That's what tonight's game was, besides a chance to gain ground in the faint hopes of an A.L. East title and distance the Yankees from the resurgent Tigers.
Phil Hughes is on the bubble, I'd think. Ian Kennedy could throw three no-hitters and I still don't think Joe Torre would bench a combination of two of Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Hughes to give the rook a playoff start. I may be wrong, but that's my theory going forward.
Clemens, barring injury, will get a start. There's no way you pay him $1 million or more a start, and he's had his moments. Oddly enough, Clemens is fine on regular rest (4-2, 3.23 ERA in 53 innings) and on super-long rest of six days or more (2-0, 2.50 ERA, 18 IP, 19 K), but atrocious in a six-man rotation setup (0-3, 7.29 ERA in four starts).
So it comes down to Moose and Hughes. Phil protected his turf tonight with his typical two runs early, nothing late, but 5.2 innings against the Orioles isn't exactly awe-inspiring. And in a playoff situation, do you want to almost guarantee an early deficit? And even though he settles down, usually, as far as runs scored are, his inning-by-inning OPS splits coming into tonight (.857, .505, .866, .494, .973, .211) suggest he simply is overpowering the weak hitters in a lineup and failing against the better ones.
I'd take Hughes right now, but this may have to be a last-minute decision. Given, of course, the team wins the wild card.
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