(Long Island, N.Y.) Those middle of the rotation guys have all the luck. The ace and number two men are expected to lead the pitching staff, while the fifth starter is an interchangeable part throughout much of the season. The three and the four? They get to pitch close to .500 ball and still receive accolades.

Philip Hughes may be the Yankees current third starter – and fourth or fifth once Andy Pettitte and Ivan Nova return from the disabled list – but that hasn’t kept him from looking sharp this summer, especially when taking the mound at Yankee Stadium.

Following Tuesday night’s seven-inning outing versus Toronto, the right-hander made it six consecutive home wins in his last seven starts and has a sparkling 1.62 ERA as well. Just how important this has been with Pettitte and Nova (and earlier, CC Sabathia) out with injuries is definitely not something lost on Joe Girardi.

“He did a really nice job again,” the manager said in his post game press conference. “He’s pitched well for us this year.”

Perhaps not looking ahead, but wishful thinking, Girardi commented on having a solid set of arms come October. “If you’re going to make it to the playoffs, and you’re going to make any noise in the playoffs, then you have to have that,” he said. “Hughes has been consistent.”

Overall, the six-year veteran has amassed a record of 13-11 with a 4.02 ERA. In 156.2 innings pitched, he has struck out 130 batters while only issuing 38 bases on balls. Those are the types of numbers that will go a long way once the postseason is upon us.

Because teams go to three or four-man rotations, Hughes may find himself pitching out of the bullpen as a long man. If healthy, Sabathia and Pettitte will lead the way with Nova, and Hiroki Kuroda has earned at least one playoff start. The native of Japan has looked strong; going 12-9, 2.98 ERA, and Hughes is capable of filling in that all-important relief role. He is versatile enough to handle that and to make a spot start/long appearance in the event of a rainout or extended rain delay.

When your staff is that deep and the pitcher tied for the team lead in wins can be considered an added luxury once the playoffs start, you know that the general manager has done his homework. Hughes and Sabathia both have 13 wins and Brian Cashman has been able to keep a fresh set of quality arms going out there every four days regardless of setbacks due to injuries.

Hughes’s best month came in June, when he went 4-1, 2.67 (including a complete game), to improve his record to 8-6 at the time. He also held opponents to a .226 batting average that month. Some inconsistency has been present since then for Hughes, but he has the experience to get the job done in crunch time.

And it doesn’t even matter that Hughes is a mid-rotation guy.

(Long Island, N.Y.) For fans of the New York Jets, the last thing that they use as a barometer of their team are games played during the month of August. Sure, everyone wants to see good things out of the entire roster and a few wins would be nice. But all you need to do is bring up the year 1992 and followers of Gang Green will shake their collective heads.

For the fans old enough to recall that season vividly, they wish that they can get selective memory loss. With them – and the younger generation – in mind, here’s a quick recap: the Jets were transitioning away from the Ken O’Brien era and gave the young Browning Nagle (nicknamed “Nuke” for his strong right arm) the job. Bruce Coslet’s bunch went a perfect 5-0 in exhibition games and were flying high with their new quarterback heading into the regular season opener in Atlanta.

Nagle fumbled the first snap of his professional career and of course the Jets lost. The entire team struggled and the 4-12 campaign was hardly the worst of it when you consider that it was also the same year that Dennis Byrd broke his neck during a late season loss to the Chiefs at the Meadowlands.

So even with the totally demoralizing 26-3 defeat at the hands of the Giants, 0-2 (and possibly 0-4) becomes 0-0 in Week 1. But there have been many signs to show that things will get a whole lot worse before they get better around here. But Rex Ryan only sees his glass as being half full, even with zero touchdowns after two games.

“(When) you put in a brand new offense, it’s a work in progress, and when it’s all said and done, we’re going to be productive on offense,” the Jets head coach said. “It’s as simple as that.”

The team defense, especially the starters, has played fairly well but both the offense and special teams have been atrocious. Joe McKnight committed a running into the kicker penalty on a punt and T.J. Connelly had two shanks, setting the Giants up even more during the rout.

The most glaring weakness taken out of last Saturday night’s game was the ineffectiveness of the offensive line. Both Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow were sacked a combined seven times and the Jets were unable to convert on fourth-and-one on a run up the middle.

“We got beat physically a couple of times and technique wasn’t as sharp as where we want it to be,” Ryan said of John Connor’s first half attempt to move the chains.

Ryan was putting it kindly when everyone watching could see that that the fullback never had a chance on the play. The defensive lineman were wrapping him up before he even hit the line of scrimmage. Your big guys up front need to get a better push on plays like that and they also have to keep the quarterback upright so he can find an open receiver. Even though there are injuries in the receiving corps, players such as Santonio Holmes wouldn’t be able to make something happen if he is not given the opportunity due to a breakdown in pass protection.

