2012 AB4AR Season Review: The Rotation

(Don't get it twisted. This guy is still the man.  Courtesy of the AP)

Nobody could say that the Yankees didn't do everything possible to fortify and overstock their rotation for the 2012 season.  Signings, trades, promotions, they covered it from every conceivable angle short of investing money into cloning CC.  With their offense consistently taking a dump in the postseason, and the rotation usually not being good enough in the postseason to carry the load, Cash made damn sure that lack of starting pitching was not going to be a reason why the Yanks didn't take the title home in 2012.  He started with a pre-emptive re-negotiation of CC's deal and didn't stop until Andy Pettitte came out of left field to sign his name on the dotted line as extra insurance.

The variety of moves to build the 2012 rotation was reflected in the diversity the Yankees built in their depth.  They had CC, Hughes, and Nova left over from 2011, they traded for Michael Pineda, signed Hiroki Kuroda, and locked up Freddy Garcia and Pettitte as that previously-mentioned veteran insurance.  As we all found out with every disappointing DL stint, it was insurance and veteran experience that was much needed for this group, and despite all the setbacks and unfortunate circumstances, the Yankee rotation collectively remained one of the best in baseball and a source of strength for the 2012 club.

2012 AB4AR Season Review: What We Thought We Knew & What We Learned (The Rotation)

("Whaddaya mean I'm the 7th starter?  Don't you know who I am?" Courtesy of the AP)

Starting pitching has been a tricky thing for the New York Yankees over the last 5-10 years.  Despite their best efforts, they haven't built rotations good enough to truly compete for World Series championships.  In 2009 they had just enough to get by, but for the most part the constant theme has been that when push comes to shove, the quality of the Yankee starting pitching wasn't on the same level as the quality of their offense.  Improving the rotation was right at the top of the priority list heading into this season, and great steps were taken to try to build up a better staff capable of being good over the long haul of a regular season and postseason.

In previewing what was known and unknown about this group, there was cause for optimism as it appeared the Yankees' plans to build depth and depth of talent were carried out successfully.  But as we've all learned at various times in our own lives, sometimes even the best-laid plans don't work out.

Good Starting Pitching Is Good. Great Starting Pitching Is Better

Do you see that?  Do you?  That's straight up DOMINANCE with a capital "dominance."  In the month of June, the Yankee rotation has posted the following line:

7-1 Record, 1.77 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 2.02 BB/9, 8.96 K/9

And that's with the ace of the staff not pitching his best.  If you're looking for the number 1 reason why the Yankees risen back to the top of the AL East, look no further than that spreadsheet.  They had their ups and downs early, but this crew looks like they're starting to settle in.  They aren't going to be this good for the rest of the season, but if they can pitch consistently well enough, that should be more than enough to win this division.  And if the offense ever catches up, watch out.

Bunch of stone cold killers right here.

(See no evil, smell no evil, speak no evil?  Courtesy of US Presswire)

A Brighter Turn Through The Rotation

It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for the Yankee rotation this year.  There have already been issues with quantity of innings pitched and the quality of those innings, and as of yesterday the rotation has been shuffled again to include the returning Andy Pettite, who had an up-and-down debut against Seattle.  It's still too early for anybody to say whether Pettitte is definitely going to be a better long-term option for the back end, but the performance of the 4 other guys in the rotation on the most recent turn through is a very encouraging sign and hopefully a sign that the Yankees won't have to spend as much time biting their nails over the 5th spot moving forward.

The combined line of Nova, CC, Kuroda, and Hughes from 5/8-5/12 looks like this:

- 29.2 IP, 25 H, 5 ER, 7 BB, 24 K, 5 HR, 34 GB, 4-0 Record

That works out to a 1.52 ERA and 3.43 K/BB ratio, and includes consecutive victories (excluding Phelps' outing in the middle) over James Shields, David Price, and Felix Hernandez in games where the Yankee starter outpitched his opponent.  There is a 4.48 FIP in those innings, driven up by the 5 HR allowed, but all 5 of those homers were solo shots and in a sample size this small I can live with that.  Eventually, the high HR rate will start to come down and guys' FIP lines will start to look better.

The important thing is that the Yankee rotation, at least on this most recent turn, started to look like the one we expected to see this season.  Guys are keeping runners off base, keeping the ball down in the zone, working efficiently and pitching deeper into games, and limiting damage by getting more groundball outs and big strikeouts when they need them.  Nova starts another turn tonight against Baltimore, a team he's already faced twice this season, once with good results and once without.  Hopefully he can continue this stretch of solid starting pitching performances and help inch his team closer to the top of the division.

