It really is this simple: the team that gets the most starts out of its planned five-man rotation will be the better team. That’s right, both teams can spend $350 million combined on players, assign squadrons of number crunchers to analyze the life out of the game, hold staff meetings late into the night to worry about what Triple-A middle reliever might be needed around August, and the battle will be won simply by which team’s top five starters take the ball most often. All that architectural planning and scheming and it all comes down to crossing your fingers when it comes to how well five pitching arms hold up.

I know this to be true because Curt Schilling told me years ago. His theory was that the Red Sox and Yankees are so evenly matched that the team that gets the most starts out of its top five starters will be the better team. It’s amazing how right he has been.

Last year, for instance, the Yankees’ top five starters made 139 starts to Boston’s 121. New York won eight more games and the World Series. Indeed, so freakish was the run of good luck by the Yankees with their starters that they had four starters make at least 31 starts — for the first time in the history of the franchise.

And, for the record, the Yankees’ top five starters making 139 starts last season was the top mark in the league. (I read that in The Bill James Gold Mine 2010.)

One thing not mentioned here – let’s not forget the Tampa Bay Rays. They just may end up having the best starting rotation, from top to bottom, in the A.L. East – and if their top five gets more than New York and Boston, then it’s Tampa who gets the crown.

Then again, yes, everyone said last year that Boston had more pitching than it knew what to do with…so, we’ll just have to wait and see, in the end.

I’m all for the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox organizations. And, generally, I enjoy seeing Boston fail. But, stuff like this is an entirely different matter.

There’s being a baseball fan, and a Yankees fan, and then there’s being a human being. That latter condition trumps all. And, the human being in me sincerely hopes that everything works out well for Westmoreland and he rebounds from this quickly.

Remember when Jose Reyes was the shortstop of the future in New York and Derek Jeter supposedly was starting to slip?

Now, things just keep getting worse for Reyes and the Mets while Jeter and the Yankees keep winning championships. No one knows better than Jeter what a difficult task it is to survive and thrive in New York and right now he feels for his sidelined Mets counterpart.

“First and foremost is your health, and it goes beyond anything you do on the field,” Jeter said yesterday at Steinbrenner Field. “You wish him the best. I don’t like to see anybody go through that kind of stuff. It’s just that he’s had such bad luck. You have to assume that his luck is going to change here soon. All you can do is be patient.”

“I’m sure it’s frustrating for him,” Jeter said. “I’m not familiar with the situation that he has now. The only thing you can do is to try and stay positive. It can be very, very difficult to do at a time like this.”

“Jose has had a lot of injuries with his legs because he runs a lot,” Jeter said. “So that’s one of the differences. He’s the type of player who is running a lot, stealing a lot. Ever since the first time he tore his hamstring, I was always getting worried for him when you see him running because that can be tough.

“I’ve never torn a hamstring. I pulled a hamstring, but those can be tough injuries to get over.”

“I just wish him luck,” Jeter said.

I can’t remember the last time Jeter had so much to say about a player on another team. I’m not sure if this is a new trend emerging for Derek or if this is just some calculated way to highlight Reyes’ downfall as some sort of a “finger” back at those who used to claim that Jose Reyes was the best shortstop and player in New York?

In any event, here’s a wild thought for you. Suppose that Reyes’ thyroid problem becomes a Rocco Baldelli type thing and basically ends his days of being able to play shortstop on a full-time basis. If this happens, would the Mets dare make a run at Jeter if Derek becomes a free agent at the end of this season?

Personally, I think that the Mets would lack the funds to be a player in the race for Jeter. But, if they were to fake it, then it could give Jeter a little more leverage when dealing with the Brothers Stein – even though he probably doesn’t need it.

Better than the 2009 Yankees or Rays? Better than the 1983 Brewers? The 1976 Reds? Heck, even better than the Indians or Tigers in 1986? I’m not so sure…

How about you?

Goose who? Francisco Rodriguez is just fine with Goose Gossage’s assessment of him.

Gossage referred to K-Rod as a “clown” in a recent interview, citing Rodriguez’s penchant for theatrics on the mound, but Rodriguez shrugged off Gossage’s comment Tuesday.

“I have no idea who he is,” Rodriguez said.

Told about Gossage, a Hall of Fame reliever who had his best years pitching for the Yankees in the 1970s and ’80s, Rodriguez took the high road.

“We all have an opinion,” Rodriguez said. “That’s his opinion and you’ve got to respect it. I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

That’s a different stance than Rodriguez took last season, when Brian Bruney made a similar comment. Rodriguez sought out Bruney the following day during batting practice at Yankee Stadium and had to be restrained from the Yankees reliever.

In fairness to Francisco Rodriguez, he was something like 11 years old and living in Venezuela when Gossage pitched in his big league season. But, then again, it was pretty big news when Goose made the Hall of Fame in 2008. In fact, K-Rod and Gossage where in The House That Ruth Built, together, for the 2008 All-Star Game. So, when Francisco says “I have no idea who he is,” he’s probably full of it.

Ronan Tynan became a walk-on Yankee star in 2000, when he stepped onto the field with his artificial legs and clarion voice and belted out “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch of important games.

But that stopped on Oct. 16 of last year, when a woman accused Mr. Tynan of making an anti-Semitic remark. Since then, the charmed existence he enjoyed since emigrating from Ireland in 1998 has soured — from famous to infamous, as he puts it.

