Left-handed Complement

The two extra-inning losses to the Orioles over the past couple of days don't mean a whole lot of anything. Yes, winning those games would have widened the lead over the Red Sox to 4.5 games, and that would be fairly enjoyable with only 20 left to play. But winning the division is, sad to say, a secondary goal to getting into the playoffs, and it would take a catastrophe of biblical proportions to avoid that at this point.

What can be taken from these two games is sparse, but some of it is important, and the key fact is: The Boone Logan who was effective for a month or so is not the real Boone Logan, and must not be trusted with important left-handed batters in crucial--that is, playoff--games.

The Yankees called up a number of pitchers once the waiver deadline was passed. And the lefty they brought up from their well-stocked minor league system was... Aaron Laffey. Who had already been released by another club and was with the Yankees for all of a day last month.

Maybe it's me.

We already know what doesn't work. Isn't this time of the year, when the playoff spot is just about a certainty and the job at hand is getting in the best shape for the postseason you can be, the time to try out a young guy or two and see if they can catch lightning in a bottle? Does the name "Joba Chamberlain" mean anything to these guys?

If, as seems destined, the Yankees and Red Sox meet in the ALCS, and David Ortiz is up with the game on the line, how much do you not want to see Boone Logan come out of the bullpen while the Fenway faithful scream?

I don't want that a lot.