Expectations For Pettitte

In just a little over an hour, Andy Pettitte will complete his spring comeback attempt when he once again dons the Yankee pinstripes and takes the mound to start for the New York Yankees.  To say this comeback was unexpected would be an understatement, at least for me personally, and there have been plenty of questions attached to this comeback related to how Andy would perform and what the Yankees could expect from him.  He's answer every question over the past month plus except the last one.  Today, that question will finally start to be answered.

I said right after he came back that I didn't want him to just be gift-wrapped a spot in the rotation, and I said after his last MiL start that I thought he could use one more, but the fact of the matter is that what Andy has already done in his build-up starts is better than what the Yankees have been getting from the 5th spot in their rotation from Day 1 this season.  He's been far more effective in giving up runs and limiting damage than Freddy Garcia was, and he's pitched deeper into games than David Phelps has in his 2 audition outings.  5+ innings of 2-3-run ball isn't flashy, but it's an improvement over what the team has been getting from the back end of the rotation, and with the top 4 pitching better lately it's exactly what this team needs.

The atmosphere is going to be electric today at the Stadium, and it should be.  It's not often that we get to see an integral part of a Yankee dynasty come back and compete again.  But to expect electricity and dominance from Andy today would be wrong.  As long as he can continue to be better than what the 5th starters before him were, Andy is going to be successful.  And to give him a start at home, against a weak offensive team is the perfect way to gauge where he's at and work him back into the fold.  I won't get to watch the game today, but if Andy is sitting 85-89 with his fastball, working his cutter consistently, and has better command of his other offspeed pitches than he did the last time out, I'm going to be happy.

The Rotation Is Killing Me, Smalls

For once, it looked like the Yankees were in a position to prove the old adage of "you can never have too much pitching" wrong. It was late in Spring Training and they had no less than 10 guys who could make a legitimate claim to being worthy of a spot in their 2012 starting rotation. Some were younger, some were old, some threw harder than others, and some were just plain better than others, but this season certainly appeared as though it was going to be one, the first one in a while, where the struggles and question marks in the rotation were not going to dominate the headlines in the local press. 4 weeks into the season and all of that depth and talent has been wiped away, replaced by the same concerns over guys not pitching up to the level they were expected to and the same questions surrounding the depth of the group moving forward. The Yankee rotation has a 5.89/4.65/3.74 slash line right now, the ERA ranking 2nd to last in Major League Baseball and the FIP ranking 26th, and have only 6 games where they've pitched 7 innings or more combined. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

CC Sabathia, outside of a few misplaced fastballs up in the zone in his first 2 starts, has been the CC Sabathia we've seen over the past 3 seasons, and a look at his peripherals makes one very confident that he could become even better than his usual self as the weather continues to warm up. But beyond him and his spot at the top, the rest of the rotation is once again a sea of unknowns.

Andy Pettitte: From Luxury To Necessity

(Courtesy of The AP)

Andy Pettitte wasn't supposed to be icing on the cake for the rotation this season, he was supposed to be the sprinkles on the ice cream that sat on top of the icing on the cake.  For the better part of spring camp after his signing was made official, all the talk was about how the Yankees were 7 deep in the rotation, 10 deep if you counted Phelps-Mitchell-Warren, and a dozen deep if you wanted to throw ManBan and Betances into the mix.  I myself discussed the idea of what should or shouldn't be done with Pettitte if he's ready to pitch and the rotation is solid.

How quickly things can change, huh?  Suddenly the Yankee rotation is looking just as weak and potentially just as thin as it has for the past couple seasons.  Michael Pineda is on the shelf for at least the next calendar year, Hiroki Kuroda has been up and down in his first 4 starts, Phil Hughes has been downright awful, and Freddy Garcia's next start will determine whether he gets labeled "more awful" than Hughes or "not quite as awful" as Hughes.

And still lingering in the background is Andy, fresh off his most recent rehab start on Wednesday, when he allowed 3 ER on 7 hits in 5 innings of work at Double-A.  After that game, he expressed some displeasure with himself and his performance for the first time since coming back, leading to questions about just how many more starts he will need to make before he is declared ready for the rotation.  Whenever that declaration is made, Andy will now not just be expected to waltz in on the pinstriped carpet and provide some innings here or there while people flock to take pictures of him; he's going to have to pitch well.

If Hughes and Garcia continue to struggle, Andy is going to be looked at to provide length and quality innings to solidify the back end of the rotation.  And while that certainly won't fluster a professional of his caliber with his track record, it's probably not what most of us were expecting to say about his return.  Andy was the de facto stopper for the rotation late in the 2009 season and through the World Series run.  He might have to take on a similar role with the 2012 rotation in May.

