After losing Jared Wright and Mike Mussina this week, who are the next starters to take their places in the Yankees’ revolving door rotation? Hideo Nomo? Oil Can Boyd? Does anyone have David Cone’s cell number? The New York Daily News’ Bill Madden seems fairly certain the injury-plagued Bombers will be on the outside looking in come October.
How many times do the Yankees have to re-configure their rotation to get themselves into the postseason? And what to do about all-messed-up Tanyon Sturtze, who has reverted to the Tampa Bay Tanyon Sturtze with his inability to bridge the gap to Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera?
It just goes to show how money guarantees nothing in baseball and maybe, for the Yankees, it’s just not meant to be.
Injuries, of course, are part of the game and when it comes to the American League playoff contenders, the A’s suffered a devastating blow last week when Bobby Crosby, their mainstay shortstop, went down with a broken ankle in a home-plate collision. It was the second major injury of the season for Crosby, who watched the A’s go 17-32 when he was out with fractured ribs in April and May.
Like the Yankees, who resisted the temptation, at least so far, to bring in Sidney (The Baltimore Boozer) Ponson as another patchwork starter to compensate for the Mussina and Wright setbacks, the A’s chose not trade for a replacement shortstop and instead will entrust Marco Scutaro with the task of holding the fort until Crosby returns (they hope) the last week of the season.
The A’s without Crosby? The Yankees without Mussina? We’ll see which team is better able to survive. It may be neither as the youth-laden Indians are also right there for the wild card, with only one pitcher (Kevin Millwood) and two regulars (Casey Blake and Aaron Boone) over 30. In the long season, there’s a lot to be said for youth being served as the Indians for the most part have been injury-free.