A hint of the rotation?
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Feb 22, 2007 
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Make of this what you will, but the pitchers are lined up this way to throw batting practice in an hour:
Chien-Ming Wang
Andy Pettitte
Mike Mussina
Kei Igawa
Carl Pavano
Phil Hughes
Humberto Sanchez
Had I to guess, I suspect that is the working rotation for the season. Makes sense in a lot of ways. Randy Johnson was the first pitcher who threw BP last season and he proved to be the Opening Day starter.
Wow! And Nardi Contreras was quoted on Scout as saying that Matt DeSalvo is the most ready and likely to be the first to be called up.
That makes perfect sense to me. Our seven best starters. Wang v. Kazmir on Opening Day. I’m ready.
You really think Hughes will star the season, or is that the eventual starting rotation?
No chance Hughes starts the season in the Bronx. His inning count will be limited this season (160-180?). Any Major League innings will come in the latter half of this season, not in the beginning.
Wang tends to have trouble against those pesky Devil Rays. Actually, the Yankees in general have trouble with those pesky Devil Rays.
Thurman -
Did Nardi say that DeSalvo was the most ready? Or that he looked the best in his first throwing session?
Yankees have a real logjam behind the first 5 starters – including Karstens and Rasner. who both have made major-league starts. DeSalvo was just DFA’ed, and passed through waivers. The only way I see DeSalvo appearing in NY this season is as a long guy. Seems like he has a lot to prove after an awful 2006
Silent – I’d bet Sanchez and Hughes will be in the starting rotation at Scranton. Even if there’s a trade or injury to a starter, I’d bet on Karstens, Rasner or Ohlendorf filling in til mid-season, with Hughes remaining at Scranton til mid-season at the earliest.
We’ll see Sanchez before we see Hughes.
Actually, I don’t know what I’m talking about, Wang has incredible numbers against the Devil Rays.
Wang had a 1.15 ERA against the D-Rays and they had a .159 AVG against him..
You corrected yourself, nevermind!
That rotation is hella better than
Randy Johnson
Mike Mussina
Chein-Ming Wang
Jaret Wright
?????
of last year
You’re probably right, Pete. Torre loves the whole R-L-R-L-R thing. I haven’t looked too closely at the schedule yet, but when is the earliest that the Yankees would need a 5th starter? There’s usually a bunch of off days in April, so maybe the Rajah (or his inevitable AAA replacement) wouldn’t be needed until late April.
I still think Torre will go with Moose as the opening day starter.
I doubt DeSalvo would be first up primarily because of his not being on the 40 man.If Pavano is healthy there is no question Hughes stays in AAA to start the season.If not and hes the most impressive well I dont think we want the Sox and Jays thinking we can baby Phil Hughes and expect to beat them out.
Bronx Banter said dont NEED a 5th starter until May 5. but i dont expect that to happen. Torre will give the starters extra rest during that time.
Don’t doubt Matt DeSalvo. He has an league average fastball, but he makes up with plus breaking pitches. He just lost all control of his stuff last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a breakout year.
Here’s a little of what Nardi was saying to Pinstripes Plus –
Biggest surprise so far is DeSalvo. He looks like he’s back. He’s commanding both fastballs with very good velocity on both sides of the plate. He’s throwing his curveball, slider and change with preety good location. Nardi was happy nopbody claimed him off waivers. His three bullpens so far have been very, very good.
Baseball Prospectus ranked Hughes as the best pitching prospect in baseball and #2 prospect overall (behind 3B Alex Gordon, Royals). I am beyond excited.
The rotation makes sense to me. Wang should consistently go deeper into games that Moose, which might be a determining factor why Torre would favor him at the top of the rotation going R-L-R.
Igawa to me is more of a guarantee to make the rotation, so he slots in at 4 because of that moreso than the next lefty in the rotation.
Pavano is the greatest unknown at this point, and would prob be the one Hughes/Sanchez/etc would take over for, whether because of injury or trade, so makes sense to keep him as the #5 guy.
Igawa will be the biggest bust this season.
And why get excited about Matt DeSalvo? Have the Yankees fallen on such hard times that a guy with a AAAA ceiling is talked about with such enthusiasm?
Considering Igawa is the projected 5 starter, I wasn’t holding high hopes for him in the first place … it’s not like I’m hoping he becomes the ace of the staff. If he can keep the team at least in games until the 7th (within a run or two up or down and he doesn’t pull a Jaret Wright and last 5 innings per game), I’m happy. So if he is a bust, it’s not like he had far to fall. It’s much like complaining our backup catcher can’t hit homers every time he plays.
