"The season wasn't supposed to go anything like this. But Pettitte got hurt, because aging pitchers do."

12) All pitchers are aging. All entities in the Universe are always aging, every second of every minute of every day.

13) Lee got hurt.

14) Santana got hurt.

15) Strasburg got hurt.

So if you meant to say old pitchers get hurt, then you're using an invalid modifier.


"The Yankees weren't supposed to have to pitch Hughes in an emergency start against the Red Sox Sunday night. They did."

16) Oh, I remember. The unreliable Hughes knocking the Red Sox out of the playoff race. That was sweet.


"The Yankees weren't supposed to be rooting this hard for Burnett to show up in Toronto the other night with something resembling the stuff he showed us in the last postseason."


17) In last year's postseason, Burnett had one good start out of four.

Top Five.

Top five Yankee pitchers who should start Game Four instead of A.J Burnett.

1. Ivan Nova.
2. Dustin Moseley.
3. Sergio Mitre.
4. Chad Gaudin.
5. Nick Swisher.
   

"... Rivera blew a save for the fifth time in 37 chances—but third since Sept. 11 ..."

Just being fair, Mariano has not pitched well lately. I don't know if it's something to "worry about" in October. I'm pretty sure Papelbon's meltdown won't matter too much in October. Except maybe at his local miniature golf course.

Tampa Loses! Tampa Loses!

Can they hold off the Yankees in the surge for the AL East crown?

Yankees can cut Tampa's lead to a mere 1/2 game!


I only think it's amusing that Tampa's 1.5-game lead is viewed as totally secure. But the Sox are going to make up 5.5 games on the Yankees fer sure.

Just stop.

So the Red Sox "plan" is to win every game while the Yankees lose every game. Sounds like a great plan.


Yes, I agree with the notion that the Yankees deserve to lose if they lose their last six games in a row to the Red Sox. But this losing streak to the Red Sox is only two so far.


I also think the Yankees should really start re-considering their annual September Swoon strategy. Get your rest after the Magic Number is 0.


But that's not the issue here. The issue here is mathematics. Mathematics is on the Yankees' side.

Only ten?

Hughes beats Rays! Hughes beats Rays!

Sorry I got so excited.

I was just counteracting the faux panic that would have occurred if the Rays had beaten Hughes.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Kevin Kernan gets the memo from 2008.

"The Yankees have found another rival to match the Red Sox."

The Rays rivalry does not match the Red Sox rivalry. I'm sure the New York Post has about 250,000 articles that refer to the Curse of Babe Ruth. The Yankees and Red Sox were rivals long before the Rays even existed.

I'm glad I could clear that up.


"Time to wake up and realize they are not the Beasts of the East that they thought they were this season."

Wake up! Wake up! Everybody needs to wake up!

Maybe Kernan really has been asleep since 2008, when the Rays won the division and went to the World Series.


"If not for Jorge Posada’s home run that gave the Yankees an 8-7 win Tuesday night in 10 innings, the Yankees could have been swept away by the Rays and Rangers."

If not for the HRs by Reid Brignac and Dan Johnson, the Yankees sweep the Rays.

If not for a bad call by an umpire on Kinsler's slide, the Yankees win that game and that's three losses turned into wins.

The Yankees lost most of these games by one run, so please don't talk about "if not for." One or two plays always decide close games. That's how it works.


"The Rays are not hitting much, either, but they still had enough to win two of three. Their manager Joe Maddon showed energy and enthusiasm, giving his players a lift. He was thrown out in the seventh during the Jeter incident."

When you said "the Rays are not hitting much," you probably meant to say, "The Yankees pitched well."


"The Rays are a better team this year because they have improved their bullpen. Soriano came on for his 43rd save in the ninth.The Rays have the mojo. The Yankees have issues."

The last two paragraphs just seem like a bunch of disconnected observations, but the Yankees are only a half-game out and a near-certainty to make the playoffs.

If the Yankees have issues and the Rays have mojo, then it's a wonder that the two teams have identical win-loss records.

Well done, cheater.

Maybe Jeter really does have an edge.

Game Two starter is Pettitte.

Though that could conceivably change if the Yankees don't get home-field advantage:

"If you still think you've got some hop on your fastball, call the Yankees, because they might give you a shot at starting Game 2 of the playoffs."

Mike Lupica crosses the Rubicon.

After 142 games, he finally concedes that the gritty Red Sox won't catch the Yankees.


As for the criteria for pitchers who would be eligible to start Game 2 of the playoffs for the Yankees, I believe this means that overrated slobs like John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield need not apply.


Now, the lingering worries about the Yankee playoff rotation. Focusing on the first round only:

Games 1 and 5 are Sabathia, who is the best pitcher in the American League.

Game 2 is Pettitte.

Game 3 is Hughes, who is actually quite good.

Game 4 is probably Burnett, though the Yankees shouldn't start him at home. Which means, if the Yankees choose not to start Burnett, then Burnett probably shouldn't make the playoff roster. In that case, Game 4 goes to Nova.

Can a rookie pitch in the playoffs?

Yes, a rookie can pitch in the playoffs.


Is the Yankee rotation really a huge problem? Please compare this starting rotation to the Twins' and the Rangers'. That's really the valid comparison, isn't it?

Game Two opponent would be Carl Pavano in Minnesota or C.J Wilson at Yankee Stadium.

I kind of like Pettitte's chances, frankly.

