51.   Vaughn Eshelman and Stan Belinda did the basic middle relief handoff thing, and it was left for Aguilera to nail down the W for the kid.

52.   Unless that happens, Torre will need another pitcher to fill that crucial middle relief role in October.

53.   Unless there is improvement from the middle relief or Ted Lilly and Sterling Hitchcock, the Yankees have a problem with depth.

54.   Until Tuesday, middle relief more than anything else was what had the Astros coming into this Division Series as underdogs against the mighty Braves.

55.   Untrusting of his middle relief, Joe Torre essentially relied on six pitchers in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and the Yankees advanced.

56.   We need middle relief pitching.

57.   When Rodriguez was claimed off waivers at the end of May, manager Lou Piniella told him he was going to middle relief.

58.   While such middle relief antics might have troubled the Mets entering the series, starting pitching had not.

59.   With the addition of Aguilera, Hudson will go to middle relief and Stan Belinda, who praised the trade, will become the setup man.

60.   With their starting pitching strong and their offense generating ample runs, the Yankees need to stabilize their middle relief before the playoffs begin.