“We don’t need to be at our best right now,” Ryan concluded. “We need to be at our best opening day and I’m confident that when we get going, we will be.”

If not, we may be in store for another long season such as the one 20 years ago. You remember that one…when the Jets had more wins in the preseason than they did the whole year. Just in case you forgot.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Poor Terry Collins. The Mets manager is doing whatever he can to try and salvage whatever is left of the baseball season. But with his team’s plunge since the All-Star break, they are merely playing out the string – again.

With a 55-62 record at press time, the Mets are much closer to last place than first or either Wild Card spot. The losses keep mounting and the one bright spot this summer – Johan Santana’s no-hitter – is blowing up in their collective faces.

The ace has been horrendous since the early June gem versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field and the 134 pitches he needed that night may have taken its toll on Santana’s surgically repaired shoulder. (But ask any Mets fan and they will tell you that they are still fine with the way things played out.)

Wanting to limit the amount of work for Santana and Chris Young (another fragile pitcher also coming off of shoulder surgery), Collins announced this week that he would go with a six-man rotation for the foreseeable future. The real beneficiaries of this move are Jeremy Haffner, a youngster trying to break into the rotation full time in 2013, and R.A. Dickey, who will continue to pitch on four days rest.

“We think this is really going to give us the best chance to compete at the level we want to compete,” Collins said to reporters. “We’re going to play some teams that are going to be playing for something very, very special, so we want to make sure we’re running the best guys out there.”

If you read between the lines, it is apparent that Collins is being a realist and waving the white flag on any hope for a postseason berth. Even the most optimistic Mets fan has to come to grips with the current situation: they are seven games under .500 and there are five teams ahead of them for the remaining two playoff spots. And the closest one (San Francisco) is 10 games over .500.

So it will be another year without having to worry about standing on line to buy playoff tickets in Queens. But what is even more disturbing is what exactly do the fans have to look forward to for next season? This is a ballclub that has numerous question marks and huge holes in every facet of the roster. Offense, defense, base running, starting and relief pitching. Take your pick.

Yes, they played way over their heads for the first three months of the season and were gritty and did not have a quitter of the bunch. That was very encouraging and fun to watch. But a Triple-A level young player is going to run out of magic sooner or later and many of the guys wearing blue and orange are up here because ownership cannot afford to bring in a veteran at a higher cost.

You get what you pay for. And you can save your playoff ticket money for a rainy day.

(Long Island, N.Y.) It isn’t every year that you can come into training camp as the defending title holders of your league and barely be mentioned across the entire nation, let alone your own hometown. But that is exactly the case with the New York Giants, who unexpectedly won it all this past February and now can relax a bit as the new campaign gets under way.

They can thank their fellow MetLife Stadium tenants, the Jets, for all the missing hoopla. When Tim Tebow was brought in via trade with the Denver Broncos, it made the G-Men basically disappear and that has not changed with the opening of the team’s respective camps. ESPN has basically pitched a tent in Cortland and been breaking down every play that Tebow has made so far. Up in Albany, its business as usual.

“The biggest thing is to get our work in and realize last year was last year,” Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. “Completely different year. That’s where our focus needs to be.”

Of course it does not hurt that a video camera and reporter are not dotting the sideline every square inch at every practice. That can become a distraction for players and coaches alike and it has to be somewhat of a relief that things have played out this way. It was a similar situation in 2008 when the Giants also won the championship but were outshone by the Jets’ acquisition of Brett Favre, although that occurred during the preseason and not the offseason.

Just as he did back then, Tom Coughlin is relying on his older players who have been through it before to guide the younger or new ones on the team. “The leadership factor in the locker room is key,” the Giants head coach said. “I’m counting on these guys to not only show that way, but also to take some of these young people under their wing and point them in the right direction, as well.

“The great thing about the mountain is that everybody starts the climb again at this particular time,” he continued. “I think that the quality of the people that we have in the locker room, and the veteran aspect of it, who have been through it; the message is well implanted. And I think that they’ll carry it through.”

Controversy is the furthest thing that the Giants have on their collective minds and that aspect has seemed to be a common ingredient on the other side of the stadium, if you will. From Rex Ryan’s bravado, to Santonio Holmes’s blowup and benching to bringing in Tebow – it always seems to follow the Jets. But the Giants have enjoyed much more success by toeing the line carefully.

