Monday, October 17, 2011
NBC NY: Previewing the Yankee Offseason: The Young Arms
This isn’t a plea to just plug the two kids into the rotation and let them pitch until their arms fall off. It is merely a suggestion that the Yankees not talk about giving them a chance to compete while simultaneously rigging things so that they have no chance to actually contribute.
And don’t just stop with the two Killer B’s. Let Adam Warren, Hector Noesi and David Phelps get a real shot at the rotation as well.
Between those five pitchers, the Yankees should be able to fill the fifth spot in their rotation while finding out which of these pitchers have the stuff to be longtime members of the rotation.
I don’t know that any of the pitchers on the farm are ready, but I do think the Yankee should be willing to take the risk that some of them are. That probably means not filling the rotation via signings or trades and starting the season with some uncertainty.
If you start to think about the amount of money the Yankees have committed to players that are not worth their salaries, it’s kind of scary. Add that to the fact that they’ll probably need to consider contract extensions for Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, and about what to do in 2013 for RF and beyond. It’d be nice if they were getting value from somewhere without ridiculously overpaying for it, and the pitching staff seems like the best bet for that.
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