You can say the Yankees will get it together. They always do. Randy Johnson has been a disappointment so far, but he started slowly last year and did all right. Derek Jeter, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui are as good as anybody in the heart of a batting order. Who knows, A-Rod may become the best player in the game again instead of the fourth or fifth best player on his own team.

But this slow start underlines problems that were there all along. Mike Mussina gives up a lot of hits and sometimes a lot of runs. Jaret Wright is wild and subject to total meltdowns. Carl Pavano has yet to prove he can pitch for the Yankees. Kevin Brown is Kevin Brown. Mariano Rivera is getting old and has been worn down by Torre’s overuse. Tom Gordon may have had his best year as a set-up man, and Tanyon Sturtze, the long reliever and bridge, is in his mid-30s and has never been particularly great anywhere he’s been.

The offense has some serious age issues. Ruben Sierra is on his last legs. Bernie Williams is long removed from greatness. Tony Womack is a caretaker second baseman. Jason Giambi can’t hit his weight.

The Yankees aren’t just in last place in the AL East, they’re tied with the Royals and Tampa Bay for the worst record in the American League. And while it’s early, they’re also four games behind the division-leading Orioles.

Sure, it’s the most expensive line-up in the game, but that doesn’t mean it was the best coming into the year or will be the best in the playoffs.

Don’t expect Steinbrenner to acknowledge that. He’s living in the 1980s again, when the way he built teams that never won a title was to spend more than anybody else on pieces that didn’t always fit together and fire his manager every other year.

If he’s not going to win titles, Steinbrenner may as well go back to those wonderful days of yesteryear, when he believed that turmoil and tension was the way to get a team to perform.

It starts with preemptive strikes in the media against his own team. That’s what we saw Sunday. If things don’t straighten up, it’s the manager next.

And no matter what happens, it’s headlines and grist for the talk mills.

What could be better for  baseball?

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