It is a well-established maxim that
in baseball, pitching wins. We all saw it clearly last season, as our starters and our bullpen failed us at key moments. As the Yankees front office is
putting together the 2014 team, pitching has to be at the forefront of their
work. Here are some key people that we should be keeping an eye on.
It goes without saying that the Yankees
need to re-sign
Hiroki Kuroda. Every year at this time, we debate about which
players we should acquire, and whether or not they can handle the Bronx,
whether or not they can continue to perform based on their current record,
whether or not they can handle the AL East. Kuroda has done all of these, to
the point where our ace,
CC Sabathia, actually admitted that Kuroda was performing
at one point in the 2013 season as the ace of the staff. Kuroda’s ERA in
pinstripes over the last two seasons has been 3.32 and 3.31. With proper run
support, that is enough to get you 20 wins. He has given up less than one home
run per nine innings, and only two walks per nine innings during that time, which
speaks to his consistency. Speaking of Sabathia, after him, the only guaranteed
starter with more than one season of major league experience is Ivan Nova. That
is not what you want at the top of the rotation. Kuroda’s signing has to be a
top priority.
Even after signing Kuroda, the
rotation is not strong enough. Most of us seriously doubt that they can run with
the likes of the Red Sox, Tigers, and other American League juggernauts with that
top 3. We like the possibility of
Ervin Santana. In four of the last six
seasons, he has put up an ERA below four and thrown 200 or more innings. Over
the course of his career, he has 1.2 home runs, 2.8 walks, and 7.1 strikeouts
per 9 innings. Most intriguing, he pitches extremely well against the Red Sox
and Tigers, against whom we need big wins. Over the last 3 years, he is 2-0
with a 2.08 ERA and .175 BAA at Fenway Park and he is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA and
.237 BAA at Comerica Park. Big wins in those ballparks are worth gold. At age
30, he can round out the rotation very nicely for a long time.
The sad day arrived when we said
goodbye to
Mariano Rivera, but now it is time to find another closer. We all
love
David Robertson, but I agree with the sentiment that he may not be closer
material. The Yankees need to look at
Joe Nathan. After missing 2010 with Tommy
John surgery, and a dreadful 2011 season, he has recovered nicely with two
successful seasons for the Rangers. His statistics have improved over the last
two years, recording 37 and 43 saves respectively, and posting ERA’s of 2.80
and 1.39 respectively. Closers have to be clutch, and against the most competitive teams in 2013
(Boston, Tampa, Detroit, Cleveland, and Oakland), he gave up only four earned
runs over 16 innings (2.25 ERA) and converted eight saves in nine
opportunities. Even at age 39, he will be in a position to hold down the big
competitors while perhaps mentoring some rising talent like
Mark Montgomery.
If you ask anyone paying attention to
the Yankees’ situation, they will all tell you that there are many holes to
fill in many positions and roles. Nevertheless, pitching is critical to winning
on any ball club, and these are the guys that the Yankees need to chase.
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