Attempting To Predict Andy's Return Date

Andy Pettitte is coming. While the 5 guys currently in the rotation work to find their games and get where they need to be, the fact remains that Pettitte, barring injury, is going to be ready to join the rotation at some point in the near future. With the way his first 2 comeback/rehab starts have gone, and yes I say this knowing full well they were against High-A hitters, it looks like that date is going to come sooner rather than later. Pettitte has been effective and efficient in both of his first 2 starts, throwing 79 pitches in 7 total innings of work, and according to scouts who were on-hand to watch him Sunday, his stuff progressed very nicely from the 1st start to the 2nd. With all of that in mind, let's have a little fun and try to figure out exactly when Andy might make his return.

Joe has said already that he envisions Andy making 5 or 6 starts as part of his extended ST to build his arm and leg strength up to game shape, and he said last Sunday that he considered Andy's Sunday outing to be number 2 in that series. Andy's pitch count was 25 in his first outing and he threw 32, and it was reportedly somewhere around 45 Sunday and he threw 47. That number is still nowhere near the level he will need to be stretched out to in order to be an effective starter at the Major League level, so I think it's a safe bet to assume he will make the additional 4 starts that were a part of the plan before the Yankees even consider bringing him back. Joe also said yesterday that the plan was for Andy's pitch count to increase by about 15 in his next outing.

Considering those bits of info, and the fact that Andy received an extra day of rest between start 1 and start 2, it will be important to balance out the expected increases in pitch count over these next 4 starts while getting him back onto a regular rest cycle, which appears to be the plan heading into his next scheduled start on Friday. Combining all these factors together into a pitching plan for the remainder of his starts, I anticipate we will see something like this:

• 3rd Start: April 20th- Regular Rest- Pitch Count of 60-70 Pitches
• 4th Start: April 25th- Regular Rest- Pitch Count of 75-80 Pitches
• 5th Start: April 30th- Regular Rest- Pitch Count of 85-90 Pitches
• 6th Start: May 5th- Regular Rest- Pitch Count of 95-100 Pitches

2012 AB4AR Season Preview: The Rotation

(Hey new guy!  Courtesy of The AP)

For the first time in what seems like ages, the Yankees enter a season without major questions in the rotation.  Sure, there are still questions, but not of the usual "Who's going to be the __th starter?" variety that has been the norm for the past few years.  The Yankees went out this offseason and made moves to fortify both the depth and the talent level of their rotation, starting with the new contract for CC and ending with the surprise signing and un-retirement of Andrew Eugene Pettitte.  There have been a few bumps in the road in Spring Training leading up to the final determination of the starting 5, and some who were thought to be a part of the Opening Day rotation won't be, but the Yankees head into the 2012 season with a no-doubt starting 5 intact and plenty of reserves on standby to cover for injuries or ineffectiveness.  The 2011 rotation ended up being sneaky good, much better than most people anticipated.  Expectations are much higher for 2012's group and they should be.  Despite the recent injury issues, there is no reason that the rotation can't be a major strength for the Bombers in 2012.

Starting at the top, CC Sabathia will once again be the ace of the staff, and as aces go you can't do a whole lot better than CC.  He's big, he's durable, he gives his team lots of innings, and he produces at a Cy Young-worthy level in those innings.  At this point, CC's transformation from thrower to pitcher is complete, as he has a firm grasp on all the pitchers in his arsenal and knows how to use them all to be effective against any type of hitter and any lineup.  The hefty lefty is coming off of his best season in pinstripes (3.00/2.88/3.02 with 8.72 K/9 and 2.31 BB/9 in 237.1 IP in 2011) and will be looking to build on that with another re-commitment to managing his weight.  He shed some pounds before arriving at camp last year, but over the course of the season put it all back on.  He has dropped a few LBs again in 2012, and is planning to make a concerted effor to keep it off and keep himself fresh over the long haul.  Despite his size, CC has never been a big injury risk, but as he starts to transition further into his 30s that injury risk becomes greater and the Yankees want to do everything they can to keep him healthy.  He's struggled with his command a bit in camp this year, specifically his fastball, but right now there's no reason to expect anything other than another stellar year from him.

More after the jump

Pineda To The DL With Shoulder Inflammation

(Courtesy of The AP)

Somehow I don't think this is what Cash had in mind when he made the big trade back in January to bring Michael Pineda to the Bronx.  After a spring full of questions and storylines about Pineda's physical condition and velocity, everything came to a head last night when he failed to make it out of the 3rd inning in his final ST start, allowing 6 earned runs on 10 combined hits and walks and then complaining of soreness in his right shoulder.  Pineda was scheduled for an MRI this morning and multiple beat guys are reporting that the MRI revealed inflammation in the right shoulder.  Now, instead of being the team's #2 starter behind CC, the scenario that Cash and the entire organization surely envisioned when they pulled the trigger on the trade, Pineda will open the season on the DL.

