Yankee Pitching Staff 2006

[bobbymagee]

First the Facts:

Yankee Starters:

Randy Johnson
Mike Mussina
Shawn Chacon
Chien-Ming Wang*
Jaret Wright*
Carl Pavano

Yankee Bullpen:
Ron Villone
Tanyon Sturtze
Mariano Rivera
Mike Myers
Kyle Farnsworth
Octavio Dotel *
Aaron Small
Al Leiter

Yankee Prospects (potential to contribute in 06)
Matt Smith
Matt DeSalvo
J Brent Cox
Steven White

*= injured in 05 and with potential to fail to reach potential.

Question for all :
Does this have the potential looks of a future championship pitching staff?

[KevinBaseball]

I don't get it, do you think the only people with the "potential to fail to reach their potential" are the pitchers that spent time on the DL last year?

Can you have more of a defeatist attitude than classifying someone as having potential, but also having the potential to not live up to that potential?
Isn't that the case for everyone baseball player / human being.

[Tifoso]

Absolutely, IMHO...

Middle relief-Solid
Late relief-Solid
Closer-Solid
Starters
Great RJ, CW
Near Great SC, MM
Who knows: Wright and Pavano

Now, either one of those two step it up, or we trade (or whatever) and get Rocket

SP, as is, might be nearly as good as, say, 1998....and the line-up is light years better (when they're on.....slump as a bunch a little too often for my liking)

[bobbymagee]

Point taken, I agree with you, but are you going to answer the primary question?

[YankClipper5]

Biggest question is how bad the injury bug gets us. I think pitching is deep enough to absorb maybe 1 long term injury and perhaps a couple minor ones here and there, however if they stay healthy and pitch well, this staff could be as good as any in baseball IMO.

[justinvarnes]

Yes. Look at the Pitching staffs of BOS in 2004, ANA in 2002, etc. and you'll find a solid pitching staff with a few guys who can dominate, and the others who can keep you in the game.

Potential to Dominate:
RJ
Moose

Can Keep You in the Game:
Chacon
Wang
Pavano

The bullpen is looking very good.

Closer - A+

Set up (Dotel, Farns) - B+

Middle Relief (Small, Sturtze, Villone) - B-

LOOGY - A

Just a basic prediction, those "grades" are a general feeling of confidence.

[Maynerd]

Does this have the potential looks of a future championship pitching staff?

Sure. Pitching is thin. Nobody out there has a monster pitching staff. Who's looks any better? The Yankees have the luxury of having too many arms right now. More than one team is going to wish they had extra starters once the injuries kick in.

Plus, the Yankees staff has the ability to still win a lot of games even if the average ERA is up around 5.00.

I think we're OK.

[ericns1]

Should be be worried about RJ given his poor outing today?

[Tifoso]

Should be be worried about RJ given his poor outing today?

Nope. See GT....he always has "bad" springs....he's not pitching to win, really--he's working on his mechanics.

[Tifoso]

Point taken, I agree with you, but are you going to answer the primary question?

Sure. 27 in 2006.

We probably add Clemens for a 1 year rental.

Can you imagine facing Randy, Roger, Moose (if healthy), and the best of Wang, Chacon, Pavano in the playoffs? WOW.

[27IsNext]

Randy: I think he performs like an ace, barring injuries.
Mussina: Fifth starter as far as performence--we'll get great showings on some days, and bad showings on other days. Biggest disappointment of '06.
Wang: I think his K/9 will improve, and his ERA will be in the mid to low threes.
Chacon: I also think he'll strike out more, due to my predicting he gets his velocity back to the low ninties from the ankle injury, and will perform to number three or four starter ability. ERA in the mid to high threes.
Pavano: Won't stay healthy long enough to consistantly be good. ERA just over four, with plenty of DL trips.

Wright: I think he'll do okay as a reliever, but bad as a starter if/when one of the others go down. I expect him not to be on the DL as much if he appears in relief more than as a starter.
Meyers: Will do great as a LOOGY. Torre will sadly forget to take him out once or twice, and Mike will get burned for it.
Sturtze: Should revert to career numbers thanks to overuse last year. Not expecting much, but wouldn't be totally suprised if I'm wrong.
Small: Will come back down to earth this season. First to be traded/cut when Dotel returns.
Villone: Should be a decent mop-up reliever and occasional sixth or seventh inning guy, and MAYBE a spot start or two if we're really desperate. Wouldn't be too suprised if I'm totally wrong and he bombs.
Farnsworth: Solid, with lots of Ks and some high and inside heat on the Sox batters next time Jeter gets pegged.
Rivera: Should be similar to last year's performance.

Dotel: If he comes back, I expect a strong showing, especially since he wants to be a closer after this season.

[Tifoso]

Good analysis. I think Wright and Moose will be better than you say, though (Sturze somewhere between what you expect and last year)

Dotel signs with the Red Sox as a closer after a great year with the Yanks and a WS ring.

