The Avian Threat

-Yankees head home going 5-1 between Toronto and Cleveland, ready to face a Baltimore team that they've struggled against all year long, to the tune of a 3-6 record. The pitching match-ups are not particularly appealing for the pinstripe crew, either:

Monday: (Chien-Ming Wang vs. Jeremy Guthrie) The Wang/Guthrie pairing nominally might favor the Yanks, yet they've had zero success against Jeremy Guthrie this season: (1-0) 12.1 IP 13 H 4 ER 4 BB 10 Ks. Still, Chien-Ming historically has pitched to an ERA a full run lower at home compared to on the road, and Guthrie's shine has dwindled a bit since the All-Star break, with his ERA post-Midsummer Classic 4.74. However, the Birds' hurler has also yet to lose a road decision yet this season. It will be interesting to see how all these tendencies work themselves out.

Tuesday: (Jeff Karstens vs. Daniel Cabrera) Thanks to the Rocket's suspension, combined with the rotation's dominance of the once-high-powered Tribe offense this weekend, we're treated to Jeff Karstens and his glowing 10.13 ERA on the hill Tuesday evening. All the talk was about 2006 1st round pick Ian Kennedy making his major league debut, but that hinged upon Karstens having to pitch in Cleveland. Since Karstens didn't leave his spot on the bullpen bench all weekend, he fully earns his chance to start on Tuesday in the thick of the pennant race. Of course, his availability allows the Yanks to avoid the headache of squeezing Kennedy onto the 40-man roster simultaneous to his potential call-up, so I'm sure it will have been for the greater good of the organization if and when Karstens gets spanked around and the team squanders a winnable game when every game needs to be won.

Wednesday: (Phil Hughes vs. Erik Bedard) The tastiest tandem of the three-game set in the series' matinée finale. Phil comes off his best start since The Star-Crossed May 1st, but now he's facing a lineup not struggling to figure out which way they're going, once again pitching in The Stadium (where he's been the Mr. Hyde of a 10.00 ERA, compared to the microscopic 0.73 in road grays) and against the league leader in Ks whose dominated the Yankees over the years. This is the most viewer-friendly game of the series in terms of name value as well as sheer talent on the mound. Hughes will have to provide innings, based on the assumption that Karstens most likely won't provide much length on Tuesday night. Overall though, it will be the marquee game of the series. Personally though, every time Hughes appears on the mound it's the marquee game these days. A player providing excitement simply by being the scheduled starter is something that the Yankees have lacked, despite their high-priced, greatly-experienced starters.

These three against Baltimore make for a potentially problematic stretch leading into the weekend's monumentally important series against Detroit. The New York squad taking two out of three doesn't look like an easy prediction based on the scheduled starters, but the Yankees have been too hot of a team to suddenly be wary of a team 8 games under .500. All the conjecture, though, by 7 p.m. tomorrow, will fade away to true hardball results.