How else could one explain the Yanks' erratic play over the course of the last few weeks? Night in and night out, it's been anyone's guess which Yankees team is going to show up on the field.

Sure, the Bronx Bombers have gone a respectable 11-11 in the month of August. However, the Yankees aren't supposed to be putting up respectable numbers. They're the defending world champions. A team doesn't earn that title by being mediocre.

So of course the main question right now is why the Yankees haven't run away with the American League East division title by now. Some may argue New York's starting rotation is only three men deep right now. Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, and Andy Pettitte have done their part. Clemens has been especially strong this year. He is 16-1 and quite possibly en route to winning his sixth Cy Young award. Pettitte has also been strong (14-7) and while Mussina has been shotty for a better part of the season, he hasn't gotten the best-run support.

The real trouble lies within the four and five spots in the Yankees' rotation. Ever since Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez went down with a toe injury in May, Yankee manager Joe Torre has scrambled to keep his starting five as strong as possible. Unfortunately there's been no such luck for Torre and the Bombers in that department.

Rookies Randy Keisler (1-2 6.22 earned run average) and Ted Lilly have been just awful this season. The Yanks traded for Sterling Hitchcock to attempt to stop the bleeding, but he's no more than a five to six inning pitcher at best. Not to mention, it's usually an adventure whenever he starts.

However, it would be inaccurate and unfair to put all of the blame on the Yankees pitching. The Yanks' offensive stars, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, have been good, but not on a consistent enough basis. Chuck Knoblauch hasn't been Chuck Knoblauch for a while now. It's been so long, he's taken a spot on the bench and Shane Spencer is getting most of the playing time in left. Paul O'Neill';s numbers have continued to slide every day, and when Scott Brosius was healthy, it was hard to tell why he was having so much trouble in the field.

After reading all of that, one might think the Yankees are fighting to stay out of last place. They aren't in that position, but they are fighting off Boston who is getting closer each day in the AL East race. The only way to keep the Red Sox off of their tail is win, and not just every once in awhile, but often. Often enough so they can take off in September like they did last year. Sure, the Yanks only won eighty-seven games last season and had the ninth best record in baseball, however, none of that mattered when the Yanks were celebrating their twenty-sixth world championship at Shea Stadium last October.

That's exactly what the Yanks want to again this year - be on top in October. To that thought, New York will have to clinch a playoff berth. And that will only happen if the Yanks find their stride again - and soon.

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