A perfect example is Plaxico Burress, who was cut by Big Blue following his arrest for gun possession. Once he was released from jail, they wanted nothing to do with the talented wideout. But the Jets called and signed him to a one-year deal.

That in itself is a microcosm of the differences between the two clubs. And even bringing in a ‘saint’ like Tebow has become something that will have to be addressed week in and week out.

Isn’t it easier to get headlines by winning?

(Long Island, N.Y.) Perhaps it’s not your quintessential quarterback controversy or battle for the starting job, but make no mistake about it – both Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow are showcasing for the future. Sanchez to ensure that he keeps a tight grip on his position and Tim Tebow to show the coaching staff (and everyone else watching) that he is fully capable of handling the duties if necessary.

All along, Rex Ryan has maintained that Sanchez is number one on the depth chart and the acquisition of Tebow was an overall football move, not to have an open competition at signal caller. But even he has to feel better every time the new backup makes an impressive play on the practice field, albeit working with the first or second team.

“The hardest thing to do is to have touch on that deep ball and he really does have it,” the Jets head coach said of the former Bronco. “That’s why I’m surprised that the ball doesn’t come out a little quicker. But, overall, I am impressed with Tim and how he throws the ball down the field. Sometimes, the touch on the shorter passes, he’s working hard at getting better at those things, as well.”

Getting Tebow acclimated with the new offense is a work in progress, but he is also getting reps with special teams as the punt protector, something that Ryan is fully behind.

“You have to think twice before you send them all out (for a potential blocked punt) because this guy can fake it,” commented Ryan. “He can throw it, run inside, run outside…do a lot of different things. He’s smart.”

That is for sure, and the fans that have flocked to Cortland, New York have been heard loud and clear. When Tebow does something positive, he receives a deserved cheer. At the same time, though, he also hears it when skipping a pass. But the young man merely shrugged it off when asked about the latter.

“I don’t really pay attention to that,” said Tebow. “I didn’t really know until someone reported it so (I heard it) but if anything, I just find it funny. There will always be fans giving you a hard time.”

Welcome to the Big Apple, Tim. That will be something that the third-year pro will have to endure while playing for the Jets, whose infamous fan base is known for their crass behavior and letting the players know what they feel. During his college days at the University of Florida and even in Denver, Tebow basically walked on water. He will not have that luxury playing at MetLife Stadium and appears to have the right character and attitude to deflect or take in whatever is given to him on Sunday.

However he is used in the potential multiple roles the coaches have in mind, Tebow will be in the spotlight and will hear a huge ovation the first time he lines up over center for a Wildcat play. What he hears next depends on if he makes a play or not.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When the New York Mets were playing well and hovering approximately five games over the .500 mark, it was apparent that the team was overachieving and the ball was bouncing their way. It didn’t seem likely that unknowns would continue to get two-out late inning hits.

Well, it may have taken half the season for that to happen, but it has certainly been the case since the All-Star break…and in a big way. Since David Wright and R.A. Dickey represented the senior circuit in this year’s mid-summer classic, the Mets have dropped six straight and 11 of 12 overall.

Things are beginning to get out of hand and the frustration has transcended to the players griping. After Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homerun off Tim Byrdak during the seventh inning of a 5-2 loss to Washington, the reliever and catcher Josh Thole had a shouting match in the dugout.

Manager Terry Collins has done an admirable job with what he was handed at the beginning of the campaign and now has had to add referee and counselor to his titles. “Once in a while when things go bad, you start making excuses, and I don’t deal with excuses,” he said in his post game press conference. “I deal with accountability – standing up and being a man, standing up and being a professional baseball player and playing the game right. This was never about effort, but we’re going to get back on track.”

Just how Collins does that remains to be seen. The Mets – just like nearly every other team – have had to deal with some huge injuries. But because of the lack of depth on the roster, second stringers have not been able to get the job done and are more suited for Triple-A. Some would say that more than a few of the Mets starting lineup would fit that category, as well.

The fact of the matter is that ownership is not in the position to spend any good amount of money to bring in a player or two that can make a difference. So they have to resort to stop gap moves and medium range salaries, so you end up with what you currently have at Citi Field.

Now four games under .500 with a long 11-game west coast road trip on tap, it is not out of the question that Collins’s crew can next see the Big Apple with a double digit deficit on the wrong side of the even mark. And any talk of contending for that second wild card spot should end at that point.

“You’re going to see a different team here in the next 10 days,” Collins added, trying to put the bad behind him. “We’re going to go back and do the things that got us here. We haven’t played well and we’re not going to make any excuses. We have to play better.”

