The Futility Infielder

The New York Yankees find themselves in an odd position tonight, looking down the wrong end of the barrel at an elimination game, knowing that even if they survive, their work isn't done. The last time the Yanks were in this situation was the 2001 AL Divisional Series, where they lost the first two games to the Oakland A's before winning the final three. That comeback, you may recall, began on the strength of Mike Mussina's brilliant pitching and Derek Jeter's famous play.

But despite some familiar names, that was a different ballclub than the current crop of Yankees. Those were the three-time defending World Champions, long in the tooth but loaded with players who'd been there, done that, and had the jewelry to show for it. These Yankees still have Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, et al, but they're chock full of men whose resumes, until this October, were largely unimpressive. Even by smothering the Minnesota Twins and barely outlasting a fierce Boston Red Sox team, this one still seeks the validation that can only come with a World Series ring. Or so a certain blowhard owner would have you believe.

What was frustrating the other night wasn't just watching the Yanks lose, it was watching them fall apart with a squad that was nowhere near the best nine they could field. Never mind the fact that once David Wells limped away, it was a $32 million Cuban cigar exploding in their faces -- it's one thing to watch your big gamers like Roger Clemens or Andy Pettitte get lit up, yet another to see a hastily-cobbled-together Plan B go awry. The reasons that Joe Torre used three weeks ago to justify keeping Wells in the postseason rotation instead of hot-handed Jose Conteras should be abundantly clear by now.

So now, with no margin for error, the Yanks need not one but two wins in a row to avoid a huge upset and be crowned World Champions. But if you were going to engineer a team to withstand such awesome pressure, you could do a lot worse than the ballclub Joe Torre has playing at the most famous venue in sports. No, this isn't Murderer's Row, but the Yanks take the field behind Andy Pettitte tonight, and whatever happens from here, the war-horse lefty has laid to rest most questions about his big-game mettle. This shouldn't be a referendum on Pettitte's pinstriped future -- Andy's done more to get the team to this point in October than any other starter -- and I hope that whatever happens tonight, this won't be the last time the bright lights of the Bronx shine on him.

About the rest of the team, there are certainly question marks -- Jason Giambi's knee, Alfonso Soriano's head, and whether the aliens who now inhabit Aaron Boone's body are aware that we're onto them. But the Yanks have several things going for them, starting with the home field advantage, a ton of experience in high-pressure situations, and an opposing starter on three days' rest. Jack McKeon has elected to go with 23-year-old ace Josh Beckett, who pitched the rain-besotted Game Three on Tuesday which the Yanks won in eight innings. Beckett struck out 10 Yanks and gave up only three hits -- all to Jeter -- but this will be an even bigger test. McKeon has opened the floodgates for second-guessers with this call and his plan to send Carl Pavano to the hill on short rest tomorrow, if there is one. B-Pro's Joe Sheehan, a smarter man than I, disagrees with the decision, writing: "It's a move you make when you're down 3-2, not up 3-2. It's a decision you make when the difference between your best pitcher and the rest of the staff so large that going with anyone else in Game Six almost guarantees a Game Seven."

Furthermore, Sheehan cites evidence that the three days' rest strategy is a misguided one:

The recent track record of pitchers starting postseason games on short rest, covered by Rob Neyer a couple of weeks ago, is just the most prominent reason to hold Beckett back. The best pitchers in the game are the ones asked to do this, and the record shows that they become, collectively, replacement-level starters. Beckett was a hero out of the bullpen on short rest against the Cubs, and the memory of that outing is no doubt easing McKeon's mind about using him tonight. Nevertheless, the evidence that using pitchers on three days' rest is a self-defeating strategy is considerable, and the Marlins are going to fly in the face of that evidence not just once, but twice in the next two days if they lose Game Six.

The stats Sheehan uses to back up that claim are these: "from 1995-2002 starters working on short rest went 6-15 in 32 starts, with an ERA of 5.20."

That ought to give the Yanks (and their fans) a bit of optimism if they need it. But really, if the team in the pinstripes looks and plays like the Bronx Bombers they're capable of being, they have an excellent chance not only of forcing a Game Seven, but of winning it. As my brother (whose birthday it is today, so Happy #32 to him) likes to say, "Big players, big games, big plays." The Yanks have no shortage of such players, and it's my guess that just like Game Seven in the ALCS, those guys will be the ones to pick this team up. Derek Jeter has started rallies

And if not, hey, we all knew this ballclub was flawed coming into the postseason, a lesser team than those of the recent dynasty due primarily to a hole in the bullpen that you could drive a 747 through and to Torre's inflexible reliance on the men who brought him here before. But these Yankees have given their fans a great ride and a few unshakable memories in October, and even if their season ends tonight, they deserve to be remembered fondly.