ONE STEP FORWARD AND

ONE STEP BACK.

Back on April 30, I suggested the Yanks might as well move Joba to the rotation since they didn't have enough chances to win by the eigth inning to make his presence there worthwhile. So I'm glad they've started the process. as a true power pitcher, he will be less dependent on their pathetic excuse for a defense than the other starters. He also might, if successful, take some of the pressure off hughes and Kennedy. Still, this will make things harder on the veterans. If the big F moves to the eighth, more games will undoubtedly be blown there, and what's more, Hawkins suddenly becomes the main man in middle relief, and I'm not certain he is good enough to be a mop up guy anymore. The problem I outlinewd in the last post will only be exacerbated. That is particularly true when you consider that pitch to contact guys like Pettite and particularly Mussina are very easy to foul off. Every defensive mistake forcing them to face an extra batter means 5-7 added pitches, driving up their counts, shortening their outings, making them more liable to error and even more dependent upon a non-existent middle relief corps. Maybe they should try bringing someone up from the minors and hoping he works out. How about that Patterson who pitched 23 scoreless innings in the spring. Desparate times.

Well, AROD has his last place swagger going doesn't he?

Last night I bemoaned the Yankees lack of an offensive philosophy. After further thought, I realized this is even more a product of bad team composition than I originally imagined. Last year, the Yanks had a clear identity: run up pitch counts, exhaust starters, score off of middle relievers; hold on with Mo. But last year they had a stronger veteran comoponent to the rotation. Baseball as we all know is not just an athletic competition, it is a strategic battle. But that strategic battle is not just cognitive: it is psychological warfare. When you have young pitchers, you need to get them run support early in the game. When Hughes and Kennedy have been left without runs into the fourth they press and then they collapse. But it is not just them. Look at the Red Sox. When the youngsters Lester and Bucholz get early run support, they pitch well; when they don't, they typically lose their composure and the game between the third and fifth inning. The patience of last year will not work as a strategy of support for these young pitchers. The Yankees need quick runs, which means they need not just to be more aggressive at the plate, but on the bases as well.

To this end, I think Jeter ought to be hitting lead-off, Abreu second, and Cano third, a position which will force him to stay back on the ball and go middle-left. Matsui could bat fourth since he's still your most reliable RBI guy, AROD can bat fifth, where he can swing for the fences all he wants, Posada can bat sixth when he returns (and they should bring him back as a DH as soon as his time on the DL is up), Cabera could bat seventh, and after that I really don't care. If there is someone in the minors who can actually play first base well, maybe they could bring him up. I'm certain he could hit the 180 or so that Giambi is hitting. Lastly, now that I have established in a perfectly respectable sabremetric way that Molina is even more hapless than previously believe, I notice that Moeller is hitting 262 or 80 points better than Giambi, 70 points better than Duncan, 62 points better than Molina and 50 or so points better than Cano. So let him play awhile. You can't do worse than the alternative.

Baseball is such a team game, all appearance to the contrary, that htere is even a hidden interactivity between offensive philosophy and pitching success. The Yankees have to start thinking the gestalt of baseball if they are to avoid disgacing themselves this year.