That may be easier said than done under the current circumstances.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Considering that he single-handedly became the symbol of everything that went wrong with the 2011 New York Jets, Santonio Holmes would be better served being on his best behavior and learning to keep his mouth shut. The mercurial wideout may still believe that he is wearing one of the captain’s C’s on his jersey and to interject his opinion in the Tim Tebow issue is a responsibility.

But head coach Rex Ryan realized that mistake and has stripped all of the former captains, leaving it be and having the entire roster on an even playing field. One has to wonder if he did that as not to single out Holmes, who blew up in the season finale and was benched.

Perhaps the Super Bowl XLVIII Most Valuable Player is just trying to reestablish his relationship with Mark Sanchez. The two have publicly stated admiration for one another and that there will be no carryover from the Week 17 debacle, so when Holmes publicly questioned what role Tebow will play recently, he may have been doing so in defense of the incumbent Sanchez.

“You have to allow one quarterback to get into the rhythm of the game and it starts from the preparation in practice,” Holmes said this week on the NFL Network. “It’s knowing the first couple of plays that he’s going to take these reps, it’s getting the feel for coming onto the field with the crowd awaiting you, it’s making the mistakes early in the game to finishing the games at the end. You just don’t change a guy out because he has a few mistakes early in a game. We have a lot to expect from Sanchez.”

The problem is that these are issues that should not be taken up with the media and only the coaching staff will have a say how often Tebow takes snaps with the offense. Holmes is far from the team player representative and should know his place, especially in light of the nonsense he purported in January.

When judging one such as Holmes’s character, it should be noted that this is someone who was dumped by the Pittsburgh Steelers even though he possesses immense talent and was critical in their fifth title run. He had already had off-the-field issues and the organization grew tired of his attitude.

He has been a solid weapon for the Jets and made some big plays in his tenure in the Big Apple, but at some point enough is enough. General manager Mike Tannenbaum re-signed Holmes to a cap-killing five-year, $45 million contract in 2011, so he is probably safe as far as being cut goes. But when the distraction begins to outweigh the production, being released is going to become an option.

Plaxico Burress was not brought back and the receiving corps is a little thin as it is. Jeremy Kerley had a fairly impressive campaign and should keep improving and Tannenbam selected Stephen Hill in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. So it behooves him to hang onto Holmes for the immediate future unless another veteran becomes available.

But any more days like the one in Miami will only hasten Holmes’s departure.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When the New York Knicks last walked off the hardwood, they had a backcourt that consisted of two veterans on their last legs in Baron Davis and Mike Bibby, the electrifying Jeremy Lin, Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields, J.R. Smith, as well as a forgotten man in Toney Douglas.

My, how things have changed in such a short period of time.

Davis and Bibby were one-year stopgap moves, so it’s no surprise that they will not be brought back. Shumpert blew his knee out in the playoffs and will be rehabbing for a while, but his defensive prowess as a rookie was impressive enough to be patient for him. Fields received a three-year, $20 million offer from the Toronto Raptors that will in all likelihood not be matched by the Knicks. Smith wants to come back and the team seems to agree with him that it was a good fit.

But the biggest question is Lin, who received a big offer of four years and nearly $30 million from the Houston Rockets. Is he really worth that kind of money against a tight salary cap coming off a productive half season? He still has to prove himself over the long haul but brings certain intangibles to the table that cannot be judged by salary alone.

‘Linsanity’ lit the team and entire league last season and the fanfare surrounding Lin is akin to Tim Tebow’s rabid following. Plus he is improving and may end up becoming a very valuable player down the road. Locking him up now – even at a higher rate than most players with his lack of experience – may be a stroke of genius.

Things are all set with the Knicks bringing in Jason Kidd for Lin to learn from. Perhaps the former Maverick is the perfect teacher for Lin, with the 39-year-old considered the quintessential point guard. Kidd is not expected to log many minutes each night and the $3 million he will take home for each of the next three years in New York is expected to be as much in his presence off the court as it is on it.

For the Knicks to close the gap between themselves and the beasts of the east, they will need to do more than bring in Kidd. They also have their sights set on Marcus Camby as a backup to starting center Tyson Chandler and the former Knick can still rebound and block shots with the best of them.

The more money cleared will result in new faces sporting the blue and orange next season. But some of it may be better spent on the likes of Lin. That is the quandary that general manager Glen Grunwald is presently in. Does he tie up more cap space on him or take a chance on letting him go to the Rockets?

He will have to bring in another point guard if Lin is gone and another familiar face is currently available in Raymond Felton. So it comes down to where the money should be spent.

Either way, the group that is bringing the ball up the court in 2012-13 will be vastly improved over a year ago.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Many teams are judged by where they stand at the All-Star break. If you are still in contention at the second week in July, then you have stood the test of time and can actually begin to look forward.