[ericns1]

Thanks Tifoso

[Bub]

A few spring training pitching notes. I went to all the practices this week and 3 games. Most interesting was RJ who did less than half the exercises that everybody else was doing in the circle...he looked bored and disinterested. He and Aaron Small did a lot of talking during these sessions. Both Small and Chacon looked in mid-season form in the games. I watched Tanyon Sturtz throw a long session of perhaps 60 pitches to live batters and his arm looked very good. He had a huge audience, with Guidry behind him and Reggie, Yogi and a couple of others watching from behind the backstop. Wright was not impressive; neither was Pavano during his throwing session. Wang gave up some hard hit balls, but looks like he was experimenting with something out there....which is fine. Farnsworth's arm is amazing. Erickson is a 100-1 shot....he can throw hard when he wants to but can't maintain the speed beyond a dozen pitches.

[justinvarnes]

Bub, it's been my experience down there that alot of the veterans take the stretching and exercises easy. I watched Jeter and A-Rod have an entire conversation while never doing anything close to the workout stuff the rest of the team was doing. and it wasn't an intense conversation, they were just joking arond.

Next day, they did most the workouts. Also, Giambi doesn't do much stretching and running either. That seems prety obvious by his demeanor that it's due to his physique and injuries. He works hard, but when they do certain things, he just doesn't do them or does them half-assed.

I would bet that with his age, and his tendancy to take ST very slowly, RJ probably was just taking it easy, not that he wasn't trying or not interested in getting in shape. Could be wrong, though.

[Bub]

I would bet that with his age, and his tendancy to take ST very slowly, RJ probably was just taking it easy, not that he wasn't trying or not interested in getting in shape. Could be wrong, though.

Well that's possible, but Moose and everyone else was putting some effort into it. It wasn't hard stuff at all, just normal stretching. Maybe his size has something to do with it. He also gets a zero on the friendly scale. Frank Howard gets most friendly award.

[YankClipper5]

Good analysis. I think Wright and Moose will be better than you say, though (Sturze somewhere between what you expect and last year)

Dotel signs with the Red Sox as a closer after a great year with the Yanks and a WS ring.

I agree with you here, and as for your previous comment with adding Roger. If it happens and Wang is healthy, I think he would be awesome out of the pen in the playoffs. It would be interesting to see who is the 4th starter between him or Chacon. I think Wang's ground ball tendencies would look great out of the pen however. This deep staff will be very daunting to face if they are healthy come playoff time, purely out of the the number of adequate and better pitchers.

[flymick24]

if everyone remains healthy and pitches to expectation, we have the best overall pitching staff in baseball

[27IsNext]

Dotel signs with the Red Sox as a closer after a great year with the Yanks and a WS ring.

Boston won't be signig a closer since they have Craig Hansen. Dotel will sign elsewhere.

[Paul Hunter23]

I don't like our pitching. Starters are just ok. Middle relief is crap. Closer is the best. Don't expect Small and Chacon to repeat what they did last year. We better score a heck of a lot of runs or it's gonna be a long year.

[Dog Named Fred]

I don't like our pitching. Starters are just ok. Middle relief is crap. Closer is the best. Don't expect Small and Chacon to repeat what they did last year. We better score a heck of a lot of runs or it's gonna be a long year.

Fortunately, scoring runs will not be a problem this year. More fortunately, the Sox don't have the arms either, and the Jays don't have the bats. The A's have everything though.

[gdn]

I don't like our pitching. Starters are just ok. Middle relief is crap. Closer is the best. Don't expect Small and Chacon to repeat what they did last year. We better score a heck of a lot of runs or it's gonna be a long year.

That's right. Keep that chin up.

[YankClipper5]

I don't like our pitching. Starters are just ok. Middle relief is crap. Closer is the best. Don't expect Small and Chacon to repeat what they did last year. We better score a heck of a lot of runs or it's gonna be a long year.

I disagree with you. The starters if healthy can be on the higher end or starting rotations, I understand how questionable that is but I think we can absorb an injury too. When Dotel arrives he will likely relegate Farnsworth to middle relief and with a quality LOOGY for the first time in a couple of seasons that looks reasonably strong. Beyond Farns we will probably have Wright and Villone and Sturtze, among the 3 of them I think we make up in depth for what lacks. I think when Dotel is back, depending on how he performs, a case could be made that we will have one of the stronger pens in the game.

[RhodyYanksFan]

if everyone remains healthy and pitches to expectation, we have the best overall pitching staff in baseball

I don't see that "if" remaining an "if". I have no faith in Pavano and Wright staying healthy. Also, I am almost certain both Randy and Mussina will miss at least 3 starts over the course of the year.

[bobbymagee]

I believe that there is an obvious pattern of injuries with pavano, wright, and maybe wang. Brian Cashmen has gone a good job putting together this staff. I think that the injuries will/could facilitate a trading of prospects. What do others feel?