Even the glass-is-half-full crowd is having a difficult time staying positive when it comes to what awaits the Yankees when play resumes tomorrow night in Boston.
Storm clouds are growing darker, and at this point it's hoping against hope the "Hurt Three" can all return and carry the over-achieving Yankees to October.
They start the post-All-Star Game portion of the season with a daunting seven-game trip that opens with three at Fenway Park against the
AL East-leading Red Sox before shifting to Texas for four against the Rangers. Then its home for three against the surging Rays, who are 2 1/2 games back of the Red Sox in second place.
Reuters
Mariano Rivera
After that brutal 10-game stretch, the Yankees will have a better understanding where they are regarding their October chances.
They start tomorrow night in fourth place, six lengths behind the Red Sox and three out of the second and final wild-card spot.
At some point the Yankees expect Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson back from injuries. How they perform will mean more than them simply being in the lineup.
Here are five issues facing the Yankees:
1. Buy or sell before the
July 31 trade deadline?
What they have to sell doesn't have much value. What they have to give up in order to be serious buyers isn't much.
The Tigers are one of the few teams who seem interested in Joba Chamberlain, believing a change of address would benefit the hard-throwing reliever who has been passed in the Yankees' bullpen by Shawn Kelley and Preston Claiborne.
Phil Hughes has more value. But he is pitching better lately, will be a free agent following the season and the team acquiring him wouldn't get a draft pick if he leaves.
Hiroki Kuroda has value but also a no-trade deal. Remember, three years ago he didn't want to bail on the Dodgers, who were going nowhere, to come to The Bronx.
2. What will become
of the "Hurt Three"?
Certainly the questions surrounding what they can contribute are legitimate. Derek Jeter lasted one game and suffered a strained right quadriceps. General manager Brian Cashman said yesterday he wasn't sure of Jeter's availability for the Red Sox series.
Alex Rodriguez could play his first game of the year Monday in Texas. Or go back on the disabled list. Curtis Granderson is expected back early next month.
3. What will the rotation be with David Phelps?
David Phelps (6-5, 5.01 ERA) is eligible to come off the DL on Saturday. He has pitched well enough in spots to return as one of the five starters. Yet Ivan Nova has been very good (2-0, 1.59 ERA) in his past two starts.
Phelps could land in the pen with Adam Warren going to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or Chamberlain could be dealt.
4. Is Robinson Cano on the backside of his Yankees career?
It's hard to envision Cano in another uniform, considering how comfortable he is as a Yankee and the club needs a star going into an era without Mariano Rivera and Jeter or any homegrown studs on the radar.
Still, if Cano gets to free agency, it only takes one team to give him something attractive and make the Yankees decide what they are going to do.
5. Can CC pitch better?
CC Sabathia always is quick to blame himself for the games lost when he pitches. And there are times when that's not necessary. However, far too many of Sabathia's outings this year have been subpar.
Can he be better than the 9-8 record and 4.07 ERA the staff ace carries into Fenway Park this weekend? He is 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA in his past four starts.
If Sabathia improves, the Yankees might not have a chance. If he doesn't, they don't.
george.king@nypost.com
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