If this were still the Torre era, everyone would certainly be complaining that the team left Spring Training out of shape. Instead, everyone is quickly tiring of Girardi’s secretive nature and apparent cover ups. But again, this is what happens to teams in rebuilding mode: the old guys lumber out of the gate, youth struggles, and the injuries begin to mount.

The Yanks preached patience and sounded very convincing in doing so. But what happened the minute the kids started to struggle? The co-chairman lost it, the fans booed, and now Yankee brass seems on the verge of demoting at least one of their can’t-miss pitchers (the other is mysteriously on the DL) after only a handful of starts. Because the Yankees stubbornly deny they are in rebuilding mode, there is no back-up plan for the young pitchers, no reliable veterans in the fold. So much energy was spent branding these kids as the next biggest thing in Y.U. that it seems to have gone to the organization’s head.

Like it or not, the Yanks need another Aaron Small. But even a Carl Pavano or Kei Igawa might do the trick. And if all else fails, ‘…of all the dramatic things’, there’s always Roger.