A tale of two staffs
The Yankees have had to endure an almost total collapse of their early-season starting rotation. They have had to give the ball to among others Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon, and Chien-Ming Wang, and this trio of replacement starters has come up huge.

What has helped them is the productivity of the New York offense, which definitely relieves some of the pressure on the team's starting pitchers. Small, Chacon, Wang, and all the  Yankees' starters take the mound with a pretty good feeling that their team is going to give them at least a respectable number of runs to work with.

Boston hasn't had such a luxury as often. It also hasn't had the quality starting pitching it had a year ago. And now there is even more cause for concern as 13-game winner Matt Clement has hit a late-season slump that no one is sure he can end before the season does. 

With the way Boston's rotation has performed of late, there is no decided edge when matching the Red Sox starters against the Yankees' starters.

Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon have been superb in their roles at the back end of the Yankees' bullpen, and I think they have enough in the tank to get the job done the rest of the way.

In contrast, Boston's relief corps has really struggled. The ERA of the Red Sox bullpen is next to last in the American League.

The call for help prompted the Sept. 20 call up from Double-A of reliever Craig Hansen, Boston's first-round draft pick this summer. The right-handed closer did not allow a run in 13 appearances for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox and Double-A Portland, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona has said Hansen will be a huge part of the rest of Boston's regular season.

I foresee the Red Sox entrusting Hansen to pitch at the end of games the rest of the way, whether that be as a setup man or as a closer. And this is no overstating how important his performances will be to Boston keeping alive its playoff hopes.

Tight race carries a price 
Even though I predict the Yankees to win the division and make the playoffs over the Red Sox, I don't think New York will go anywhere in the postseason. In fact, I see the Yankees getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs as the grind of regular season will take its toll.

The Yankees in the Joe-Torre-era have never had to grind it out to make the playoffs like they are having to do this season. The only season under Torre that even remotely compares to this one is 1997 when the Yankees got in as the wild card, but were beaten in the first round by Cleveland.

I think come the playoffs the Yankees will be out of gas. And not only do I think that will be the case for the pitchers, but also for some of the position players who have had to grind so hard during the regular season.

New York will get to October baseball, but it won't stick around very long.

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