DeSalvo becomes another bullpen option for Torre if/when Proctor’s or whoever else’s arm falls off. If he can prove himself, we have another option. Unlike the Sox’s situation where they don’t even have a first option, I’d rather have this problem than the Sawx’s.
1. The former ace of the Hanshin Tigers Kei Igawa was a strikeout machine in Japan, he is more like a #3 or #4. Why shouldn’t we expect more from him? It’s just a way to take pressure off him to say that he is a #5.
2. Matt DeSalvo is one of the toolest pitchers down in the farm. He could be moved to the bullpen and still be a very effective pitcher like Scott Proctor.
1. Hard for anybody to pass judgment on Igawa since nobody has seen him pitch yet. A tad premature to call him a “bust”, wouldn’t you say?
2. Regardless of what Nardi says about DeSalvo, the reality is, the Yankees released him last year, nobody in baseball wanted him, and he is now back with the Yankees. I can’t see him spending any time in the majors this year, unless 5 or 6 pitchers go down with injuries. Tall order to go from DFA to a spot on the Yankees roster in one off-season.
On a side note – DeSalvo’s best bet would be having an Aaron Small or Chacon type year.
Sanchez only pitched 123 innings last year, so he’s gonna have to be limited a bit this year, just like Hughes, who pitched 152. It will be interesting to see how they bring them along.
Two comments:
1. Pettitte over Mussina? Come on.
2. Torre SHOULD go with Moose on Opening Day (especially since Moose deserved the home opener last year and didn’t get it). However, he probably will go with Wang.
I think that the Yankees consider Wang the ace and are affording him such treatment. Didn’t Wang get the first start in the postseason? Moose knows he’s in his twilight and will be gracious in stepping aside. Moose knows his job. Pitch well enough to throw teammates under the bus and get away with it. Just kidding.
right from mikes mouth
wang
pettitte
mike
kei
pavano
mike knows he is third because of r,l,r…. he said himself that wang deserves to be #1 because of how he pitched last year.
DeSalvo had a nasty spring training last year. He just fell apart in the minors. I have seen video of DeSalvo. His breaking stuff and changeup are nasty. I think he might be another proctor.
Pettitte vs. Mussina is almost a toss-up at this point, don’t you think? Both very good pitchers but most likely neither are capable of a 20W season at this point, though Pettitte has 2, and Mussina has never come all that close. So yes, Pettitte over Mussina is more than justifiable.
Opening Day, I’d have no issue with it being Mussina out of respect.
but I’d also agree Wang deserves it also. If Mussina were to get opening day out of respect, would be more of a “pay your dues” kind of thing. But then again, 19W’s last year could be seen as just dues…
I like the order of Wang, Andy and Moose. You have Wang throwing 97 MPH sinkers, followed by Andy throwing cutters in on hitters hands, then followed by Moose’s variety of pitches. Three guys, three different styles of pitching. That makes it tough for teams to get consistent hacks from day to day.
Its also good to breakup the righties and lefties.
As far as Moose as a #3, he has always performed better in that slot rather than being a featured guy.
The key is Igawa, IMO. If he can be affective, and they can get Clemens signed by June, that’s a formidable rotation of not only quality pitchers, but different styles of pitchers. The right way to go.
Fernando, I see you corrected yourself on the Tampa comment. It was the team against which he had his greatest success. 3-0, 1.15 ERA in 4 starts, 31.0 innings
It was the estimable and always pleasant Randy Johnson who stunk up the place against Tampa with 3 starts, 16.0 innings, 9.00 ERA, 1-2
Johnson had an 11.45 ERA against the Mets, 14.04 against Toronto, 7.17 vs Boston over 4 games in 21.3 innings. So glad he is gone.
Also, the Yankees did not struggle against Tampa Bay. They were 13-5, which was their third highest winning percentage against all of baseball. (vs Texas 8-2, vs KC 7-2)
The Yanks struggled last year with the Mets, Minnesota, and Seattle all with a 3-3 record along with Washington 1-2, the Angels 4-6, and Oakland 3-6.
I think Moose is considerable better then Andy… unless he declines a bunch.
Mussina doesn’t seem like the sort to care about whether he’s the #1, #2, or #3. Look at his contract negotiation, he painlessly signed a reasonable deal when he could have held out for considerably more. He just wants to pitch for the Yankees.
Wang as opening day starter makes the most sense. He was the Cy Young runner-up last season and is becoming one of the faces of the franchise.
I predict good things from Igawa, like a sub-4.50 ERA. He was excellent in Japan, and it would take a big decline for him to be anything less than good here.
ChrisNY – how can you say Pettitte vs. Mussina is a toss-up? Compare their 2006 seasons… Moose was far better and he was pitching in a much more difficult league, and in the toughest division in baseball. Ignoring the R/L/R thing, Moose is the better pitcher.