Rumble In The Bronx

Well that was just about the last thing the Yankees needed. Since May, the Yankees have been the hottest team in baseball. Everything has been going their way. They certainly didn't need a bench clearing brawl in last night's meaningless game. Now, it looks like they'll be without Jorge Posada for 4 games.

Yeah, I guess it can't hurt to give Posada a little more rest. But an incident like this could really hurt a team's momentum. The Yankees have lost 3 of their last 5. Uh, oh. Time to hit the panic button?!

How meaningless was last night's game with the Blue Jays? New York sent Sergio Mitre to the mound against Roy "I own the Yankees" Halladay. The Yankees should have just called up the Scranton or Staten Island teams.

Halladay is 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA in his career vs the Yankees. Makes you wonder why the Red Sox didn't land Halladay. I mean, imagine Beckett, Halladay and Lester in the postseason!

Mitre is 3-3 with a 7.63 ERA in 9 starts with the Yankees. New York is 5-4 in games Mitre has started. That's how good the 2009 Yankees are.

For the entire season, the Yankees have basically been playing with a four man rotation. And the last month you can make it 3 1/2 as they prepare Joba for the post season.

New York has been dragging around two dead horses in Mitre and Chad Gaudin, who goes tonight for the Yanks. Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin pitching back to back! You got to be kidding me! Yet, the Yankees will probably win 100 games.

The Yankees are 3-0 in Gaudin's 5 starts.

And Mariano Rivera has pitched a total of 4 innings in September.

And now with Dice-K's performance against the Angels last night, the Red Sox may have the best starting rotation. But remember, this year Dice-K is 2-5 with an ERA over 7. Along with Tim Wakefield, you never know what you're going to get with these two.

In his last 5 starts, Josh Beckett is 1-2 with 6.10 ERA. Wow! But considering his postseason success, none of that really matters.

Clay Buchholz is 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA in his last 5 starts.

But obviously Jon Lester is currently Boston's ace. His last 5 starts: 4-0, 1.51 ERA, 35.2 innings, 35 K's, and 20 hits. Ooooh.

So a Red Sox/Yankees ALCS seems inevitable. But you never know what you're going to get with the 2009 BoSox. The team that went 31 consecutive innings without scoring a run, or the team that scored 25 runs in two games against the Yankees.

One stat that makes me feel comfortable: You take away the games Boston has played against the Blue Jays, Orioles and the National League and the Red Sox record is 50-45.

Other notes...

Adam Wainwright leads MLB with 18 wins. His teammate Chris Carpenter has 16. That's a pretty lethal 1-2 punch, in the National League.

Since they've been alive, 2009 college freshmen have always had a new season of Matt Groening's The Simpson's every fall. The show has broadcast 441 episodes and begins it's 21st season on September 27th. Congratulations.