There are already multiple theories coming out on why this happened.  Pineda reportedly didn't work out at all over the winter and came into camp overweight, which certainly could have explained the diminished velocity all spring.  He could have been using spring camp to pitch himself into shape, and Joe commented last night after the game that Pineda's mechanics were different last night, suggesting he was trying to overthrow to add velocity.  Both Cash and Joe said last night that they have asked Pineda multiple times during ST if his arm felt alright and every time he said it was fine, until last night.  There's no way to know for sure how long his shoulder had been bothering him, but it's not unreasonable to think that Pineda was trying to push through the injury knowing he was in a competition for a rotation spot this spring.

To be honest, I really don't know how I feel about all of this right now.  I've been one of the biggest Pineda supporters this spring, constantly banging the "don't worry about his velocity, he's pitching fine" drum and preaching patience with the kid and now this happens.  All the comparisons to Phil Hughes' 2011 that I've been trying to brush aside now look far more realistic and I can't help but question if this entire season will end up being a wash for Pineda much like 2011 was for Hughes.

I'm surprised that the Yankees didn't do their due diligence in checking on what Pineda had been doing during the offseason to prepare when they were discussing the trade, and would be even more surprised if they did check and still decided to make the trade anyway.  That would go against everything the organization stands for when evaluating players.  At the same time, I'm relieved that all the MRI showed was inflammation, and Pineda will only be on the 15-day DL instead of the 60-day.  At his age, and with his upside, this is not the end of the world and the Yankees can still come out in the positive on the trade if Pineda can fully recover and get in better shape.

No matter where you stood on Pineda this spring, almost everybody was in agreement that the Yankees' surplus of pitching depth was a good problem to have and this latest development proves why.  They lose a potentially dominant piece of the rotation but are still covered with CC, Kuroda, Nova, Hughes, and Freddy to open the season, with Andy waiting in the wings.  That being said, it's still disappointing that a trade for what should have been a #2 starter and key piece of the rotation for the long-term future has resulted in these negative early returns.

2012 AB4AR Season Preview: What We Know & What We Don't Know (The Rotation)

(Can this guy stay in the rotation all season?  Courtesy of The AP)

The hitters have been covered, and there aren't a whole lot of new knowns or unknowns about that group as they've all been here before.  We move to the pitchers today, starting with the rotation, where there are a couple of new faces and a new old face that's returned for another go.

What We Know- There's No Shortage Of Available Bodies This Year

There's depth aplenty in the Yankee rotation in 2012.  No bargain-bin Bartolo Colon signings or hope for unproven young starters this year.  The Yankees have 7 viable, capable Major League starting pitchers on hand right now, and any combination of 5 out of that 7 has the potential to make up the best top-to-bottom rotation in baseball if they all pitch to their ceiling.  There is also a good mix of old/older veteran pitchers who know the deal and young pitchers still putting the pieces together to reach their potential and figure out exactly where their ceilings top out.  And if this group is hit by a plague of injuries, the Yankees have 3 quality arms in Triple-A they can use to plug holes in David Phelps, D.J. Mitchell, and Adam Warren.

What We Don't Know- How Much They'll All Be Used

It's already been said plenty of times this spring that too much starting pitching is a good problem to have, and it is.  But it is a problem none the less, and at some point the Yankees are going to have to deal with it.  The young guys are the most likely to take a back seat or get shuffled around, as both Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda have Triple-A options remaining and Phil Hughes has experience working out of the bullpen.  Injuries could also factor into the shuffling of the rotation deck when that time comes.  CC Sabathia is a workhorse, no doubt about it, but that workload and his size always make him a candidate for a DL trip.  The Yankees have been lucky enough to not have to deal with that so far, but you never know.  In the interest of managing workloads, the dreaded 6-man rotation is always an option as well.

More after the jump

Phil Hughes And The Perils Of Pitching Well During A Surplus

While the majority of the ST pitching storylines have been dedicated either to Michael Pineda's velocity ("ZOMG!!! He's only throwing 93!!!111!1!1) or Andy Pettitte's return (ZOMG!!!! Andy's back!!!!11!1!!1), the starting pitcher with the most to prove this season has been putting together the best spring out of all the rotation candidates. Most people were justifiably indifferent to the stories of Phil Hughes rededicating himself to conditioning this offseason after his disastrous 2011 and wanted to see how that would translate into his performance on the mound before declaring him "back" or even on his way to being back this spring. Hughes' performance thus far in camp, albeit in small sample sizes and against various levels of watered down competition, has been very encouraging and should earn him a spot in the rotation to open the season. But could it also end up working against him?

