Is Mike Mussina done? The NY Yankees starting pitcher and one of the stars of Patrick Creadon's terrific crossword puzzle doc, WORDPLAY, got rocked on Monday night as the Bronx Bombers suffered their worst shutout road loss ever to the Detroit Tigers, 16 - 0. "The Moose," long one of the brightest pitchers in the major leagues and a class act for 17 seasons, suffered career firsts (and lows) in lasting just three innings or less for the second straight game and allowing at least six earned runs in three straight starts. In those three starts his ERA is 17.69 (!), and he's now giving up an average of over 5 1/2 runs per game for the season. It could be a slump or it could be the end. Torre has got to get him out of the starting rotation regardless.

This is not any way for the Yankees to get back in the division race--in fact, if they don't sweep the Red Sox in NYC over the next three days, their only hope will be the Wild Card. And don't bet on that the way Seattle, Cleveland, and Detroit are playing down the stretch. Will they be playing "Taps" or "New York, New York" in the house that Ruth built? It's not lookin' real good...

--Matthew