Tommy Hunter gave up seven runs to Toronto in his most recent start.

Typical take from Tim Smith where the Yankee playoff success hinges on Andy Pettitte's successful return.

Now, it goes without saying that a healthy Pettitte will help the Yankees in September and in October, but it's impossible to predict the outcome of a five-game series:

"If Pettitte doesn't come back right for the postseason, I'm not convinced that Sabathia, as good as he has been, can run all four legs of that relay race and help deliver another World Series title to the Bronx."

Who knows? Sabathia and Pettitte are not guaranteed winners and Hughes and Burnett are not guaranteed losers.


But what bugs me is that the Yankee opponents are never discussed. How can you proclaim the Yankee starting rotation depth is a problem when none of their opponents have starting rotation depth?

I think we can all agree that Javier Vazquez did not deserve to win.

"We know by now that Joe Girardi treats each and every ballgame as a mountain to be climbed, a safe to be cracked, a war to be won."

Is that a criticism?

It's a nice change of pace from a manager who treated every game like a between-nap chance to provide free product placement for Bigelow tea.


"But there are days like this one when he should just take a deep breath and resist the urge to overmanage."

This better be good, because now you're going to criticize the in-game decision of a manager whose team possesses the best record in baseball and is in the midst of an eight-game winning streak.


"Here he was, trying to bring Javier Vazquez back to life as a starting pitcher, and with two outs in the fifth inning of a game the Yankees were winning 5-3, Girardi came striding purposefully out of the dugout to yank Vazquez and bring in Dustin Moseley."

Second day in a row Girardi removed the starting pitcher after 4 2/3 innings.

Wonderful stuff.


"Never mind that Moseley promptly gave up a game-tying double to Lyle Overbay. That's not the point."

I don't think you have a point. Never mind that Vazquez has given up 29 HRs in 143 2/3 innings this year, that the go-ahead run was at the plate, that right field in Yankee Stadium is 225 feet away, and that Vazquez had given up a HR to Overbay earlier in the game.


"Or that Moseley, the pitcher Girardi just bumped from the starting rotation in favor of Vazquez, is not exactly Mariano Rivera coming out of the bullpen."

Or that Vazquez, the pitcher whom Moseley replaced, is not exactly Bob Gibson.

Vazquez is sort of a poor man's Denny Neagle.


"Or that the Yankees, sailing along at 85-50 with a seven-game winning streak as the day began, are hardly in desperation mode."

Yeah, well maybe that's because their manager treats each and every ballgames as a mountain to be climbed, a safe to be cracked, a war to be won.


"So why didn't he see the potential benefit of giving Vazquez a chance to get out of the inning, qualify for a win and earn a much-needed boost to his psyche?"

Because there is no benefit, you dope.

An 11-9 pitcher on his way out the door isn't much different than a 10-9 pitcher on his way out the door.

Also, I wonder how Vazquez's psyche would have benefited from another upper-deck blast?


"Whatever the formula, the Yankees found a way to win their eighth straight game, and that's the bottom line.

Maybe they won't need Vazquez come October and none of this will matter. But Girardi can't know that just yet."

I think Harper is wildly exaggerating the importance of one at-bat to Javier Vazquez's psyche, the importance of Javier Vazquez's psyche, and the importance of Javier Vazquez in general.

Q: What is intriguing about Girardi's decision?

"Top 5th

* McCoy grounded out, shortstop Nunez to first baseman Teixeira.
* Snider singled to right.
* Bautista popped out to center fielder Granderson. Snider stole second. Wells walked.
* Logan pitching. Overbay struck out."

A: Torre would have left Nova in trying to help the "youngster get a win."

Mother hen defends one of her chicks.

What the heck is the matter with Ms. Leather Pants? She gets so angry just because people are noticing Derek Jeter's poor play:

" 'All the people doing the talking are shortsighted, very shortsighted,' Waldman said. 'I don't think any of the talk, any of the stories, affect Derek at all. Everybody is jumping to conclusions because they need something to talk about.'

...

'You're watching a career go full circle,' Waldman said. 'It's not over, trust me. Wait and watch how this season plays out. Stop looking at it game to game. Baseball is a game of attrition. Let's see where Derek's standing in October. Then shoot your mouth off.' "

No, I don't trust you.


"Baseball is a game of attrition." What does that even mean?

Is that like when you say that a batter gets a good pitch to hit every at-bat?

That the key to the game is to throw strikes?

That the HR was hit on a pitch that drifted over the middle of the plate? Furthermore, that's not where the catcher wanted the pitch? Right down the middle of the plate?

Thanks for the insight.


So when are Jeter critics allowed to shoot their mouths off?

What if he finishes the season with a .330 on-base% and then bats .211 in the playoffs?

Then can somebody say something negative about Derek Jeter?


So, basically, fans and observers of baseball simply can't comment on what they see on the baseball field.

If you do, Suzyn Waldman will get very angry.

Padres lose sixth in a row.

Did this slump precisely correspond with Mike Lupica's gushing article? Or was the jinx delayed a couple of days?

Hey, pal, the exciting race for the Best Record in Baseball isn't working out so great. The Yankees now have a 5 1/2 game lead in this imaginary race.

I'm guessing Lupica won't mention the Padres again for the rest of the season.

Jeter? You know he's got an edge.

We're talking about runners left in scoring position ... right?

Because when it comes to runners left in scoring position, Jeter's got an edge, baby!