THERE aren’t enough specialists in New York to set all of the broken ankles sustained last night by folks jumping off Mike Mussina’s pinstriped bandwagon.
Just when the Empire and its legions were suffering dislocated shoulders patting themselves on the back for having won eight straight in conjunction with pulling off the Xavier Nady-Damaso Marte heist on Friday, reality grabbed a bat and smacked everyone in the face.
Last night’s 13-4 defeat to the Orioles at the Stadium following Sunday’s 9-2 loss at Fenway may signify nothing more than an inevitable short-term correction. But getting smoked on consecutive nights serves as a reminder that three-fifths of the rotation features Sidney Ponson (Sunday), Mussina (last night) and Darrell Rasner (tonight).
And the pregame announcement by general manager Brian Cashman that Jorge Posada will submit to season-ending surgery on his torn right labrum – rather than attempt to rehab it and serve as a hybrid DH-first baseman-bench player down the stretch – serves as a reminder that the Yankees won’t have their customary arsenal to club their way out of third place in the East to a 14th straight playoff berth, Nady or not, and last night’s reflex four-run seventh after trailing 11-0, notwithstanding.
“If we don’t pitch well, we’re not going to do anything,” said Mussina, who lasted five innings during which he allowed six runs on eight hits, including three doubles, a triple and two home runs. “The last two games we didn’t, but before that we pitched great.
“We have to get back to that.”
Every starter can have a night or two like this over the course of a season, even one with a 13-7 record and the second most wins in the league, distinctions owned by Mussina. So last night shouldn’t start alarm bells ringing. Except alarm bells always start ringing when a 39-year-old pitcher penciled in as the fifth starter in spring training pitches like a fifth starter in July in a rotation that already includes a pair of fives.
“It’s not easy, but you learn to let it go and put it all in perspective,” Mussina said. “We played a good string of games, but you’re not going to play great and win eight in a row all the time.”
Last year’s team had enough offense to overcome inferior pitching, leading the major leagues in runs scored for a third straight season. But this team is 15th in the majors in runs scored – 15th! – which speaks not only to disabled list-worthy injuries that have afflicted Posada, Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui, but also to the sub-standard production delivered thus far from Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera.
A year ago, the Yankees were 24-49 when allowing five runs or more. This year, they’re 11-33. That’s a dip from winning just about one out of three to winning one out of four. Again, when Ponson and Rasner (let’s be honorable and leave Mussina out of this company) are going to get the ball in 40 percent of the team’s starts, this slippage is meaningful.
Everything now, of course, is viewed through the narrow prism of Thursday’s trade deadline. Before the game, Cashman said nothing was “hot” on the pitching market. Then the Yankees played. Then Mussina was battered one night after Ponson was crushed and one night before Rasner tries to stop the bleeding.
Now there are broken ankles all over the Empire. But they aren’t Cashman’s worry. Arms are. Or at least they should be.