Not urgent, but pitching upgrades needed

Thorough evaluation, regardless of your professional field, requires you to both look at yourself and examine your competitors.

So it went Monday night at Tropicana Field, where an inning-by-inning Brian Cashman diary could have gone something like this:

First inning: "Man, I need to find another starting pitcher."

Ninth inning: "Eh. Maybe not."

A.J. Burnett inspired little confidence once more, emerging as Bad A.J. during this critical stretch of the season. With the non-waivers trade deadline just 12 days away.

But the Yankees prevailed anyway, 5-4, because Burnett managed to limit the damage and because the Rays, the second-place team in the American League wild-card standings, appear to be more cooked than a well-done steak.

So if Ubaldo Jimenez ain't coming through the Yankees' clubhouse door -- and it looks like a long shot at this juncture -- then the club might have to rely primarily on what it has and hope for the best in the postseason. "I was able to keep us in it as best I could," Burnett said after his 51/3-inning, four-run (three earned), eight-hit, six-walk, four-strikeout outing.

Call these first three days at Tropicana Field "Internal Assessment Time" for the Yankees. Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia start Tuesday night and Wednesday night, respectively, and the team is trying to determine how much it can count on the overachieving penny stocks. Much as the Yankees are trying to figure out Burnett, which figures to be a lifelong task. "This is what we have," Joe Girardi said before the game. "We've gotten to this point because of them. There's no reason that can't continue."

Well, here's one reason it can't continue: recent history.

How much have Colon and Garcia vastly outperformed any reasonable expectations for 2011? Colon (902/3 innings pitched) is at his highest major-league innings total since 2007 (991/3, with the Angels), and Garcia's 118 ERA+, an ERA measured against the rest of the American League, is his best such count since 2004, when he had a 122 with Seattle and the White Sox.

If either or both of those guys peter out, then the Yankees can turn back to Ivan Nova, currently pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, or call upon a Nova Scranton teammate David Phelps or Adam Warren. And maybe that'll suffice, or maybe a lesser, more realistic trade option will emerge.

If Colon in particular goes down, however, then the Yankees will be looking for a prospective Game 2 starter in the playoffs. Perhaps Phil Hughes can work his way back to that point. Although it's Burnett, the $82.5-million man, whom the Yankees pay to be that guy. And who lives up to that billing so infrequently.

On this night, handed a 1-0 lead thanks to an error by Rays second baseman Sean Rodriguez -- and facing a club that had suffered a brutal, 16-inning, 1-0 loss to Boston that concluded early Monday morning -- Burnett put the Yankees in a quick 3-1 hole.

With Burnett, Hector Noesi and David Robertson keeping the Rays quiet, however, the Yankees put up two runs in the eighth, then they won the game when Tampa Bay rookie Alex Torres -- making his major-league debut -- walked Russell Martin with the bases loaded.

If the Yankees (56-37) cruise through this series, the Rays (50-44) probably will turn into sellers, further fortifying the Yankees' path to October -- with or without Jimenez. The Yankees will keep looking for upgrades, yet a night like this alleviates some urgency.