New York, NY (WFAN)  -- Are the Yankees still the hunted in this matchup? For the 5th straight time the Mets enter the Subway Series with a better record than the Yanks. However, it always seems to be a measuring stick of just how good they are, especially since the last few years we haven’t considered the National League to be as strong as the American League top to bottom.

But these Yankees are not to be used as a measuring stick for anybody, not even themselves. The Yankees are stuck in no man’s land right now, record of 20-22. They are trying to keep their heads above water until Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada make their way back from injuries.

I know every team is hit with injuries, but despite the big names and high salaries the Yankees just don’t have the talent to sustain a hit as big as this one. Think about this—last year Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez both had on-base percentages over .420 and combined for 246 RBIs. You don’t just take guys like that out of the lineup and think you’re going to be okay. How do you think the Red Sox would look with Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek out for a month? And Varitek isn’t nearly the offensive player anymore that Posada is. The replacements at those positions (Ensberg, Gonzalez, Betemit, Molina, Moeller) have combined for just 5 RBIs in the 15 games both All-Stars have been missing. Even Johan Santana would have trouble winning games with this offense behind him.

Ah, yes…Santana. The one the Yankees could have had. Chose not to. Wrote about that a couple weeks ago. Can’t wait to hear the Yankee fans after Friday night’s game decide on the result of one game in May whether or not they made the right decision. Unfortunately we won’t really be able to answer this question on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. This is for a few years down the road. It doesn’t look good right now that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have combined for more trips to the DL (1) than wins (0), but you’ve gotta give this one some time.

But keep this in mind. Wang and Mussina have combined for 12 wins, and even though Pettitte is struggling you’d like to think he’ll be okay as long as you keep writing his name down every 5 days. The last two spots in the rotation are the ones giving the Yanks the most trouble…and that would still be the case, even with Santana here. The Yankees would not have signed Pettitte if they had made the move for Santana, so guys lower on the pole than Hughes and Kennedy (assuming one or both was traded) would fill the 4th and 5th spots. So if Santana was here, and A-Rod and Posada were still both hurt, the Yankees aren’t that much better than they are right now.

It’s hard to make any sort of declaration about the Yankees after 42 games. I can’t say I’m going to be able to get that much better a read after 45 games. Best-case scenario? Hope that A-Rod’s return next week sparks the offense and a win streak follows. Hope that Kennedy gets this turned around fast and Hughes comes back healthy in July. And hope that Joba turns into the starter everyone thinks he will be. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that veteran starter via the trade market.

I still believe the Yankees are prepared for a season that ends short of October. They won’t tell you that publicly. But Hank’s screaming has to be followed by actions for me to believe they are deviating from their plan, which is about more than just 2008.

Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to yankees@wfan.com.

Sweeny