Damn Yankees!

I hear it over and over again on sports talk radio, the internet, and sports pages all over the country. The New York Yankees are vulnerable because of their starting pitching.

The accepted theory is that the lineup is good enough to get them to the playoffs, but the starting rotation is suspect and it will come back to bite the Yankees in the postseason.

It has become common wisdom, a mantra repeated by writers, reporters, and fans rooting against the Yankees.

Sadly, it is just not true.

At the top of their rotation the Yankees have Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, and Mike Mussina. To fill out the rotation the Yankees have Estaban Loaiza, Orlando Hernandez, and Jeff Leiber.

With the possible exception of the A's, Cubs and Red Sox are there any teams in baseball that would exchange rotations with the Yankees?

Let us examine the top three starters who would do the bulk of the postseason pitching.

Brown is an unquestioned ace with a history that includes postseason dominance. In case you haven't noticed, he is currently healthy and has a 9-1 record.

Nobody questions Vazquez's talent, but many questioned whether Vazquez would adjust to pitching in the high stress environment of New York.

So far, the adjustment is going just fine. He ranks second in the American League with 13 wins and eighth in strikeouts.

Mussina has struggled with injuries, but he is seventh on the active wins list and a proven post season performer. In his previous three years he won 17, 18, and 17 games.

Is that a weakness or an embarrassment of riches? Before answering, compare those three with what some of the other division leaders will offer up in the post season.

Would you rather have the Cardinal's Matt Morris, Woody Williams, and Jason Marquis?

How does the Braves top three of Russ Ortiz, Mike Hampton and John Thompson compare to the Yankees?

Perhaps you would prefer the Dodgers arms of Brad Penny, Odalis Perez and Kaz Ishii?

Would the Twins have an advantage by countering with Johan Santana, Brad Radke and Kyle Lohse?

Yankee bashers are undoubtedly screaming as they read this. They are probably yelling that Brown and Mussina are getting old and both have injury serious injury concerns.

Injuries are always the great unknown, especially when it comes to pitchers. But to assume that Brown and Mussina won't be healthy two months from now seems like a pretty big leap.

And when healthy, Mussina and Brown show very few signs of slipping. Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson have given us plenty of evidence that top line pitchers can dominate even at an advanced age.

If one of their top three does go down, the Yankees are in better shape then most.

They could substitute Estaban Loaiza, who just last year had a 21 win, Cy Young caliber season.

They also have El Duque, Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez is 3-0 since returning from injury this year and his post season dominance is well known.

If they get real desperate, they can call on a former 20 game winner, John Leiber, who is still working his way back into form following arm surgery.

The Yankees might not win it all this year. If the last few years have proven anything, it is that any team that makes the playoffs can win it all.

However, if you are thinking the Yankee's pitching is doomed to fail them, you might just want to re-examine the all star arms that will be taking the mound come this post season in the Bronx.