@ Steve Lombardi:
So, you’re saying its a TEAM effort?

FWIW, if 52, 46, and 34 tank, then 42 has nothing to do that day…

@ YankCrank:
Because of the situations where he comes in, Mo almost never simply impacts one inning, almost always impacts the complete game outcome. This is less true of every other player.

@ muskratrambler:
From the point of view of logic and the stated question, I suppose you are correct. Although assignment drift may not be what you look for in your students’ work, it is de rigeur on Internet message boards.

ken wrote:

What good was Mo on all those unsuccessful playoff teams the past few years?

I teach college English, and I think what we have here is assignment drift. I answered the question playing close attention to its precise wording. I think most of the answers here are to the question “Considering the Yankees’ recent playoff troubles, which player has the most potential to right the ship and chase away old ghosts by performing well?”

If that is the question, I agree with the candidates being mentioned here, but that is not the question. A sub-par performance by Mo is defined as one in which he loses a game. Any other player not performing well does not increase the odds that we lose as much as Mo flopping would. And the fact that previous teams failed frequently to get the ball to Mo does not reduce his importance or how much we rely on him, even take him for granted.

I don’t like our chances if CC performs poorly, but I have no hope at all if Mo is not Mo.

CC, CC, CC. Which of those starts that Ken mentioned hurt the most? For me it’s Wang – he comes in as the ace of the team, 19 game winner, and then all of a sudden some poltergeist is inhabiting Wang’s body and throwing batting practice. When your ace throws a stinker, you’ve got a big big problem.

Conversely when the ace sets the tone and dominates, it really seems to give the team a jolt. As much as I can’t stand Beckett, I give him a ton of credit for being one stingy SOB in the playoffs. We’ll see if he can sustain it this year – I suspect he’s more vulnerable this season, which could be a slight weakness for Boston.

Pressure’s on CC, but that’s why he gets the big bucks.

muskratrambler wrote:

I considered CC, but I had to give my vote to Mo.

What good was Mo on all those unsuccessful playoff teams the past few years? My strongest recollection of those games is starting pitchers spitting the bit.

Off the top of my head:
2004 Games 6 and 7 against BOS
2006 Game 2 Mussina (couldn’t hold a lead)
Wang (pick any post season start)
2006 Randy Johnson and Jared Wright (do you even remember that this guy started a post-season game for the NY Yankees)

Where does the importance of Mo figure into those years? He was on every team.

None of those teams had true, no. 1, strikeout pitchers (except R Johnson who was over the hill). Now we have two. Bring ‘em on!

butchie22 wrote:

CC certainly has pressure on him BUT let’s be brutally frank. Who is all the worry between CC and AJ?

I understand your point, if the question were who do you worry the most about, i’d have CC down on the list right near Rivera’s name. I also agree with you that i’d like to see A-Rod return to his postseason form, but the Yankees playoffs success and failures do not revolve around Alex (however, ask 99% of Yankee fans that question and they’ll magically believe the Yankees live with Jeter and die by Alex).

But this has to do with who can the Yankees least afford to have a sub-par showing. That person is CC. If he has a clunker game 1, our entire postseason rests on the arm of an AJ Burnett start. To me, that’s worst case scenario right now.

muskratrambler wrote:

considered CC, but I had to give my vote to Mo. While it’s less likely we win a game in which CC struggles, it is still possible. Mo struggling means games we had in hand turn into stunning defeats. Mo is the only player on this list for whom performing to his ability vs struggling almost always equates to winning vs losing.

Mo doesn’t come into play unless all of the other players on this list perform. It would be nice to have Mo be Mo, which he most likely will be, but there are far more pressing needs than Mo for us to advance. Think of everybody who can impact innings 1-8 before somebody who impacts inning 9.

I considered CC, but I had to give my vote to Mo. While it’s less likely we win a game in which CC struggles, it is still possible. Mo struggling means games we had in hand turn into stunning defeats. Mo is the only player on this list for whom performing to his ability vs struggling almost always equates to winning vs losing.