Yankees Need Fixing For Pennant Run

By DOUG RUSH

The Yankees are just three games behind the Boston Red Sox in the race for the American League East. After watching some of the games they have played, three games might baffle people, because they would think it would be more.

The Yankees are 0-8 against Boston, and if they do not make improvements to the roster, they will spend the rest of 2009 chasing them and vying for the Wild Card. Now, how do the Yankees make improvements?

Here's the to-do list.

Chien-Ming Wang needs to be traded. You can not have a guy who looks lost out on the mound and on a team trying to compete for the playoffs. If Wang were on a team like Pittsburgh, nobody would care, but this is the Yankees, a team competing every year to win, and Wang isn't giving them the best chance every 5h day he is on the mound. However, Chien-Ming Wang has a ton of value and could be had for the right package. Here are a few suggestions on it.

1. Trade Wang, Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez to the Indians for Cliff Lee. Lee is a free agent at the end of 2009 and the Indians might not be able to afford him, plus if they continue to be a last place team, Cleveland may be dumping people like Lee.

2. Trade Wang, Veras and Ramirez to the Astros for Roy Oswalt. Oswalt is on a bad team, but has a ton of big-game experience when the Astros had a lot more talent. Oswalt is just sitting out there for a big time team like the Yankees to nab. Wang and company would be perfect for a team like Houston re-building and could develop under less pressure.

3. Trade Wang, Veras and Ramirez to the Diamondbacks for Dan Haren. The Diamondbacks are in last place in the dreaded N.L. West and don't look promising. The Yankees have traded with Arizona before, and Haren is a good quality pitcher who could be had if the trade price was right, especially with a young Arizona team.

Now, aside from Wang, Phil Hughes NEEDS to go back into the rotation. Every time he pitches, he shows he has the confidence to pitch and pitch lights out. They need to stop messing with Hughes and put him in the rotation permanently like they were going to in 2007 and 2008 before his injuries. Hughes has shown so far he can stay healthy and pitch deep into games.

The Yankee bullpen, which was a strong point of 2008, has been an utter disaster in 2009. If Wang is traded for another quality starter and Hughes is put back into the rotation permanently, then Joba Chamberlain may find his way back into the 8th inning set up role. He can't go deep into games, but he does strike out a ton of guys, but someone needs to teach him control of his other pitches. With his 150 inning limit, and with July coming up, Joba may soon be back in the bullpen for the stretch run. Also, the Yankees should try to trade for another solid reliever. Huston Street would be a nice addition to the pen, but it depends on what Colorado would want to give up for Street.

So Brian Cashman, I hope you are listening. Because if you want to finish above the Red Sox and take back the balance of power, you need to act quickly and strengthen the team out.