Could this be the Yankee's Year?

The Yankees are one of the hottest teams in the majors right now. Mike Mussina is actually flirting with an All-Star bid or possible start and Johnny Damon is red hot at the plate. The team at one point today even had scored 24 unanswered runs going back to saturday! So really, what's not to like about the Yankees? For me, A LOT.

For starters I've never really liked the Yankees but this isn't about that. This is about me not liking the 2008 yankees. This is about me seeing past their current hot streak and me telling you why they're really not that good and why they may miss the playoffs this year.

Right now the Yankees are 39-33 and riding a 6 game winning streak. They are currently 5.5 games back in the AL East and 3.5 in the wild card. Fairly respectable. However, up until just this week the Yankees looked horrible. They were .500 and carrying a $207,000,000 + payroll! They're also old and aging quickly and not meeting expectations in the least.

I foresee a Mike Mussina fall from grace impending in the 2nd half of the year, assuming he doesn't get injured. Speaking of injuries to the starting staff, Chien-Ming Wang sprained foot running the bases earlier this week and looks to be out until September. That is a big hit for this team.

Speaking of the Wang incident, (if you just laughed you're immature like me) did anybody see Hank Steinbrenner make a total ass of himself by blaming this pivotal injury on the National League. He literally blamed the entire National Leauge for the injury. How retarded and simple-minded. It's not like Wang hasn't had to sprint from the mound to first while catching a throw/flip from a first baseman to make an out in the AL, which many would argue takes more effort/athleticism than simply rounding third. Hank is a joke.

It also doesn't help the Yankees that the AL East is tougher than ever this season. The Tampa Bay Rays are for real this year and the Red Sox are tough as always. And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the Blue Jays surpassed the Yankees in the second half with their exceptional starting rotation. The divisional competition is getting younger, faster, smarter, and tougher while the Yankees really aren't.

You look at their current roster, they are an old team. Their elite players are all over 30 years, with many being in their late 30s. Their younger players, excluding Joba Chamberlain, haven't panned out. Melky Cabrera is just average. Phil Hughes has been unimpressive. Ian Kennedy has been a train wreck. Darrell Rasner has yet to prove himself and outside of Robinson Cano, their offense lacks youth.

In order to maintain the dynasty, the Yankees have had to decimate their farm system along the way, so their is no fountain of youth to tap into. So, with the Yankees' six games and their best pitcher Chien-Ming Wang out for most of the season now, could THIS be the year, the Yankees finally miss the postseason? We can only hope so.