Offseason pitching needs
Figuring out the Yankees pitching problems I think will be a lot tougher this offseason than the bats/position issues.
Wang and Johnson are set in the rotation.
Myers, Villone, Rivera, Farnsworth and Proctor are set in the pen.
In my previous posting I sad they should bring back Moose for a couple years.
That leave 2 starting spots and 1 relief spot open. Bruney looked good but that may have been lightening in a bottle and I will not bet too much on him in 2007. Dotel is a free agent and it will remain to be seen if he resigns. I think he can be good but will need to work on his command. Remember, he was only a 1 year removed from TJ surgey and it usually takes 18 months to fully recover. I think between Bruney/Dotel and others the pen should be pretty solid. Joe still needs to learn how to not overuse guys but that is a whole other story.
I think they should bring back Wright for 7 million a year unless they can unload him for prospects. He did win 11 games last year and had a better ERA than the big unit. I think he is worth 7 million as a #5.
Now should the Yankees sign Zito, Schmidt, Matzuaka (sp?) or give the #4/#5 spot to a youngster (Kartsens, Rasner, Hughes)? I think all the free agents depend on money. If we can get Schmidt for 2 years and a low price than good. If Zito is willing to take less, good. I am worried Matzuaka could be the next fat toad, I mean Irabu. They all have the question marks, there is not a sure #1 starter on the market this year which means a #2-#4 will get paid like a #1. This is why I advocate going with youth to fill out the back end of the rotation. The Yanks need to start developing arms ala Pettite/Rivera, etc. Let the other teams overpay for pitchers this year. The Yanks can save money and then go after better guys in the 08 market. I know it is risky but the Cards won the series with a rookie in their rotation (Reyes) and a rookie closer (Wainwright).
Stevereno
