Mo, I'll take it as a compliment to the Red Sox that they only thing you had to say about them is that they're two injuries away from serious trouble. Who the hell isn't? Ortiz/Manny, Ortiz/Beckett, Manny/Paps, whatever. Yes, I think it's quite obvious that they'd be in trouble. Hell, the Yankees are in trouble and who've they got injured? A-Rod and Jeter go down and you're REALLY screwed!

It's like saying, in the NFL, your team's screwed if the QB goes down. Say it about any team and it applies, not just a couple.

Great stats so far for Clemens against the NL: 1-2, 4.86 ERA and 21 Ks in 16 IP. No sportsgasm for Susan Waldman over those numbers. Can't wait 'til he pitches against some good teams.

That last one was from me. Not sure why my comment was saved, oh well.

No venom intended Mo, just some good fun.

Who have the Yankees got injured?

WTF?

Try four starting pitchers -- Carl Pavano, Philip Hughes, Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner. How about the centerfielder, Johnny Damon, who hasn't been healthy for an entire freakin' game this season? Hell, he had to come out of the season opener with a damn calf injury.

With that said, there are no excuses. The Yankees have overcome injuries in the past, yet don't have the bench and/or the talent at the AAA-level to duplicate that feat this year. Yeah, I know their minor-league pitchers are rated high in all those fancy magazines, but none of those evaluations include guys like Rasner and Karstens, who are just throw-ins and B-level replacements. None of the actual jewels -- other than Hughes -- are ready now.

As for the Red Sox, they absolutely have had the benefit of being healthy. Josh Beckett missed two games. Big deal. Curt Schilling is being shut down now. Do we even know if he's actually injured? His MRI came up clean. My guess is if they didn't lead the division by 49 1/2 games, he'd be pitching.

And your take on Clemens is way off-base. He's struck out 21 batters and walked only four in his first three starts. If his fucking offense (Excuse my language, Mo) could do something when he pitches, he'd have at least two wins right now. I'll tell him to pitch well against a good team (which he already did against the Mets' lineup) when Josh Beckett pitches in a game where his offense doesn't score 78 runs for him.

Having said all this, I hate the Yankees right now and hope they all contract scurvy on their trip to San Francisco. Good riddance and good day.

Mikey, I'll give you Damon, but those four pitchers you mentioned? Please. Their injuries are not why the Yankees are losing. That'd be like me complaining about Lester, Pedroia, and Ellsbury and Bucholtz (if they had some major league role this season) injuries. They're irrelevant. I'm talking about the big guys.

As for Clemens, I suppose I should have clarified my point. But let's not completely blame the Yanks offense here.

In his only win against the Pirates (big deal) he allowed 3 in 6? He lost to a struggling (at the time) Mets with no run support for his only good outing of the season, and then throws 91 in 4 1/3 the other night to a tune of 4 earned? His K numbers are what you might expect, but a 4.86 ERA for $18 million?!

Part of me can understand that if this deal didn't go down, nearly half the Yankee faithful would be outside Cashman's office looking for blood. However, what is everyone expecting Clemens to do better than the next best option? He's 1-2 right now, let's say he finishes 11-4. Reasonable? What could they have gotten from anyone else? 6, 7, 8 wins? So is a difference of 3-5 wins worth $18 million?

the phillies in 10 words or less...

10,000 losses !

Maureen, I hope that you are enjoying your time here on the East Coast!

The Yankees are an enigma to me. No, I am not a fan of the team, but they have too much talent to be below .500 at this point of the season. I still think that they have a 1978-style run left in them, if only because the schedule is soft coming out of the All Star Break and that offense is bound to start bludgeoning other teams into submission eventually.

And as a Sox fan, I'm very mindful of the fact that New York has won four of their last six against Boston.

BHG

Thanks for recognizing the Padres stellar pitching. As you know, had our baby been a boy, she would have been named after Trevor Hoffman.

As we have seen with the recent bench-clearing brawl, don't F with Padres Pitchers... especially the ones who are 6-10.