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That Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte spurred the resurgence is manna for Yankees fans. It's a reminder of the glory days that seemed so yesterday and probably still are. A big reason for the pessimism on my part is the Jorge Posada situation, which seems bound to leave the Yankees a hitter short (as he's realistically physically limited to designated hitter, putting Jose Molina in the everyday lineup).

And the pitching still concerns me. Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson are not solutions. My Plan A, bringing up Alan Horne, is dead thanks to Horne's torn bicep. I don't have a Plan B. Ian Kennedy labored in Triple-A on Tuesday. Phil Hughes is a week away from throwing off the mound and thus at least a month away from returning. How will the pitching hold up with the offense diminished, especially by the catching situation?

Tom: I wrote about this Wednesday, and I agree. Ponson isn't the answer. Rasner's margin of error is so small; he probably should have joined a National League team last offseason. The Yankees have to hope Ponson keeps up his smoke-and-mirrors routine and that Rasner figures out how to be a fifth starter. He can't pitch as poorly as he has been if the Yankees want to make a run.

Something is clearly up with Posada. I know Molina throws out around 50 percent of would-be base stealers, but five straight days without Posada squatting behind the plate is not a good sign. Posada is going to need surgery after the season, so he could be in worse shape than he or manager Joe Girardi is letting on. Remember, the Yankees have Chad Moeller on the roster, so the team can't be that confident in Posada's ability to catch.

As long as Hideki Matsui is hurt, the Yankeees can make a case for playing Molina behind the plate. But if and when Matsui comes back, the Yankees will need Posada to catch for their best offense to be in the lineup. And if that's not possible, the Yankees will again be reminded how annoying it is to have Molina come up and kill a rally.

As for Hughes, the worst part of his injuries isn't that he isn't helping the team this year but that his ability to be a factor in 2009 and beyond is being compromised.

Mike: Can the Yanks live with a catcher the defensive caliber of late-Mets Mike Piazza behind the dish? It's going to be tough. Teams are beating the Yankees over the head with steals when Posada catches -- he's caught 27 games and the league is 30-for-37 stealing against him. If he hits like last year (155 OPS+), no problem. But this year's Posada (117 OPS+) makes that a tougher call.

The Yankees need an innings-eater and every time I talk about his to a friend of mine who's a Cardinals scout, he says they need a "Kyle Lohse-type," which leads me to think the Cardinals want to trade Lohse now that the Brewers and Cubs have loaded up. Lohse's peripherals are better than Ponson's and Rasner's. That's not saying much, I know.

Of course, Lohse is not the only arm out there. I hesitate to say "cheap arm," because I doubt any league-average starter will be. What do the Yankees have to offer in the way of Minor League talent? Jose Tabata is hitting lately, but not for power, though he presumably maintains good value considering his age. Austin Jackson would return a middling arm, but is he too much to pay?

Tom: I think Molina is bad enough offensively that the Yankees would have to live with reduced Posada production and his (lack of) defense. Girardi shouldn't ride Posada as much as Joe Torre did -- maybe the team could add in an extra off-day each week or something -- but this team's isn't good enough to have Molina in the lineup every day.

Giving up something significant for Lohse is a waste. The media love to hype Yankees prospects. They do it so much that the team can often trade them for more than they are worth. The Yankees don't need to give up Jackson, whom they may need to play the outfield for them as soon as next season, or even Tabata for someone as mediocre as Lohse. Plus, pitchers that leave the stewardship of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan often revert to their struggling ways, especially when they go to the American League.

Mike: I'm with you on the deals being bad, value-wise. But there was a time where prospects didn't mean much to the Yanks, given their ability to use their payroll advantage to get whatever major-league talent was on the market. I'm not sure that true any longer, as small- and mid-market teams have gotten lots smarter about leveraging their payroll to retain young talent into their free agent years.

I don't think the Yankees have a good enough chance to win to justify any trades like this. But I could be wrong. The Red Sox seem stronger and Tampa Bay is genuinely good, though a little lucky if you weight run differential. Yankees fans, though, should hope that Hank Steinbrenner is sincere when he says he's not going to mortgage the future. The caveat, though, is his bullishness regarding the Yankees playoff prospects. This year, I'm a bear.

Tom: I agree. I said Wednesday they have a slim chance of making the playoffs. The time for them to be aggressive in acquiring talent is the offseason when the only thing they have to lose is money. They shouldn't be making attempts to bring in lackluster players right now. They could make several moves to marginally improve their team and still finish in third place.