Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
The Yankees have a new pitching coach, and he'll probably get as much attention -- and have as much on his plate -- as any Yankee pitching coach in recent memory. After the jump, Ben Shpigel on Larry Rothschild ...
Since taking the Yankees’ job in November, Rothschild has spoken regularly with his staff, even traveling to Maryland for a two-day tutorial with A. J. Burnett. But the next phase of his job begins Tuesday, when he oversees his first workout, and it is a daunting one.
He will be entrusted with re-establishing Joba Chamberlain as a bullpen force, developing the rookie Ivan Nova, helping Manager Joe Girardi identify the two best options for a weakened rotation and, most notably, rebuilding Burnett, whose performance in 2011 could be the fulcrum of their season.
From videotape that he analyzed during his interview process, Rothschild said, he thought Burnett last season often "looked confused on the mound" and was concentrating too much on his mechanics.
That's it, right? The Yankees' season in a nutshell?
Well, maybe not. That's four players -- I'm counting Nova as one of those "two best options" for the rotation -- and the Yankees will use more than 25 players this season in important roles. But if you knew today that Burnett and Nova were going to pitch well, wouldn't you assume the Yankees are making the playoffs?
But what if Burnett doesn't pitch well, Nova struggles as so many rookies do, and the No. 4 and 5 slots in the rotation look like a pair of big-city revolving doors? The Yankees won 95 games last season, and all their old players are another year older. Is it really that hard to imagine them winning 88 games and missing the dance?
I don't really think that's going to happen. Not yet, anyway. I think Burnett's going to bounce back some, and I'm fairly bullish on Nova. It's far from a sure thing, though. And if the Yankees do win, we're probably going to look back and give Rothschild a sliver of the credit.
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Yankees Rotation
The Yankees go to the playoffs every year regardless of how bad their pitching is. Look at 04, 05, 06, 07, 2010. The one year they didn’t make the playoffs was because their offense only scored 760 runs. They won last year even though nearly 50% of their innings were pitched by guys putting up a 5 ERA.
And last years team didn’t have the 2011 Bullpen. Everyone is a year older? yea so are the Red Sox. Kevin Youkilis, Big Papi, and JD Drew aren’t 27. They are over 30.
The Yankees have enough of a young core (Tex, Granderson, Swish, Cano, Gardner, Martin/Montero) are all in their prime. Their DH, 3B, and SS are ‘old’, and one of them is a hall of famer who still hit 30 HRs last year, Posada would have been the third best DH in the league had he played the position last year.
The Yankees making the playoffs or not rides on their offense, and I think like every year, barring massive injury to everyone, it is going to put up 850+ runs as usual. And no one will care about the 4 and 5 starters.
by ThatJerk on Feb 12, 2011 6:54 PM EST reply actions
I agree that the 4 and 5 will not be a factor
The problem is that they don’t really look great at 2 or 3, Phil waned at the end of last season and after a big spike in innings might struggle in 2011. A.J. Burnett got worse as the season progressed last year. He might completely implode. And CC Sabathia did have minor knee surgery this offseason. Now the good news is that everyone but CC is replacable, the Yankees have a plethora of minor league pitchers on their way up and plenty of money to take on contracts as teams fall by the wayside.
by Pflood83 on Feb 12, 2011 9:14 PM EST reply actions
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