Concern Keeps on Growing

The New York Yankees may not necessarily have to hit the panic button yet, but they need to do something and make it happen fast.

What I am referring to is the concern with the pitching rotation. It seems every year the Yankees have their issues with the rotation and this year may be more serious than previous seasons. With CC Sabathia getting back to his usual form, Ivan Nova still looking like he can make an impact, and Hiroki Kuroda is starting to show signs of quality starts.

After those starters, the real concern comes into play. Freddy Garcia has not been looking good so far this season. Freddy has a 0-2 win-loss record with only 11 strikeouts and an ERA of 12.51. The Yankees are hoping he can improve his skills in the bullpen because that is where he was sent to after another poor start.

Freddy is not alone on list of bad quality starts. Joining him is Phil Hughes, who used to be considered to become one of the top pitchers for Yankees. So far into this season, his stats are shaky as well, he has a 1-3 record with 17 strikeouts and an ERA of 7.88.

The biggest disappointment though comes from a pitcher who is not even pitching. Michael Pineda who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners for Jesus Montero, has been sidelined since spring training. The Yankees recently benched him for the season with a torn Labrum. Going into the season, Pineda looked like he could bring some solitude to the rotation because he is young and talented. That however is not the case and he will not make his debut in New York until next year.

With all these concerns growing, the time for help needs to come and as fast as possible. I believe that the answer for the rotation is veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte. He came out of retirement in spring training and has been making rehab starts ever since.

The Yankees have to consider calling him up to the majors sooner than they may want to. The rotation can use Pettitte’s veteran skill and leadership to help bolster that rotation. As well as giving the Yankees another lefty in the rotation to go along with Sabathia.

The time has come and that time is now. Yankees need to make the call to Pettitte in order to save this rotation from crashing.

Yankees Rotation Up in the Air

Can you smell the scent in the air? I can. Baseball season is back and ready to go. As for the New York Yankees in 2012, they already have a set lineup for the hitters. However, their pitching rotation has yet to make form.

Their rotation has been the talk of the team going into every season for the past few years and this year is no different. Everyone already knows that the number one starter for the team is CC Sabathia, who has been the ace since he came to the team before the 2009 season.

The Yankees have made some offseason moves and signings to help bolster their rotation. They went ahead and signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one year contract. And then, they went and traded for Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Michael Pineda, which both of these moves I believe that will turn out great for the team.

The manager of the Yankees, Joe Girardi, has declared by the beginning of spring training that Hiroki Kuroda will follow CC in the rotation.  That leaves three other spots to fill with four pitchers to battle it out, Michael Pineda, Freddy Garcia, Phil Hughes, and Ivan Nova.

According to rotochamp.com, they have projected the Yankees rotation to look like this, CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, and Phil Hughes beating out Freddy Garcia for the fifth spot in the rotation.

On a different note, bleacherreport.com, predicts that the Yankees will use a six-man rotation instead of five. So that would mean every starter for them will have a spot in the rotation, including Garcia at the number six spot.

The idea of a six-man rotation could be a good idea for the team, but I do not think that the Yankees will go in that direction. I believe that by the time opening day comes the rotation will look like this, Sabathia, Kuroda, Pineda, Nova, and Garcia. And that would leave the Yankees to sending Phil Hughes to the bullpen.

So many questions remain about the final three spots in the Yankees rotation, but as Spring Training rolls on, those spots will soon take shape. The New York Yankees will start their journey towards winning their 28^th championship.