IT'S WANG & PETTITTE OR ELSE JUST FORGET IT JOEL SHERMAN September 4, 2007 -- THE sentence included the words Roger Clemens, elbow and MRI, and there really is no way to make that sound like a cheery thing. By late yesterday afternoon, Joe Torre was conceding that The Rocket would probably miss at least his next turn at a time when the Yankees rotation already is Wang and Pettitte or else just forget it. In the first week of September, you could make a case Ian Kennedy is the Yankees' third starter based on one major league appearance. Right now the Yankees rotation is in better shape than Larry Craig and Lloyd Carr, but not much more than that. It is why the degree of difficulty in securing a playoff spot has risen dramatically for the Yankees. Well, that and the fact the Yankees are reviving previously reeling teams. In this bizarre season, this is going to be remembered as the period in which the Yankees have sandwiched a lot of inadequate play around sweeping the Red Sox. Before playing Boston, the Yankees lost three out of four against the Tigers, who otherwise have won 13 of their last 40 games. After Boston, they lost two out of three at home to the Devil Rays, owners of the majors' worst record. And yesterday the Mariners ended a nine-game losing streak by routing Clemens and the Yanks, 7-1. Thus, the Yanks concluded Labor Day just a game up on the Mariners in the wild-card race and 2 1/2 up on Detroit. No one expected the Yanks to sustain the torrid pace of earlier in the second half. But they clearly squandered a chance to create some comfort in the wild card by having their offense disappear and their rotation discourage over the past two weeks. "We have to play better than we have or else all the work we have done since June 1 will not be worth much if we let it slip away," Mike Mussina said. The Yanks have won two of their past six series, taking three of four from Detroit at home and sweeping three from the Red Sox. There is a common denominator to the six victories in those series: Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang pitched superbly and had all the wins. Now the Yanks are facing the possibility of losing Clemens. And, because Clemens is 45, you also have to wonder if this was his final outing. We have long wondered when Clemens would leave the game for good, especially when both money and the begging for his services were so voluminous each year. Now we may be nearing an answer. Despite a power arsenal, Clemens' arm had been remarkably sound since early career shoulder work done by Dr. James Andrews. But now, there is real concern. Joe Torre refused to speculate, saying he wanted to wait for the MRI and a diagnosis. But it is a near certainty Mussina will replace Clemens next time around. And if you are curious just how desperate the Yanks are rotation-wise, they painted Mussina's seven-hit, two-run, 32/3-inning relief outing as a positive. Compared to his recent past it was, as Mussina found a few more ticks on his fastball and showed a greater willingness to work inside. But Mussina, clad in a Captain America T-shirt, was hardly elated in calling this "a little better" because "I knew where the ball was going." The baton pass of Clemens to Mussina represented 601 career wins, but it also represented current ERAs of 4.45 of 5.51, respectively. They are not what they used to be, and Phil Hughes is not yet what the Yanks expect. He starts tomorrow, having gotten progressively worse in each of his last four outings, all Yankees losses. The Yankees need him and Kennedy to grow up fast, because we are watching Clemens and Mussina grow old before our eyes. The Yanks still have two games here to return the Mariners to a state of free-fall, an opportunity to seize a significant wild-card lead. They also have the potential to leave this series on the wrong side of the playoffs looking in. Their true identity is firmly attached to a rotation that, even now, is both in flux and infuriating. [email protected] http://tinyurl.com/yosjv7 --

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