DON'T PANIC YANKEELAND, HELP IS ON THE WAY

As Yankees fans have watched our lead in the AL East dwindle from 10 games down to 2, the sense of worry in the social media world has increased. Fear not fellow lovers of the men in pinstripes, help is on the way.  I've noticed way too much worry...this is my take.

Like many other MLB teams, our boys in the Bronx have been besieged with injuries.  We should have seen the loss of Michael Pineda before the season even began as a sign, shouldn’t we?  But, we handled that injury as GM Brian Cashman loaded our roster with a plethora of starters, and we flew to the top of the division, and the American League, with a 52 – 33 record by the All-Star break.

We have also lost our left fielder (Brett Gardner), third baseman (ARod),  first baseman (Mark Teixeira), right fielder (Nick Swisher), Hall of Fame closer (Mariano Rivera), eighth inning specialist (David Robertson), and multiple other starters (Andy Pettitte, Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia) for significant periods of time.   Gardner and Rivera have basically been lost for the entire season, but have adequately been replaced with Andruw Jones, Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki (in Gardner’s case), and Rafael Soriano (for Rivera) who has put together a 35-save, 1.98 ERA season to this point.

Swisher, Sabathia and Robertson have all returned to become their usual stellar selves, and the others are just around the corner from putting our team back to full-strength for a final run to the division crown.

Perhaps the most significant return will be that of Andy Pettitte.  When the big left-hander went on the disabled list with a broken ankle, the Yankees stood at 46 – 28.  At the time, our beloved southpaw was
3 – 3 with a 3.22 ERA and a team leading 1.09 WHIP.  Since then, the team has spun its wheels, going
30 – 28 while using Freddy Garcia, David Phelps and Adam Warren among the starting five in an effort to fill that empty spot.

Given the mediocre performance of those filling in for him – opponents have hit a combined .356 against Garcia, Phelps and Warren as starters – and the inconsistent starts of Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova, Pettitte’s appearance in the rotation will give the team three solid front-line starters as it heads into the postseason. 

More importantly, it gives the team valuable veteran leadership.  No one has won more games in October than Andy, and his ability to rise to the occasion is unequaled.

What will the rotation look like when Pettitte returns?

Currently the front three are Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda (who has been the team’s most dependable starter in 2012), and Phil Hughes.  Garcia and Phelps have followed, and once Nova – who hopes to begin throwing on Tuesday – and the Big Texan return, it stands to reason that both will be relegated back to long relief roles out of the bullpen.

Phil Hughes is of course the starter fans love to hate.  Often his brilliant performances are tempered with follow-up starts that leave us all wondering if he’ll ever fulfill the expectations we all hold him to. Yet, looking more closely at his numbers provides us with a objective view of what he has accomplished in 2012.  He currently sits at 13 – 12 with a 4.18 ERA.  Those are pretty average stats for a number three starter on a contender.  However, since the All-Star break, Hughes has a 3.47 ERA and has held opponents to a .237 batting average.  Should he remain the third man the Bombers trot out to the mound in a playoff series? 

Much will depend on how quickly Pettitte can get back up to speed in his rehab.  Despite the solid second-half that Hughes has put together, he still has a propensity to allow the long ball.  He surrendered 19 home runs in the first half of this season and is on pace to allow that many in the second half as well.

As  New York Yankees fans, we all know how a series can be decided with one swing of the bat.

Because of that, Andy Pettitte will certainly be included as part of the first three starters the team will use in October with Hughes more than likely holding down the fourth spot should it be needed.

In any case, the Bombers are in a position to only get stronger during this final month of the regular season.  Where other teams will be desperately seeking ways to catch our team, we only need to be patient because our foundation is solid and Andy is on his way.

--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.