By Amelia Rayno

Well it appears that the universe is not being restored to its natural order quite yet.

The Yankees remain tied for the third position of the AL East, clinging to a .500 record, and limping just ahead of the unremarkable Rays. The pinstripes have always been linked with a less-than-speedy start, maintaining an armory stocked with weapons that simply need to be loaded and fired. Usually, after lying quietly for a month or so, we are starkly greeted with all the intensity of Tony Montana unleashing the wrath of God on the assassins in the mansion. But unlike Tony, the Yanks typically don’t end the chronicle floating lifeless in a pool, but instead continue to make a serious run in the playoffs.

So what’s the problem now? Who’s to say another legendary creaking outset doesn’t mean batting practice in the fall?

Well, the whispers have been started that they just don’t have the tools this year, and the rumor has been telephoned around baseball fans to develop into “the Yankees are in serious trouble”. Looking at the New York squad right now, it appears as though some of the weapons may have been fired prematurely, and others seem to be gravely malfunctioning. Do the Yankees have some real fundamental issues this year? Is this the year that Mussina’s arm finally falls off? The year that Jason Giambi becomes vociferously recognized for the Alarmingly Mediocre Overpaid Individual that he is? The year that the run at the playoffs finally eludes the Bombers (bombing in the less flattering sense) and they wind up bested by (gasp) the Orioles?

The season is yet young, but that doesn’t mean that all of these issues will necessarily mend themselves. To get a better idea of what, exactly, the deal is, here’s an admittedly biased view of the Yankees five most disturbing topics of concern.

The kids are looking like kids. There was a lot of early speculation that there would be significant pressure on the Yankees with two not-yet-major-league-refined rookies in the rotation, and so far, this observation has proved every bit as problematic as suggested. It is tough to attempt to limit Hughes’ and Kennedy’s innings, as the Pinstripes are having a hard time getting innings from anyone (though the rookies are certainly at the bottom of that list thus far), but with both candidates ERAs stealthily approaching 10, there is a platform for questioning whether the two are indeed ready. Clearly, they both have the tools. Hughes’ fastball speed and command is impressive, but he has no confidence in his off-speed pitches, leaving him with limited offerings. Ian Kennedy, while praised with a great arsenal, has dealt with some control problems and looks about as intimidating on the mound as Paris Hilton in front of a butter-slathered ribeye. Of course it’s not at all too late to adjust these inequities, but the question is whether they should be adjusting them in New York rather than, say, Trenton. The problem is the NY team doesn’t have many other options. The kids were thrown in to the fire, and whether they emerge smoldering heroes or badly burned remains to be seen.

The rest of the rotation is somewhat hairy. Chien-Ming Wang started the year with two pretty good starts, followed by a really good start, followed by really bad start. While he remains the bright spot of this aging/juvenile group, the ace has reminded us that that he can be largely unpredictable at times. Moose, meanwhile, has completely lost his effectiveness, his velocity plunging to a max of around 87-88. As his fastball is beginning to look more and more lifeless, he’s just getting slapped around, and is having trouble getting out of the 5th inning. Innings, actually, seem to be one of the biggest concerns for this club. With Mussina, Kennedy, and Hughes holding 20, 14, and 16, respectively, over 4 starts, it seems to be only a matter of time before their bullpen collapses under the weight. Speaking of which…

Then there is the Joba Discrepancy. Hank Steinbrenner, the new power that be, recently heartily suggested that Chamberlain belonged in the starting rotation (um, now), bringing up one of the questions that has plagued “Yankee Universe” for quite some time (much longer than the entity has actually occupied that cute identification). One of Hank’s sprightly arguments was that “only an idiot would keep a guy with a 100 mph fastball as a set-up guy”, calling into query the decisions of several major league teams…
We all know the kid can blow hitters away with his stuff, but being able to maintain a 100 mph velocity over the course of 5,6,7 innings is not something many pitchers can do. And pulling another young kid into an already raw-ended rotation, would present more issues. Clearly, it’s a lot harder to monitor a guy’s pitches in the starting position. And while many in Yankee-land may feel that Mariano Rivera will never die, at some (not too distant) point, the Empire will need someone else to close, and Chamberlain certainly appears to be the best equipped for the job. Its hard to say where Joba is needed the most—the bullpen is obviously abused less if you have more quality starters, but if Chamberlain were unable to take the innings, there would also be one less head to take the hit in relief.

The offense must produce! With all of the concerns surrounding the pitching staff, it is all the more critical for the All-Star loaded line-up to crank out the hits. But while Bobby Abreu is off to an exceptionally good start, Johnny Damon has finally begun to hit, and Jeter is being Jeter, the Yanks are in the midst of enduring an unexpected slump from Robinson Cano, and Jason Giambi is completing his second year of the This Is Why You Don’t Sign Old, Slow, Defensively Useless First Basemen To An Absurd Contract campaign. His bat has officially passed away…and taken with it his worth in a beneficial trade situation. The Yankees are now faced with waiting out his ghastly deal or straight out releasing him, forking over the subsequent five million, and trying to move on. With all the names present in their one-through-nine, it seems impossible for such woes to continue, but on many occasions, the batting crew is forced to perform quite a show if they are to make up for the problems on the mound.

The injury bug is ever present. It inevitably strikes every team at some point, but the Yankees, only in their 4th week of the season, have already dealt with two very pressing issues on the damage front. Their star starter, A-Rod, has been out the past couple of games with a strained quad, and though its not supposed to limit him for too much longer, its always scary to see your lead man on the bench. Much more concerning, are the issues surrounding Jorge Posada, who is dealing with a condition they are naming “dead arm”. It seems to me that this is the worst possible thing that could happen to your catcher…there is no identifiable injury, no strained muscle, no broken bone. There is no pointed objective, no clear path of rehab…no impairment to fix. The reality is this: Your fifty-two million dollar catcher’s arm apparently just doesn’t work anymore. He simply can’t throw. Base runners were absolutely abusing him, so the Yankees have taken him out for the past two weeks in favor of Jose Molina and Chad Moeller, a temporary solution that has worked out pretty well to this point. They do need Posada back eventually, though. No one expects him to be the powerhouse he was offensively last year, but the Yanks need him for his knowledge, his consistency, and his veteran presence.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen seemingly deep-seated problems plaguing the Bronx Men in the spring. Don’t too quickly forget the Yankees of last year, down 14 ½ in late May, only to rally to finish the year a mere two games out. The problems that face them now are significant, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if such an established ball club found a way to dig themselves out of any mid-May cavity they find themselves in. You can’t sleep on the Yankees. After all, they span the Universe (Yankee Infinity plus one…take that Red Sox Nation!).