Right now, they’re just blah.

Go ahead, blame the schedule. Or, blame the weather. Or, blame injuries. Heck, blame whatever. But, at the end of the day, all of those things are excuses.

This is now the 5th year in a row where the Yankees April has not been impressive. Granted, in the four years before this one, New York has rebounded to post a very good win total on the season. Can they do it again?

Well, let’s put it this way: If the Yankees month of May turns out just as poor as their month of April, I wouldn’t want to bet on them making the post-season this year. Heck, they barely made it last year.

Actually, what was most interesting about this game was listening to John Flaherty and Al Leiter, on the YES coverage, go to town about how Phil Hughes’ 89-92 MPH fastball was straight with little movement, and, that, along with just a curve was not enough to retire big league batters on a consistent basis. I believe Leiter referred to Hughes’ fastball as being a ‘hittable speed.’ (The two also went on to talk about how Hughes needs to feature – or even just show – a slider or change-up on a more regular basis to be more effective.)

Actually, what Flaherty and Leiter were saying today ties right into David Cone’s point on Hughes the other day – that after the line-up sees him once, they pretty much have him sized up.

I know that many Yankees fans will want to blame Hughes’ game today on Chris Stewart – noting all the cross-ups, etc. But, for what it’s worth, Hughes crossed up Molina too during his third start of this season. Being that it’s two different catchers here and the same pitcher, it’s more likely that it’s the pitcher at fault. Either Hughes can’t keep up with the signs, he’s not concentrating out there, or he needs glasses.

In any event, back to the Flaherty and Leiter commentary, they’ve really set Hughes up for a fun week. (Probably for Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi too.) Expect to hear lots of talk and read lots of features over the next few days – debating if it makes sense or not to send Hughes down to Triple-A to refine and learn to use a third (and maybe fourth) pitch.

And, if Hank Stein was tuned into YES this evening, he may pick up on this as well.

To the game…

Mussina got lucky this evening – hanging in there for five innings while throwing 92 pitches. Lots of runners left on base for the Indians while Moose was out there and some batted balls were luckily directed at Yankees fielders in those situations.

By the way, is Jeter now looking less-rangy again at short? His plays on that Peralta grounder in the 2nd and the Blake ball in the 3rd did not help Mussina today.

Gold star for the bullpen tonight – covering four innings and allowing just two baserunners. That was the game, right there.

The Yankees offense? Just as lucky as Mussina. New York had only 10 runners reach base in this contest – but, five of them scored. Further, three of the five runs scored on non-hits and another scored on an infield-single. Death by small ball for the Tribe tonight.

In any event, it’s a win – and, that always makes for a lot less teeth grinding when the head hits the pillow…and for a better night’s sleep.

Last thought: Listening to David Cone, on the YES coverage, in the 9th, having an on-the-air big “O” over the mechanics of Mo Rivera and his combination of speed and movement on his pitches, got me thinking: When was the last time that Mariano Rivera pitched from the full wind-up in a game? Would that have been on October 8, 1995 when he faced Vince Coleman leading off the 9th? That’s just a guess on my part.

That’s a great trivia question, if someone knows the answer. “Who was the last batter to face Mariano Rivera from the full wind-up?” I wonder if even Mo knows?

Let’s put it this way: The last time a Yankees right-handed starter pitched on the road and went 7+ innings allowing no earned runs was on May 31, 2006. Yeah, that’s just about two years ago. (The last time a Yankees RH-starter went 7+ on the road allowing no actual runs was September 17, 2005.)

The last time that a Yankees starting pitcher, regardless of his throwing hand, pitched a game in Cleveland going 7+ innings and allowing no earned runs was on July 11, 2002. Yeah, that’s almost six years ago.

When was the last time the Yankees won a 1-0 regular season game in Cleveland? It was May 30, 1981.

That’s a long, long, time ago. What Wang did today, well, you don’t see that everyday in Yankeeland. Special, indeed.

Go ahead. Help yourself. Get it out of your system. I know that’s what I feel like doing after watching this game.

Oh, and, before anyone starts jumping on that “Giambi’s found his stroke” bandwagon, please, let me remind you that Paul Byrd is Mr. Finesse out there on the mound.

So, now, we have a small losing streak mounting. The next game is on national T.V. (on FOX). New York’s bullpen is somewhat smarting. No pressure for Ian Kennedy tomorrow, right?

Well, let’s put it this way, if Kennedy doesn’t make it through at least five innings tomorrow, the next time his turn in the rotation comes up, it may be Darrell Rasner out there on the mound instead of him.

You know, coming into this game, Johnny Damon’s BA/OBP/SLG line in games that the Yankees have won this season was .342/.390/.711 (in 41 PA); and, in losses it was .125/.326/.188 (in 44 PA). Last season, in wins it was .307/.397/.463 (in 374 PA); and, in losses it was .213/.277/.294 (in 231 PA). It’s starting to look like…as Johnny Damon goes, so do the Yankees.

So, what’s up with Mussina? Should we book him for an Eddie Harris moment once every two weeks? It was Harris again in this one, right? Or, was this his Jamie Moyer moment? Either way, I’ll take it – as will Moose and the Yankees.

This was an interesting game for Joe Girardi. When he came to the mound in the 7th, and began to motion in order to remove Mussina, only to check-arm his signal to the pen upon Posada’s protest, I didn’t know what to make of it. (And, I still don’t.) Is it a good thing that he’s listening to his players? Or, should it be taken as a sign that he’s not fully in charge?

In any event, as this season unfolds, Girardi has shown one thing: When there’s a win on the table, and it’s starting to look like it may slip, he’s not afraid to lock it down – even if that means bringing in Joba in the 7th or Rivera in the 8th. If he keeps this up, and New York does well this season, Joe may go down in history as the one who broke the relief pitchers role-mold that Tony LaRussa started back-in-the-day with the A’s (and is now the norm in baseball).

In his 85th career start, Wang became the quickest major leaguer to record 50 wins as a starter since Dwight Gooden got No. 50 in his 82nd start for the Mets on June 29, 1986, against the Cubs. Wang is also the fastest Yankees starter to 50 wins since Ron Guidry got there in his 82nd start in 1979 against Texas.

Impressive, huh? By the way, Wang is on pace to win 25 games this season. Yeah, I know it’s early – but, wouldn’t that be something?

Actually, this is a huge win for the Yankees, in my mind. Basically, because of the questions around Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy, New York almost has to win when Pettitte and Wang get the start. So, job well done – and, of course, thank you Octavio Dotel for putting the ball on a tee for Bobby Abreu in the 7th (as that pretty much was the ballgame, right there).

The Yankees now have ten wins on the season – and Pettitte and Wang have 6 of those 10 wins. If only they had one more Pettitte or Wang in the rotation.

What about A-Rod? Just a hunch, but, I don’t think we see him again until next Saturday…judging by the way Jeter’s quad was handled.

Lastly, sign me up for being on board with most of the press lately in regard to noticing that Joe Girardi has seemed a bit testy during his post-game media appearances. Hang in there Joe, it’s only April. If you think this is a test, you haven’t seen anything yet.