Yeah, I know it’s impossible to count any team as potentially powerful as the Yankees out with more than 100 games left to go in the season. But that’s only true in the sense that it’s also impossible to say that next week Wal-Mart isn’t going to offer full company-paid health benefits to all of its employees.

What the Yankees need isn’t another starter, but a better bullpen. That and someone to light a fire under a team that’s going through the motions, and the motions they’re going through aren’t pretty. It’s obvious that Torre isn’t going to start throwing things around the clubhouse and screaming until his nose bursts. And I don’t know what else is going to get Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi untracked. And don’t forget A-Rod. After lifting his average to .400 in late April, he’s fallen below .300.

The Yanks, are scoring about 5.5 runs a game, which is very good. But they’re eight games under .500 and 14.5 behind Boston after less than a third of the season. Their run differential is about plus 0.7 runs per game.

It’s hard to be that bad with those stats. In fact, it may be the most remarkable thing the Yankees have ever done in their long and storied history. No other team in baseball that’s scoring 5-plus runs a game is under .500. You’ve really got to work at it to score that much and lose that often.

And that means that Clemens, who said he came to the Yankees to get another ring is going to be mightily disappointed.

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Not only is he not going to get his ring, but he also may have to watch three years from now when Greg Maddux passes him on the all-time victories list. Maddux is 11 behind Clemens now, and he’s three years younger. If Clemens gets only 8-10 wins this year and Maddux pitches two more years, Maddux could pass him.

It shows you what part luck plays in the game. Clemens had the bad luck to be with the Astros for two years when they couldn’t get him a lead or hold one when they did. Now he’s about to find the Yankees are having the same kind of season.

He said he was coming back to win. If so, he should have signed with Cleveland.

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