A HUGHES'ED UP PITCHING STAFF

With the dog days of August almost upon us and the trade deadline approaching, the Yankees have to ask themselves this question, "Do we need to get another starting pitcher?"

I believe that the Yankees have enough right now to make the play-offs but to go past the first round would be a tough task. If you look at the starting rotation you have to scratch your head.

CC Sabathia is having a Cy Young year. The Yankees need to renogotiate his contract otherwise he will walk at the end of this year. After him, the starting rotation looks thin. Joe Girardi thinks they are fine in this department but what he fails to realize is that they won't be playing Oakland A's caliber teams in the play-offs. They will be facing teams like the Rangers and the Red Sox and they will destroy the Yankees pitching after Sabathia.

AJ Burnett is just one of those bad luck pitchers. I said in the beginning of the season that he would have a decent year because Posada is not catching him. Having Russell Martin as the everyday catcher has helped Burnett immensely. He has two problems. Problem one is that the Yankees refuse to score runs when he is pitching a gem and problem two is that one inning when he just seems to lose it. His record of 8-8, as of this writing, does not do him justice. As a number 2 starter he needs to have much more support and some better concentration.

What do you say about Phil Hughes? He was an all-star last year and after starting the season with a dead arm and spending time in the minors, Hughes has come back and has looked average. His curveball is flat and his fastball has no pop. In a 17-7 game with the A's he looked awful. When the play-offs come around you can't be awful and hope your team is going to score 17 runs. Unless he gets better, the Yankees need to bring back Ivan Nova from the minors.

And the two jalopies holding up the backend of the staff, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. They have times that they look good but then they will throw up some stinkers. They also have the luxury of playing on a softball team. The Yankees seem to score runs for them but once again in the play-offs the other team will have some pretty good pitching that won't allow the Yankees to softball it up.

Tough decision to make but last year the tough decision was not made and Cliff Lee beat the Yankees in the play-offs. Take a look at what is out there and weigh your options. Right now, it is all in the art of the deal.