Mussina

So, here's the thing. I know everyone is calling for Mussina's head right now (and deservedly so). People want him out of the rotation. All well and good, but who do you replace him with? Unfortunately, we can't just magically take him out of the rotation and all is well, you have to put someone else into that spot, and that's where the problem comes up. Let's take a look at the pitchers on the 40 man roster:

TJ Beam: Reliever
Andrew Brackman: Just drafted, getting Tommy John surgery
Chris Britton: Reliever, may have killed a family member of Joe Torre or Brian Cashman
Jim Brower: Reliever, struggled in his short time with the Yankees
Brian Bruney: Reliever, already in the majors
Joba Chamberlain: Near his innings count, incredibly effective out of the bullpen, unlikely to make the move from starter to bullpen back to starter (followed by back to bullpen in all likelihood) for this season
Roger Clemens: In the rotation
Tyler Clippard: Struggling big time, has yet to recover, poor MLB numbers overall this year
Matt DeSalvo: Mediocre at best in his time in the majors. Sadly, may actually be the best option.
Kyle Farnsworth: Reliever
Sean Henn: Reliever, struggling in that role, doesn't have the pitches to be an effective starter
Phil Hughes: In the rotation
Kei Igawa: Has struggled big time in multiple trips to the majors
Jeff Karstens: Awful in the majors this year, although he has pitched pretty decent in the minors, in a small sample size.
Mike Mussina: In the rotation for now
Carl Pavano: 60 Day DL, Yankee career is probably over anyway
Andy Pettitte: In the rotation
Edwar Ramirez: Reliever
Darrell Rasner: Unfortunately, on the 60 Day DL. I believe his season is over. He probably would have been the best option.
Mariano Rivera: Reliever
Humberto Sanchez: 60 Day DL, season over
Jose Veras: 60 Day DL, reliever anyway
Ron Villone: 15 day DL, one time spot starter at best, has struggled recently
Luis Vizcaino: Reliever
Chien Ming Wang: In the rotation
Chase Wright: Struggled in his time in the majors, hasn't been all that good in the minors this year after a strong start

And that's everyone on the 40 man. Anyone else would require a 40 man roster move (a difficult decision even before you consider Mientkiewicz is likely to come off the 60 day DL soon). Even if the Yankees made a move, who do you call up? My understanding is Ian Kennedy is either at or very close to his innings limit. Alan Horne is probably around there too. The only other name I even see as a possibility is Steven White (who is around or just below 100 IP), who has been pretty good in AAA this season. But I'm not sure if he is someone the Yankees would want to call up, especially considering the required 40 man roster move.

That pretty much leaves you with a choice between Mussina, Igawa, Karstens, or DeSalvo. None of them have had good years. For me, I'd have to reluctantly go with Mussina unless he struggles mightily in his next start (which would be against Tampa Bay). Prior to this recent horrific stretch, Mussina had been pitching quite well against bad teams. In September, the Yankees have one series against Boston, one against Seattle, and then a lot against mediocre to awful teams. Mussina may be awful against good teams right now, but let's be honest here. Igawa was awful against BAD teams. Karstens hasn't shown anything against good or bad teams. The best you can say about DeSalvo is he had two good starts against Seattle. Other than that, he was bad, against bad teams.

Mussina sucks right now. No question. But in this case, the potential replacements aren't any better, and at least Mussina has pitched well against bad teams at the major league level, something Igawa, Karstens, and DeSalvo can't say. I'm as frustrated as anyone with Mussina, and unless he really shows some dominance the rest of the season he shouldn't be anywhere near the starting rotation in the playoffs (should the Yankees make it), but realistically, unless I'm mistaken about Kennedy, Horne, or perhaps White, there's nobody else likely to be much better.