Major League Baseball

Yanks, BoSox far from perfect

Published Sep. 7, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The American League East race is about as captivating as the campaign for county drain commissioner. The Yankees are going to the playoffs. The Red Sox are going to the playoffs. In other breaking news, Brian Kelly tends to raise his voice.

The bigger question is how these New Yorkers and Bostonians of such modest means will enter the postseason. Both teams can hit. We know that much. So if they meet in the ALCS — which is possible, but far from certain — the edge will belong to the team with fewer questions in its rotation.

And you know what?

Right now, that’s the Yankees.

Of course, starting pitching has been the Yankees’ bugaboo since long before Opening Day. Once Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies in December, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had to know he would spend the next 10 months being asked if his duct-tape rotation was good enough to win the World Series.

I’m still not convinced it is. But there’s something to be said for the fact that the Yankees have the best record in the AL and a 2-1/2-game lead on the Red Sox. There is no Lee, no Andy Pettitte, no Ubaldo Jimenez. They are winning, anyway.

It’s almost as if the Yankees veterans have said to themselves, "Well, this is the rotation Cashman gave us. Let’s find a way to win with it." If that means scoring 11 on a night when Freddy Garcia gives up seven — as happened in a victory over Baltimore on Monday — then so be it.

The Yankees entered Wednesday with the AL’s best record since the All-Star break despite boasting only the eighth-best rotation ERA (4.72), according to STATS LLC. Clearly, the team has evolved in a way that has allowed it to paper over its greatest weakness.

Most important, though, the Yankees have a healthy starting five — starting six, actually — as they enter the postseason pace lap. It appears New York manager Joe Girardi will be able to choose a four-man playoff rotation from a cast of healthy starters. The options aren’t necessarily exciting, but at least Girardi knows who they are. He won’t need to fret about side sessions, simulated games or whether enough time remains for injured starters to get stretched out again.

The same can’t be said for Terry Francona.

On paper, yes, the Red Sox should have a better rotation than the Yankees. But what was written in the preseason annual no longer applies. Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka won’t start again this season. And now the push-off legs of ace Josh Beckett (right ankle) and Erik Bedard (left knee) have caused missed September starts.

Maybe Beckett’s injury — diagnosed as a sprain — will heal by the time the playoffs begin three weeks from now. But if the pain was severe enough for Beckett to leave Monday’s start in Toronto, this registers as a major concern until proved otherwise.

Beckett has been nails in the postseason — 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 14 career games — but that matters only if he’s able to drive off his right leg. And the Red Sox might not find out whether he can do that until just before the postseason begins. Kind of takes some joy out of anticipating the playoffs, doesn’t it?

Right now, Boston’s postseason rotation looks something like this: Jon Lester (ace, 2.23 ERA since the end of July), Beckett (coming off an injury), John Lackey (6.11 ERA this season) and Erik Bedard (coming off an injury, zero postseason experience). Alfredo Aceves, who has been invaluable out of the bullpen, is a nice idea in theory, but he hasn’t started a game since late June. The Red Sox might need to turn to old reliable Tim Wakefield, who wasn’t supposed to be needed as a starter on a team for the ages.

Don’t get me wrong: The Yankees have their rotation worries, too. I’m not ready to declare that A.J. Burnett is a changed man on the basis of one adequate start against the Red Sox last week. Burnett is on a streak of 11 — yes, 11 — outings without a quality start (at least six innings, three or fewer earned runs).

Still, the Yankees have CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, who has developed into a legitimate No. 2 starter despite his midseason sojourn to the minor leagues. The Yankees have won Nova’s past 12 starts, dating to early June. He has a 3.43 ERA during that span. He is for real.

I would wager that two from the Fickle Four — Garcia, Burnett, Phil Hughes, Bartolo Colon — will pitch well enough this month to earn spots in the postseason rotation. At least we know this much about them: They are (apparently) healthy enough to pitch in major league games right now. And that is more than we can say of two pitchers whom the Red Sox need to count on in October.

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