Another area of need the Yankees addressed during the offseason was starting pitching depth. Last season, Chien-Ming Wang went down with a serious injury early. Phil Hughes performed beautifully in the bullpen, but struggled in some spot starts. Joba Chamberlain faded down the stretch and posted some concerning numbers overall - 4.75 ERA, 167 hits + 76 walks in only 157 innings pitched (1.54 WHIP), 21 HR allowed. Many were expecting much more from Joba, including myself, and now one is left wondering if he will start spring training competing for a rotation spot or in the bullpen, but let's leave that for another post.
Those circumstances forced the team to rely on Sergio Mitre (nine starts), Phil Hughes (seven starts), Chad Gaudin (six starts) and Alfredo Aceves (one start, excellent long relief work). While those players performed admirably it was clear that a durable starter who could eat innings was a necessity. On to the next replacement, you may remember this one, he's worn the pinstripes before.
Javier Vazquez - To say Vazquez was a disappointment when last with the Yankees would be an understatement, posting some of the worst numbers in his career (14-10, 4.91 ERA, 150 K's in 198 innings). You also may remember, painfully, game seven of the 2004 ALCS. Coming in for an ineffective Kevin Brown in the second inning Vazquez promptly served up a grand slam to Johnny Damon. Afterwards he was shipped out of a town for Randy Johnson and earned a reputation for not being able to get it done in the big game. While it's possible that Vazquez's struggles in the big city linger, there is reason for optimism. The Yankees needed an innings eater and they certainly got one - he has averaged 215 innings per season since 2000, his durability is his main asset. In 2004 he was brought in to be the ace of the staff, he will no longer have that type of pressure with a guy like C.C. Sabathia in the clubhouse. I'm assuming he'll slot behind Andy Pettitte into the number four spot of the rotation, in order to keep a lefty, righty system going, but that remains to be seen. Nobody would question his talent and arsenal - he has the tools to be an ace, as he showed last season when he went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and struck out 238 batters in 219 innings for the Atlanta Braves. He has a dominant fastball, solid curve and above average change-up. He does tend to struggle when men are on base and has some trouble giving up the long ball, but he always keeps his walks down and therefore is able to minimize the damage. It's going to be interesting to see how he fares this season, but I believe he'll do well. I think he'll fall somewhere in between what he did last year and what he did in 2008 while pitching for the White Sox in another homer-friendly ballpark. My prediction: 16-8, 3.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .250 BAA and 200 K's in 210 innings. Not too shabby for a third or fourth starter.
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