Ever so quietly, the Yankees near playoff elimination

It was a big stink when it mattered, but as it becomes more of an inevitability, the Yankees' absence from the playoffs is a harsh reminder of the changing of the times.

Will they be back? Of course. Especially with A-Rod and Derek Jeter on the roster. But an aging pitching staff left the Yankees in desperate need of bullpen and rotation help as the season progressed. Every pitching statistical category is ranked in the bottom half of the American League: ERA, batting average against, OPS, WHIP, quality starts. And poor performances by Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy left many wondering where--aside from Joba Chamberlain--any future success in the Yanks' pitching staff will come from.

Hughes and Kennedy will probably get better in the near future (see: next year), but in the meantime, obnoxious Yankees fans (although that's assumed, isn't it?) will be left with no one to cheer for in October.

The tiniest savior?

Can Darren Sproles deliver us from (0-2) evil? Who knows, but I sure hope so. The tiny, talented sensation had 317 total yards and a pair of scores on Sunday. Can he do it again?

Meanwhile, the Derek Anderson train has slowed to a complete stop to repair some faulty brakes (Braylon Edwards) and in anticipation of stormy weather ahead (New York Giants, at Washington, at Jacksonville, Baltimore). (This shaky and poor metaphor has no relation to the time my family spent eight hours stuck on a side rail in Wilmington, Del., after our Amtrak train for New Orleans hit a shopping cart on the rails.) No, it doesn't help that the Browns' defense can't get off the field.

Answers anyone? The best possible answer for my floundering fantasy team is ... drum roll ... J.T. O'Sullivan?!

Dear God.

Elsewhere
-- Like I said yesterday, go away.

-- Excitement abound.

-- You know, it's probably good to do criminal checks on high school refs. Just an idea ...

-- Pitt got a verbal commitment from 6-7 forward J.J. Richardson yesterday. Looks like Pitt was the best school on his list.

-- Speaking of which, I'm a little late on this one: Pitt released its schedule for the 2008-09 season. Just from glancing at the games, I'll say 27-4 in the regular season, 14-4 in the Big East. I'm serious, folks. Pay attention to these guys.

-- You have to wonder why they didn't let him unload, though.

-- Just wow.

-- Parting thought: Some things, like NASCAR's rise in popularity, can be explained. This? Maybe no so much. At least to me.

I want this man injured

Not for any personal reasons, of course. LaDainian Tomlinson seems like a good guy. It's a strategic thing. Here are three reasons LT's nagging toe injury can benefit me as a fantasy owner:

(1) I own Darren Sproles, Tomlinson's mini-me backup who had 6,000 total yards and 12 touchdowns in the Chargers' 39-38 loss to the Broncos this weekend. (He really had 317 total yards, a kick return and a 66-yard pass for a score.)

(2) If you, like me, own Sproles but not LT, you immediately have a trading piece. If you need help elsewhere, you can get something good from LT's owner in exchange for Sproles. LT owners will have to handcuff him with Sproles soon, given the nagging nature of turf toe injuries.

(3) I'm set to play LT this weekend, so the usual hoping-for-an-LT-injury talk has surfaced.

But nobody cares about fantasy football, right? I mean only millions play it ...

Let's move on.

Elsewhere
-- DeSean Jackson is getting ripped for his premature dropping of the football 0n Monday night, when he let go of the 'skin before crossing the goal line so he could immediately begin his celebration. I think it's fair to criticize him for what could have been a boneheaded, back-breaking move, but we should remember: Dude's a rookie with 216 yards receiving (that's a 18 yards-per-catch average, folks) and an extremely potent deep threat.

-- Seriously, get over it. The Eagles scored on the next play.

-- ESPN.com's NFL coverage is on steroids. Seems like there are hundreds of stories each day.

-- The whole Wall Street crisis impacts you, not just the stock market. Trust me. Pay attention to it. And pay attention to what the presidential and congressional candidates say about it. It's important.

-- Are the Brewers this year's Mets? Or are the Mets this year's Mets? The Phillies are this year's Phillies, screaming to the top of the NL East standings with 11 games to play. I have to admit: I'm rooting for the Brew Crew.

-- If you are still wondering if the Rays are for real, you have been hanging out too close to the Trailblazers' locker room.

-- Bad news for the Colts. Count me among those who don't feel bad for them.

-- Love to say I told you so.

-- Yikes.

-- I've got tickets to the big Nats-Marlins game on September 23! (Laughs uncontrollably.)

-- Thank God!

-- Meanwhile, Pittsburgh holds its collective breath. For more reasons than one.

-- I know he's really a player on the team, but the headline is hilarious.

