Thoughts du jour (Thats French)

The Yankees will not win the East with the team they have now.

First of all, A-Rod's career is on the downswing. That does not mean he is no longer good or great, but he is never going to be what he was. Obviously Posada, Jeter and Matsui are also on the downside of their careers also, probably much more so than A-Rod, in fact.
Secondly, this team has no bullpen outside of closer Mariano Rivera, and he is nearing the end as well. He is still a top 10 closer, but nowhere near the dominant pitcher he was just 2 years ago. That said, he is not the problem. The problem is the starters (Chamberlain, Pettite, Wang, and sometimes Burnett) are all 5 inning pitchers. The Yanks have nobody to pitch the 6th, 7th, or 8th right now. Even if Brian Bruney comes back and is his old self, they still have no 6th or 7th inning guy. My suggestion is to pull Chamberlain out of the rotation and make him the 7th and/or 8th inning guy. I know this is not a new idea, but he was incredible in 07 when they last made the playoffs. He had a sub 2 ERA and a sub 1 WHIP. Unless this team is going to go out and trade for Huston Street from the Rockies (which seems less likely by the day after the last 14 games, during which Colorado has won 13), or Jose Valverde from Houston, they will have to make a move from within. Both Phil Hughes and Chin Ming Wang are starters, unfamiliar with pitching every day or even every 2nd or 3rd day, so that would be a stretch. Chamberlain is a max effort pitcher who can strike out any batter, pretty much whenever he so chooses. Get him out of the rotation, put Hughes in, and put Joba in the pen.
Also, the Yanks need another bat or they will finish third in the east. As much as I hate the Red Sox, they seem to be the best overall team in that division, at least until Tampa Bay can get on any sort of roll at all.