Starting Rotation
I remember reading/hearing somewhere that the average MLB team has two starting pitchers go on the DL during some point during the season. It was inevitable that someone in the rotation was going to get hurt, and I accepted that. But having four starters land on the DL is a bit ridiculous. All these injuries means guys like Phil Hughes (remember, he got bombed early in the season, the injuries have been a blessing in disguise for him), David Phelps, Freddy Garcia, and even Adam Warren have gotten starts.
Even if one of Pineda or Pettitte were able to stay off the DL this year, the rotation would be pretty stabilized. Of course CC is back, but he has missed about four or five starts this year, and that has hurt. Pineda has been out for the season and it wouldn’t surprise me if Nova was in the same boat. We pretty much have to hope that Pettitte can rebound from his fibula injury he suffered in June and that certainly isn’t a guarantee.
Offense
There have been other injuries on the offense, but these are the main ones. Brett Gardner has been out since the ninth game of the season because of his inflamed tissue and bone spur in his elbow. Gardy’s injury might hurt the most because that means Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez have gotten more playing time than they should in the outfield. Also, if Gardner were healthy, the Yankees wouldn’t have had to make the trade for Ichiro, and if they didn’t need to make the trade for Ichiro they would have been able to keep DJ Mitchell who could be useful to the injury-riddled bullpen (more on that later.)
Teixeira’s injury happened rather recently, but it has affected the lineup. Since Tex suffered his lower leg strain, guys like Steve Pearce and Russell Martin have hit cleanup and fifth, respectively. Even though Teixeira has shown signs of declining for the past few years, we need him in the lineup and on defense. Get well soon, Tex.
Bullpen
The injury to Mo really hurts, and yes, I know Rafael Soriano has done a great job. But Mo’s injury means that everyone gets moved up a spot in the bullpen pecking order. The same goes with Robertson when he suffered his abdomen injury in mid-May. Guys like Cory Wade (who probably ran out of gas due to pitching in higher leveraged roles), Boone Logan, Cody Eppley, Clay Rapada, and David Phelps (when he was in bullpen) have had to step up. Now, it seems that those middle three, more so Logan and Eppley, are starting to run out of gas too. Even Joba is hitting a rough patch, as he has really struggled since returning from his Tommy John surgery and trampoline fiasco. Maybe the possible, and I emphasize the word “possible” here, returns of Aardsma and Feliciano will help. Fingers crossed.
Look, I know injuries happen to every team, but this year they’ve been out of hand. They need to get healthy if they want to win the World Series this year, most specifically the returns of ARod and Tex to strengthen the middle of the order and the return of Pettitte to bolster the rotation. The good thing is, these three guys , to some degree each, are close to returning. If the Yankees can just fight off the O’s and Rays for a week or two more, the Yankees might be in business. Hang in there, everyone.
--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse
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