Yanks not rushing into moves; Kearns being shopped

	With Randy Johnson wearing down, the Yanks could use help on the hill. Chuck Solomon/SI

The Yankees aren't acting like the Yankees. So far they haven't made any panic moves, and they're saying they aren't going to rush into anything or trade the few crown jewels in their farm system. And they sound like they mean it this time.

There's only one problem: New York needs pitching help in the worst way. If the Yankees can't upgrade, they'll have a difficult time making the postseason, never mind navigating the minefield that will be the American League playoffs.

"They scare nobody,'' one competing AL executive said about the Yankees. "That's a bad front three they have. Who are they going to beat?''

While Mike Mussina has upgraded his game, Chien-Ming Wang is showing progress after a solid rookie campaign and Randy Johnson throws in a good start every now and then, the Angels, Tigers and White Sox possess better starting pitching than the Yankees. "And Boston, don't forget Boston,'' the skeptical exec said.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, whose team has made the postseason every year since 1995, has bargained for greater power, and got it before agreeing to a contract extension last winter. While the final call on trades will presumably always belong to George Steinbrenner, people in the organization say that thus far Steinbrenner is deferring to Cashman about how to proceed, which is an upset in and of itself. The Yankees have inquired about all the lesser and accomplished starters who could conceivably become available, beginning with Dontrelle Willis and Barry Zito (neither seems very available now), and have found nothing to their liking.

Cashman seems intent on keeping two minor league gems, Double A pitcher Philip Hughes and Class A outfielder Jose Tabata, which could make acquiring a top-flight starter difficult, if not impossible, in a clear sellers' market. His strategy appears to be to wait and hope prices come down. Working in his favor are the three weeks until the trade deadline in what's seen by another exec as a "late-unfolding market.''

Yankees officials know they are fortunate to be three games behind the Red Sox in the East considering the injuries that have sidelined Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, the spotty performance by Johnson and the disappearing act by Carl Pavano. Considering everything, one Yankees official called it a "miracle'' they're within striking distance of Boston.

If the Yankees can hold on to Hughes, Tabata, Wang and Robinson Cano and still acquire an impact starter, that will be an even greater miracle.