That’s all well and good, but the dog days of August are still to be met.

But all of that is for later. Since we are nearing the Mid-Summer Classic and both of the teams in New York are enjoying fine seasons, then sending six of our local players to Kansas City to represent their respective league is well deserved. Three Yankee position players were voted to the starting line-up and there is a chance that a Met will be chosen as the starting pitcher.

Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano are annual starters, and Curtis Granderson is joining them. David Wright is one of the National League reserves, while CC Sabathia (who is on the disabled list) and R.A. Dickey were picked as pitchers. The announcement of who is starting has yet to come, but Dickey (12-1, 2.15 ERA) is a no-brainer for NL manager Tony LaRussa. The right-handed knuckleballer has had a Cinderella campaign in his 16th major league season and is an All-Star for the first time.

As for Wright, he lost out to San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, whose production numbers are dwarfed by Wright. The face of the Mets franchise is out hitting (.355 to .300), out homering (nine to six) and has driven in more runs (50 RBI to 25) than Sandoval, but the fans – apparently out west – casted 1.6 million more votes for the Giant. But Terry Collins took the high road, albeit with a hint of sarcasm.

“We’re disappointed David didn’t get elected,” the Mets manager told reporters. “But we send our congratulations to Pablo Sandoval and a great fan base and great fan support. Baseball people saw fit to put David on this club, which he deserves to be. We’ve just got to do a better job of making sure our fans come to see us. So we’ve got to start winning games so that we don’t have this happen.”

For Jeter, he will be going to his 13th All-Star Game and will indeed play after choosing to skip last year’s affair, citing exhaustion. The Yankee captain recently passed Cal Ripken, Jr. on the all-time hits list and now stands 13th with 3,186 career hits. After a hot start, Jeter has cooled off and is now hitting below .300.

Cano will be playing in his fourth and Granderson his third All-Star Game. Both are having very productive seasons for the first place Bronx Bombers and are major cogs in the team’s pursuit of their 28th world championship.

By hanging around and taking advantage of the Philadelphia Phillies having an off year, the Mets find themselves in second place and have a legitimate shot at qualifying for the postseason with the addition of a second Wild Card team in each league.

With the two Subway Series sets complete, the Gotham baseball fans have this game and perhaps an October meeting to look forward to. We shall see about the latter in a few months, but have the former to enjoy in the meantime.

(Long Island, N.Y.) During Spring Training, the Yankees had a numbers problem regarding their starting pitching. But even back then when it appeared that they had too much of a good thing, there was still the specter of a long season where anything can go wrong lying ahead.

Fast forward three months and that possibility has come to roost. Just like that (snap your fingers now); the Bronx Bombers have lost two-fifths of their rotation when both CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte went on the disabled list.

Fortunately for Sabathia, his stay will be a short one with a strained groin. But Pettitte is going to be on the shelf for at least six or eight weeks with a fractured fibula in his left ankle, courtesy of a come backer to the mound off the bat of the Cleveland Indians’ Casey Kotchman.

For the time being, the Yanks will try to get by with the promotion of right-hander Adam Warren from Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre and moving long man Freddy Garcia from the pen back into the rotation, where he was fairly effective a year ago. But do not discount Brian Cashman making a trade before the postseason eligibility deadline on July 31st if the two are not as effective as they are being counted on to be.

With a full five game lead in the American League East, the Yankees have some wiggle room and can wait and see before making a panic move. Pettitte, who has been a nice addition since coming out of retirement at 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA, feels that his current teammates will be able to pick up the slack.

“We’ve just got to weather the storm,” he told reporters. “Nobody is going to feel sorry for you with injuries and that stuff like that. We’ve got plenty of guys who can step in and do the job.”

Hopefully Garcia can turn things around once he is back in a more familiar role of regularity. He has started four games this season and also has 10 relief appearances with a 2-2 record and a high 6.39 ERA. In 2011, the veteran joined the Yankees and finished with a 12-8 mark with an impressive 3.62 ERA in 25 starts, prompting Cashman to re-sign him with a shot at making the rotation again.

Although he is 35 and has had injury problems, Garcia can still get the job done when he is on and get the Yankees over this hump. It may be an issue of how much gas he has left in the tank and how far he can pitch into games. That will not be the case with the 6’2″, 225-pound Warren, who has an even record (5-5) and a 3.86 ERA in 15 minor league starts. He should be able to give manager Joe Girardi innings, something that Garcia may not be able to provide.

When Pettitte came back in the spring, there were many people asking where he would fit in. Now those same folks are asking when will he be ready to pitch again.