2011 YANKEES ROTATION: THE WOMEN FACTOR

When you were in school, didn’t you just hate it when you were the last one standing when the teacher made the class pick teams? I did. I wonder if Freddy Garcia feels that way, too.
Probably the most controversial issue that affects us this week, men and women alike, is the 5-man rotation the Yanks have for 2011. A lot of us are just shaking our heads, especially at the assignment of Freddy Garcia to the #5 spot. But I am going to say this: In the end, the main reason why our options fell apart was because of a... woman (gasp!)

Let’s face it. Freddy Garcia is anything BUT consistent in his pitching. He won 5 games between 2007-2009, and last year, went 12-6 in 28 starts with a whopping ERA of 4.64. That’s putting lot of pressure on the bullpen, especially when you’re relying on them to “clean up the kitchen” after Garcia burns dinner. This won’t be pretty when we face hitting offense like evil Boston has.
Now, remember when Garcia gave up 1 home run and four hits in six innings last week in that Triple-A game. Not exactly ace stuff, but apparently, it was enough to anoint him as #5 over Bartolo Colon.

I know many people are saying that you have to work with what you have. A brief poll of my fellow “Yankee Ladies” has brought to life some concerns that go way beyond this year’s Spring Training.

• Issue #1- Brian Cashman vs. Kristen Lee: Remember I said the Yankee rotation problems are because of a woman? Remember Mrs. Lee? While Brian Cashman was busy putting all his eggs in the Cliff Lee basket, ace after ace slipped through our hands and went to other teams. It also seems that he was a little more concerned with making Lee’s wife happiness after the “spitting incident” that may or may not have happened. Look, if it happened, shame on the fans that did it. Boston fans do that, not Yankee fans. We all tend to forget that baseball karma is a powerful bitch, and not one to be reckoned with. And think about this, If Phillies fans did that "alleged" incident to Laura Posada…wouldn’t WE all be upset? Kristen Lee is their queen, Laura is ours. And did you know this? Cliff and Kristen were dealing with their child, Jaxon and his leukemia. Read about it HERE. They were consumed with fighting that fatal disease. So again, if you fans really did that...Bad. Think before you spit. As for Cashman, after Lee bolted, he was forced to go to the bargain basement for pitching. Hey Brian, give me a call. I’m the queen of bargain shopping, and you’re doing it wrong.

• Issue #2- Joe Girardi: I love our skipper, but his timing is all wrong. It’s no secret that he’s a little slow with the hook when pitchers are out there struggling. That leaves it up to our hitters to go out and hit amazing for the rest of the game. When he’s NOT too slow with the hook, he’ll pull a pitcher out too soon, making the bullpen a “second starting rotation”. When you have guys like Joba that haven’t pitched multiple innings that never ends well. Look, we don’t have Andy Pettite anymore. He can’t fill in for another starter off the bench when things get rough. Plus, watching Swisher pitch is entertaining, but I don't think it helps us.

• Issue #3- the Farm System: There are a lot of hot arms out there, as we’ve seen this Spring. The Yanks don’t pitch these new young studs that much. So if we need to call someone up, I say, let them pitch. Practice makes perfect. I know we’re all afraid of injuries but these guys are young, ready, and willing. I’d rather the #5 spot go to a kid with great stuff and work out the little kinks as they go. Hey, Whitey Ford did it…then he went and waited tables after the game.
  

These are only some of the issues raised by the women in Yankees Universe. I think they have valid points. When it comes to shopping, we know best. I think us girls just enforced some new “Cashman Rules”, or perhaps at least get him some training on “What Not to Buy”. The rules are simple... Look at all the options, don’t rule anything out, and look in the whole store before you focus on one item. Try things on, and give it a good look. If you don’t like it when you get it home, you’re for sure not going to like the way it looks on you.


--Christy Lee, BYB Staff Writer

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