-- Pitt football ... oh boy.

-- On Friday night, a friend asked for my thoughts on Dave Wannstedt. I covered the guy for three years. I'll say this: He's the nicest guy in Pittsburgh. Can he coach? Well, not really. But he sure can recruit.

-- Parting thought: Not only is this hysterical, but it's also the reason New Englanders don't care about the stupid bloody sock and are ready to move on. Shooting his mouth off for four years has been fine, but campaigning for Bush and then McCain? My friends, that's one bridge to nowhere too far.

I feel like I just got punched in the stomach, only worse

This image, in a nutshell, manifests the feeling in New England right now. Apparently the Kansas City Chiefs found this Superman's kryptonite. But as with all bad things, there are positives.

The Patriots are still the best team in the NFL. Here's why:

They have the greatest coach in the history of mankind. The best receiver since Jerry Rice, and a crew of really good options behind him. An extremely talented defense, even with some age issues. They also have a nice group of running backs, led by a future Pro Bowler.

So all is not lost. If there is any team that can deal with this kind of catastrophic injury, it's the Patriots. I don't care who Brady's replacement is, although it looks like Matt Cassel is the man.

These kinds of situations have been dealt with before. Look no further than Brady's own rise to success. The Pats' Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe took a crushing blow in a game against the Jets in 2001, opening the door for an unknown quarterback named Tom Brady. Brady excelled in his new starting role, picking up steam as the season rolled along. After a stirring game against the Rams in Sunday night primetime, where the Rams held off a surprisingly tough Pats team, 24-17, a new star was born.

Two months later, the greatest upset in the history of football took place. And Brady was the man who led the way.

So, Pats fans, fear not. While our tireless, flawless leader has fallen, there is more than a chance that a new one will rise.

Strategy for Cassel
Cassel is like the Sarah Palin of football, minus the lipstick. He is new to the scene. And now everyone wants to know more about him. The playbook will stay the same with Cassel under center. But he will be hidden. Like I said above, there are enough playmakers elsewhere on the team to make up for Cassel's relative lack of star power.

Other teams have done it with inexperienced quarterbacks and gone on to great success. Ben Roethlisberger wasn't considered ready for the spotlight by many in his rookie season. In fact, he was the third string QB to start the 2004 season. When starter Tommy Maddox went down in the third quarter of the Steelers' first game of the season, Roethlisberger stepped in, and the Steelers went 15-1.

Now that's not to say Cassel is anywhere near Roethlisberger in terms of talent. Big Ben is a top-five QB in the league. But in his rookie season, a season in which he won NFL Offensive Player of the Year -- the first time a rookie QB had won the award in 34 years -- Big Ben was sheltered a bit. He had a good running game and a great defense. The Steelers let him grow as a player without exposing him to the greater risk of failure. The Patriots can -- and will -- use the same approach with Cassel. And they have the players and coaching staff to make it a successful venture.

After all, that's the way we became the Brady Bunch.

Elsewhere
-- Brett Favre got a win by the seat of his pants on Sunday. I think everyone (other than Jets fans) wanted to see Chad Pennington pull off the upset against his old team. Didn't happen. The good news for Dolphins fans? Pennington didn't die.

-- Aaron Rodgers looked great in his debut as the Packers' new QB. Also, consider this a hat tip to my rival high school's former star, Will Blackmon, who scored on a punt return last night. It's not often Rhode Island has an NFL player to root for.

-- We do, however, have a Major Leaguer to cheer on. And his story ain't half bad, either.

-- The Raiders are terrible.

-- Dick Vitale, now a Hall of Famer, shows his usual coolness and caution toward Pitt hoops. I can't say I agree entirely with the rankings. I don't like Notre Dame ahead of Pitt.

-- This is the quote of the century: "It just happened to be the play before that Jermaine Phillips was talking trash and the next play he was on one of my highlight reels." Thank you, Reggie Bush. Love that guy.

-- Former Pitt player Joe Flacco took the driver's seat in Baltimore on Sunday. He is now in my group of favorite current NFL players, along with Reggie Bush (see above), Ellis Hobbs, Joey Harrington (team or no team), Rex Grossman, Chad Pennington (see above) and "Touchdown" Ricky Williams (nickname self-applied).

-- Here come those BoSox. Speaking of which, what's the difference between the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees? A World Series in the last seven years. What's the difference between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Yankees? In three weeks, one will be in the playoffs.

-- In an effort to be fair, what's the difference between a Fenway Frank and a Yankee Stadium dog? Fenway Franks aren't sold in October. Har har. (Except in four of the past five Octobers.)

-- Parting thought: Pitt football is awful. Forget everything I said about them to any of you.