7/28/15
On paper the Yankees have an elite NUMBER 1 Starting Pitcher. In fact, they have two.
When healthy Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda are as good a 1-2 punch as there is in baseball.
But notice I said… “when healthy”.
Going all the way back to the 2014 Winter Meetings, and Free Agency, I felt that the Yankees
NUMBER 1 need was to acquire a …
NUMBER 1 – type Starting Pitcher.
Because of injury and uncertainty, the need for a top of the rotation starter was more important than bolstering the Bullpen and Line-Up.
They did not go that route when putting the 2015 roster together, and now the Trade Deadline is only 3 days away, and .. they still have that
very same need in my opinion.
This team has many strong positives needed to win the division and more importantly perform in the post-season, should they get there.
They have ..
1) A LIGHTS-OUT BULLPEN
2) SOLID GLOVE WORK
3) GREAT TEAM CHEMISTRY
4) VETERAN POWER BATS
The importance of these 4 strengths can not be overstated, and they are in 1st Place in the A.L. East because of these strengths.
Much credit goes to …Management, Coaches and of course the Players themselves.
However the Baseball Credo I have always subscribed to is… “Pitching Wins Championships”.
Without question the Bullpen pitching is Championship caliber, but, you have to get the bullpen a lead, and in the post-season
your Starters need to “match zeros” with the opposing pitcher in many cases.
Here is the issue … the Yankees knew from the end of last season that their top four (I repeat ..”top four”) starters, each had serious
health issues and innings limits.
Pitcher / Health Issue / Innings Pitched in 2014
______ ____________ __________________
Tanaka / Torn UCL in Elbow / 136.1 innings
Pineda / Shoulder Surgery / 76.1 innings
Sabathia / Knee Surgery / 46.0 innings
Nova / TJ Surgery / 20.2 innings
At the moment they are all taking the ball every 5th (sometimes 6th) day.
However..
Nova in his last outing complained of arm fatigue after only 75 pitches.
Tanaka ( my favorite player) has been on the DL already this year,and every time he takes the ball
you have to hold your breathe & Tanak-on-Wood that his elbow ligament doesn’t completely tear.
In addition ..
The Yankees have a 3.91 team ERA. That ranks 20th (out of 30 MLB teams),
and none of the teams below them in team ERA would make the playoffs if the season ended tomorrow !
On an individual basis there are…
93 Starting MLB Pitchers that have enough qualifying innings
( Tanaka & Nova do not) for their stats to be ranked. You have to search all the way down to …
#60 Michael Pineda 3.97 ERA to find the first Yankee starter !!
The other two..
#70 Nathan Eovaldi 4.27 ERA
(he has pitched much better of late !)
&
#89 CC Sabathia 5.38 ERA
(Toronto just traded for Troy Tulowitzki, adding another big Right Handed Bat to their line-up.
CC can’t get out RHB this year who have a .325 B.A. against !!
He does much better vs. LHB who hit only .189 B.A.
BTW – the Blue Jays have 13 games left with the Yankees this season and are still a threat.
They have a +95 run differential which ranks them #1 by far in the A.L.
I don’t see any way CC should start a game vs. that line-up unless he finds his Change-Up,
and finds it quickly.
The names /rumors are out there like David Price, who would come at a steep …Price.
Cole Hamels as well.
Kimbrel or Chapman would be another way of addressing the issue.
Adding an elite arm to the Pen, would allow Adam Warren to go back into the rotation
(provided they stretch him out properly).
One other scenario would be if they brought up Luis Severino from Triple A.
That would cost nothing, but is a lot to ask of a 21 year old kid.
The batting order is too Home Run dependent and not situational enough, but they have improved their approach.
They have made a collective effort to hit to all fields more, and their team batting average reflects the improvement.
The Yankees now rank 10th in MLB with a .255 team batting average.
The 2015 Yankee Season, and the hopes for a 28th Championship could well come down to the following two questions :
* Can Tanaka and Pineda stay healthy and anchor the top of the rotation during August, September and hopefully October ??
* Can Brian Cashman trade for a top Starter without dealing away Severino or Aaron Judge ??
I would have preferred that the Yankees acquired a top Starter in the off-season (Free Agents Scherzer or Lester)
and at this point, my gut says their rotation will wear down in August & September due to previous injury issues.
The Yanks could go after a Bat or another Closer but David Price would be my target. 2.53 ERA (5th in A.L.) , 138 K’s (4th in A.L.).
Price is a rental ( upcoming unrestricted FA) and therefore should come at a steep price, but not cost a total fortune.
I don’t blame Cashman for considering Severino & Judge “untouchable” but
names like Sanchez (C), Mitchell(RHP), Jagielo (3B), and others should be available.
In their quest for Ring #28 the Yankees have to realize that every NYY Championship Roster
included an Elite Lefty Starter (sometimes two) Whitey Ford ’50 – ’62 , Guidry ’77-’78
Andy from ’96 – ’09 , Wells in ’98,
CC in ’09 … but he is no longer dominant.
You get the feeling that what happens over the next 3 days (trade deadline) will
determine the next 3 months & who becomes 2015 WS Champs.
As always,
GO NYY !!