Now Mr. Tynan is headed to the anti-New York, as far as baseball is concerned. He has sold his apartment on the East Side of Manhattan and bought one in Boston.

“The Yankees never reached out, and they never wanted to hear the real story,” said Mr. Tynan, who wore his diamond-studded 2000 World Series ring during the interview. Asked for comment this week, a Yankees spokeswoman, Alice McGillion, said simply, “We wish him all the best.”

His decision to move to Boston was reported online this week by The Irish Echo in an article that envisioned Mr. Tynan singing for the Red Sox.

Asked if this might ever come to pass, Mr. Tynan would say only that he had had no contact with Red Sox officials. As for the possibility of developing feelings for the Red Sox, he said, “We’ll see how it goes.”

Click here if you feel like tossing your cookies.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos just wrapped up a scouting trip to the Dominican Republic, but wouldn’t say whether Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz was one of the prospects who worked out for Jays’ staff.

Ruiz, 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, hit .330 during a five-year career with Santiago in Cuba’s National Series, and rumours have swirled since January that the Jays had made the shortlist of teams with a chance to sign him. On Feb. 13, his agent predicted Ruiz could sign before most major league training camps opened on the weekend of Feb. 20.

Ruiz’s camp has been silent since then, but Tuesday the blog cubanballplayers.com reported the left-handed batter, who turns 26 next month, held a private workout for the Blue Jays. Ruiz has spent the winter training at the New York Yankees’ complex in the Dominican Republic, according to published reports.

Agents at Prestige Sports Agency, which represents Ruiz, have not replied to emails seeking comment.

Anthopoulos, meanwhile, confirmed that he had completed a trip to the Dominican, but would say only that Marco Paddy, the club’s director of Latin American scouting, oversaw workouts by several unnamed players.

Ruiz has attracted attention from pro scouts for his combination of size, skill and speed. In 2007-2008 he led the National Series with 32 steals. Through 52 games in the 2008-2009 season Ruiz was batting .305 but abruptly defected to the Dominican Republic.

Is this a big deal? Probably not – as the Yankees need a first base prospect like Lady Gaga needs another hit song at this moment. But, it’s a bit of a bummer if the Yankees having been hosting this kid all winter and then he signs with one of their rivals.

Dr. William J. Morgan, the former Red Sox team physician who gained national fame for repairing pitcher Curt Schilling’s torn right ankle tendon so he could pitch in the 2004 playoffs and World Series, has indefinitely given up his right to practice medicine while state officials investigate him for unspecified allegations.

Dr. Morgan, 57, a hand surgeon and longtime Auburn and Boylston resident, was also head physician for the Worcester Sharks minor league hockey team from 2006 until he resigned last fall around the time he surrendered his medical license. He also left St. Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center.

Dr. Morgan was chief Red Sox doctor from 2001 until 2004 when he was replaced. He was arrested in Worcester for drunken driving in 2003.

Dr. Morgan and his lawyer, W. Scott Liebert of Boston, could not be reached for comment.

Dr. Morgan had most recently practiced with the Fallon Clinic. An employee who answered the phone at Fallon’s Summer Street office said Dr. Morgan is no longer with the clinic.

On Sept. 20, Dr. Morgan entered into a voluntary agreement with the state Board of Registration in Medicine not to practice medicine.

Russell Aims, spokesman for the board, said that under such agreements, no details about complaints or allegations are released until there is a resolution.

The New York Yankees are famously held to the highest standard in baseball, that of “World Series or bust.” The perception is that every season that does not end in a World Series trophy is considered a failure by the Steinbrenner family.

After a decade of consistent winning, Boston’s ownership group — John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino — sat side by side and mulled over an interesting question; with all the recent success, and the outcry that begins when the Sox bow out early in the playoffs, have they, too, reached that point?

Henry paused — then shot that idea down.

“I think that our goal every year is to make the playoffs. If we make the playoffs, we’re going to win at some point in the postseason. We’ve been fortunate to do that twice,” Henry said.

Moments later, he turned to Lucchino. “Do we have a stated goal of number of wins?”

Lucchino had that answer at the ready.

“We always kind of get fixated on 95. That’s a nice round number that we like and we achieved last year, of course,” Lucchino said.

By that standard, they’ve done pretty darn well. Only in 2006, when they won 83 games and missed the playoffs, and 2002, the first year of the Henry-Werner-Lucchino team, did they win fewer than 95 games. Not coincidentally, those were also the only two years the Sox missed the playoffs under this ownership group.

In the last 12 years, the Red Sox have reached the post-season 8 times. However, only one time in the last 12 years have the Red Sox reached the post-season as a result of winning their division.

In total, the Boston Red Sox have been the “wildcard” team in the post-season seven times. The Colorado Rockies have been a wildcard three times – as have the Yankees. No other team in baseball has ever been the wildcard three or more times. In fact, no American League team, outside of New York and Boston, has been the wildcard more than once since the berth was born.

It’s not a reach to say that “the wildcard” has been the Red Sox favorite toy. And, without baseball going to the six-division alignment, the Red Sox’ “goal” would have not been met outside of one year (2007).

Former Red Sox CEO John Harrington was the chairman of the schedule format committee back in 1993 who championed the six-division format. Perhaps John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino should thank Harrington for setting up things in a manner that would make meeting their goals a lot easier?