2nd Half

The 2nd half of the MLB season begins tonight and for the Yankees it begins tomorrow with a 3 game series against the AL central leading Detroit Tigers. Looking forward it's easy to predict that the Yankees will make the playoffs. Since the season began I have been saying this team is destined for bigger and better things, but at this point I have some concerns. For normal team standards, this team is way above average and will be rather successful. Unfortunately with the steinbrenners running the franchise and being in New York and being the most successful sports franchise in history, the expectations are always high. This team spends roughly $200 million on pay roll and as a result should have a top tier team. Bringing in CC, Burnett, and Teixeira in an offseason is beyond excessive and just lets you know at what level the Yankees are at. Accepting an 89 win playoff-less season like last yr, is out of the question. The Yankees refuse to let Boston and Tampa take control of the division and they are trying to position themselves for a title run. It all looked promising following the return of Alex Rodriguez. The staff was doing well, the bullpen rejuvinated with the addition of Phil Hughes, and the offense running on all cylinders. In the last week though, things got a little dicey. A 3 game sweep at the helm of the Angels was enough to derail the success train. Right now the rotation includes CC and Burnett as the 1-2, a very good 1-2 punch. The 3-4 is Joba and Pettitte (in whichever order you prefer) and currently neither is playing at a level worthy of a 3rd of 4rth starter. The 5th starting spot is Mitre's for right now until Wang can get back to 100%. If you had a quality 3rd starter, you would not mind pettitte and Joba struggling because as 4th and 5th starters, this is expected. But as the 3-4 guys, we expect and need more! The second half of the season should be no different than the first and I expect 93-95 wins and a wild card spot behind the Sox. This worries me because that means likely a visit to LAA for round 1 and back to Boston for round 2. With the current team that the Yankees have, they cannot beat LA or Boston in a series in their building. The Yankees offense is stacked and their pen is doing well, but they don't have enough to out slug other teams if they cant get good reliable pitching. CC is a terrible post season starter as is wang (if he gets straightened out). Burnett is inexperienced but should be capable of a good outing. Joba and Pettitte concern me. Pettitte has done it in the past with great success, but he is not the same pitcher. He's old and he looks it. Joba is young and looks it as well. He nibbles at the plate, can't throw 95 and doesn't have an out pitch. Joba needs to settle and become a reliable 3rd starter for the playoffs or this team has 0 chance when it matters. The yankees will make the playoffs but it is also imperative that they claim the division. As i just said I think 93-95 wins is in the cards, enough for 2nd place, but that means 2 road series before the World Series and it means Angels and Boston. A first place finish means Detroit in round one at home (should be possible to win) and then a series against the Angels/Red Sox in all likelyhood at home. This seems like a much more winable scenario for the Yankees in October. Either way they aren't winning shit until they get the starters straightened out. This doesn't mean get Halladay, but it means maybe making a small time move, or working with what you've got...fast!