Until We Meet Again...

Curt Schilling dominated the Yankees yesterday while Kevin Brown didn't make it out of the first inning. According to Jack Curry:

The Red Sox made Brown look old, awful and unreliable. Brown's velocity never touched 90 miles an hour, his sinking fastballs were fat, high pitches and - as he searched in futility for the right feel on the ball - he licked his fingers more than a 5-year-old licks an ice cream cone.

After the game, Brown told the Times:

"The stuff I was throwing out there today, I wouldn't say it's a whole lot different than what I was throwing before I hurt my hand," Brown said. "Why do you think I was frustrated to begin with? Why do you think I got irritated enough about the way things were going to hit something like that?

"It wasn't because I was mad at the pizza guy because he didn't deliver the pizza on time. I was irritated with the way I was throwing the ball or not throwing the ball. It was a similar situation today.

"The difference is, I guess, having three weeks to think about it, I've realized that I'm trying to control things I can't control."

Esteban Loaiza replaced Brown and the Sox bombed him too. It was a fun afternoon for the Fenway faithful and a forgettable one for the Yankees. There was some minor mishegoss between Kenny Lofton and Doug Doug Mientkiewicz which eventually led to batters being thrown at and a couple of ejections. Without getting too involved in the particulars, Suzyan Waldman of the YES network called Lofton a "baby" on her post-game report. She ripped him but good actually.

At the begining of the season I was really down on Lofton being a Yankee, but I warmed up to him seeing him laugh and jive it up in the dugout this year. However, it's clear by Mariano Rivera's animated reaction to Lofton a couple of weeks ago, and even Waldman's brief tirade yesterday that Lofton isn't the most popular man in the Yankee clubhouse.

No matter. Along with the disgruntled utility infielder Enrique Wilson, Lofton will likely not be in pinstripes next year. Right now, the Yankees hold a three game advantage over Boston in the loss column with six games remaining in the regular season (seven for the Sox). The Bombers are still the favorites to win the division. They have today off, while the Sox face Tampa Bay. The Twins come to town for a three-game series starting tomorrow night.

So, it appears as if Mike Mussina, El Duque and Jon Lieber will start for New York in the playoffs. What then, to do with Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown? Does Vazquez pitch a game four? Can Brown be effective out of the bullpen? Should he get a start himself? Which one of these? Thoughts? What do you guys think?