If Andy Pettite's going to take his ball and go home, the Yankee rotation begins the year in shambles. They can't count on successfully ping-ponging Joba Chamberlain back to a starting role or putting all their fifth-starter eggs in Ivan Nova's basket. And relying on AJ Burnett is like trying to drink a glass of juice on a roller coaster.
But if they Bombers struggle to get through the early innings, maybe they've developed a novel approach to pitching that will push their excellence in the waning frames forward. If they can't be great in innings 1-6, isn't it just as effective to be great in innings 4-9?
Which brings us to the signing yesterday of Rafael Soriano, the best reliever on the market. This decision, after striking out on the free agent market earlier this year, indicates one of two things:
1) Brian Cashman doesn't trust Mariano Rivera to remain spectacular in his 40s.
2) Brian Cashman has decided he can win with that lineup if he assembles a bullpen that can shut down teams from the end of the game to the beginning, the reverse of he usual baseball modus operandi.
Option 1 is unthinkable and Option 2 is intriguing, so I'm choosing that as my truth. Add in Joba and former Met Pedro Feliciano and you have a four man -- rotation doesn't suit a bullpen -- relief pitching corps that can rescue the placeholders that follow Sabathia and Hughes in the rotation. Manager Joe Girardi had better exercise his hook muscles during the winter break, because he's going to be flexing them excessively during the season.
The Yankees still have the cash to execute a mid-season deal for a starter if need be, and if they're still hanging around the Boston juggernaut. It's this kind of innovative management that could make them a team worth rescuing.
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