WHY THERE NEEDS TO BE SUPPORT FOR CC MONSTER

(Courtesy: @NataliaYank25)
CC Sabathia is thankfully coming back to the New York Yankees. Nothing, and I mean nothing makes me happier. The Monster is the centerpiece to the Yankee rotation and without supporting players, I don't care how good you are, you can't win it all alone. CC could come close, because he's that good, but even he will tell you that a solid rotation behind him will make life so much easier when we clinch our 28th championship.

CC is called CC Monster because Sesame Street is a staple in my house. Somehow between watching Cookie Monster and baseball games, CC Sabathia became CC Monster and well, now we apparently have a print made (above) with many thanks to a BYB fan...thank you very much!

So who will be CC's support? Ivan Nova is coming off a wonderful season where after alittle tweaking in the minors, he came back a new man, and more dominant than anyone could have expected. To me, Ivan Nova could go into the season as our number 2, unless of course the Verducci Effect comes into play like it did for Phil Hughes. If you don't understand what the Verducci effect is, read about it HERE.AJ Burnett is in our rotation Ladies and Gentlemen and unless the Yankees find someone to take a bulk of AJ's salary and him for something decent in return, he's ours. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but something needs to be done with AJ mechanically. Larry Rothschild is a guru, read HERE, but AJ ultimately needs to do this on his own. There is no way to know just how long the New York Yankees will be patient with AJ...I suspect their patience is running thin, despite Cashman's call for patience.

Phil Hughes is on his way back and I suspect, with alittle rest and alittle work, Phil will be the Phil we saw in 2010. I don't expect him to be an 18 game winner, but I do expect him to win and have a good season. This is the guy the Yankees have been holding onto for years, calling him the next Roger Clemens (Read HERE.)Meanwhile, the one we gave away, Ian Kennedy had a terrific season last year for the Diamondbacks. Baseball is a funny game sometimes.Freddy Garcia is back after signing a 1 year contract with the Yanks and I am happy about that. But like I have said so many times, Freddy is our anchor, our 4th ot 5th guy who will do his veteran dance to scratch us a win any way he can. Yes, he still has it and has reinvented himself, but how much longer can it last? I am thankful he is there, but he isn't the answer.

This rotation will not win us a championship Ladies and Gentleman, it just won't. Sure our bats and defense can guide us along but pitching ultimately wins it all. So, what do we do?CJ Wilson appears the be the guy that will go to the Yankees at the end of the day, especially if you read the Internet, but let's face it, there are plenty of teams, including the Rangers who will pounce when the moment is right. You can't put all your eggs in that basket, but clearly Wilson's agent wants to try and get a deal on the table with Cashman.

Mark Buehrle is my choice just because I like his character, his durability and experience... plus, he's also a lefty and we could get him for less years and less money than Wilson.

Edwin Jackson is out there but I don't consider him much better than what we already have in the Yankees rotation. Sure, he's been on some winning teams but the guy moves around quite a bit and that concerns me. Hell, maybe that's a good thing, because he can handle any environment. Who knows, I'm not high on him though.There are trade possibilities like Gio Gonzalez who, it seems, could be leaning the Miami Marlins way. Plus, the Boston Red Sox are hot and heavy for him. It's moments like this, I really want to get inside Cashman's head and figure out what he's thinking. Tim Lincecum is clearly a long shot, but the BYB readers like to read about him. I seriously don't think Tim Lincecum would ever come to the New York Yankees, but I also didn't think the Yankees ever had a shot at Mark Teixeira and Johnny Damon. Anything can happen...anything.

Bottom line, the Yankees need a strong number 2 or number 3 to follow the Monster. If they do, it will prove stability and no doubt a Yankee championship in 2012. I really believe that, what do you think?

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