Fastball, Knuckleball, Curveball...Time for the Pitchers to Step it Up!

 

We all know the Yankees pitching last season was nothing to get excited about.  The injuries were adding up, Pineda turned out to be a huge disappointment, and we were without one of, if not the best closers in the game—Mariano Rivera—to depend on for most of the season because of a torn ACL.  It seemed that the Yankees could not catch a break. Hiroki Kuroda led the Yankees with a 16-11 record.  The 6'1 native of Osaka, Japan pitched just over 219 innings with an ERA of 3.32.  (ERA for the non-sports fans here means earned run average.)  The #1 starter C.C. Sabathia battled through, ending his season with a record of 15 wins and 6 losses. 
 
I could honestly go through the entire roster of pitchers on the NY Yankees, but I will spare everyone of the long, boring blog post! Instead, I'll review the expected rotation for the team thus far. I know it is only the first week into spring training, but there is already a lot of talk about who will make the cut.

The three probable starters are C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Huroda, and Andy Pettitte.  The fourth starter is yet to be determined, though Ivan Nova's name has been tossed around. Nova, who hails from the Dominican Republic, finished last season with 12 wins and 5 losses.  He had an up and down season, but has shown some promising signs as the Yankees fourth starter.  He has bounced back and forth from the bullpen to a starter.  Nova needs to get his ERA down from a mere 5.02.  Let's hope Nova, being one of the younger Yankees can step up his game and take guidance from the core four.
 
Although the start of the regular season is still some time away, the Yankees need to make sure they can get Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte, and Sabathia healthy and ready to go come game time.  Rivera, Pettitte, Sabathia are you ready to step up to the mound?