The devastating fastball-curveball combo that Hughes used to build his reputation as a top prospect has always been hit or miss during his time as a Yankee. Last season they were nowhere to be found thanks to his poor preparation for the season and resulting shoulder fatigue. This spring, Hughes has brought his two main offerings back from the dead and has been showcasing them in the way we always expected to see them. His fastball velocity has been consistently in the 90-93 MPH range since his first outing on March 6th, with some 94s here and there, and his curveball has been swing-and-miss good, something I don't remember seeing since the early parts of 2010. Hughes has also made significant strides in the development of his changeup, something that we've been waiting to see for a few years now, and he looks much more comfortable using it regularly with the rest of his offerings. He's attacking hitters, throwing strikes, mixing his pitches well, and doing a much better job of putting guys away with 2 strikes.

It would seem like all of this should add up to Hughes not only locking himself into the 5th starter spot to open the season, but also guarantee him that spot moving forward if he can continue to pitch this well. Despite his seemingly long tenure with the organization, Hughes is still younger than me at 25 and still seemingly with his peak years ahead of him. He's on the books for just $3.2 million this year, will be arbitration-eligible again next year before becoming eligible for free agency in 2014, and even with a solid season in 2012 he still stands to be a very cost-effective option for the Yankees as part of future rotations. He's a valuable pitcher to have as is and even more valuable if he can pitch well.

Given the bevy of starting pitching depth possessed by the Yankees, however, Hughes' success this spring could actually serve to accelerate his departure from the Yankee organization via trade. Freddy Garcia is the first name that comes to mind when talking about potential trades to ease the rotation logjam, especially after a report of the Yankees offering him to Miami surfaced this weekend, but don't discount Hughes as an option. The same things that make him attractive as a rotation piece for the Yankees also makes him a far more attractive trade chip than Garcia, and the better he pitches the more attractive he becomes to other teams that need pitching. The Yankees can get far more in return for Hughes than they can for Garcia, possibly a young position player that can help the goal of trimming payroll for 2014 (like Philly's Domonic Brown), and not be at risk of negatively impacting their rotation because of the remaining depth.

Keeping the payroll goals in mind, even if Hughes isn't traded this year, he could still force himself onto the trade block by pitching well through this season and next season and pricing himself out of the Yankees' range after 2013. A big 27-year-old right hander with plenty of experience coming off of 2 consecutive good seasons will command much more than the $3.2 mil Hughes is making now. With the cheap internal options in Triple-A expected to be ready and contributing by then, the Yankees could decide that Hughes is too rich for their blood. Not wanting to end up like the Mets with Jose Reyes this past offseason, they could decide to strike while the iron is hot and get something valuable in return for Hughes while they still have the chance. By the same token, given Hughes' uneven track record in the Majors, his trade value could be crushed by another poor season or another demotion to the bullpen. The Yankees have to know that the line between high trade value and very little trade value is razor thin with Hughes. Better to move him when he's on the good side of the line rather than the bad.

Admittedly it's a bit early to be talking about any trade scenario involving Yankee pitchers. Too much depth is a better problem to have than too little, and the smart move would be to carry all 7 guys until Andy is ready to come back and rejoin the rotation. But the possibility of Hughes being moved is one worth monitoring as the season progresses, especially considering that Buster Olney reported during the Yanks-Sawx game last Thursday that the Yankees were "listening to offers" from other teams for Hughes. His value to the Yankees is maximized by either being in the rotation or as trade bait, so moving him to the bullpen to accommodate Andy would be a waste. Hughes' strong spring is doing a lot to get him back in the good graces of the organization and the fans right now, and should get him a spot in the rotation to open the season. If he continues to pitch well, though, he could end up pitching himself right out of town.

Phil Hughes Looking Good

(Courtesy of The AP)

Don't look now, but Phil Hughes- the man involved in his 3rd straight rotation competition, the man coming off the worst year of his professional career, the man who's being talked about as the leading candidate to either be sent to the bullpen, sent to the minors, or traded if he doesn't pitch well this year- has been the best starting pitcher in Yankee camp.

I know technically he's only made two starts, but in the other two outings where he backed up CC he was working as a starter and that's good enough for me. After yesterday's 5-inning performance he has now thrown the most innings out of all the starting rotation contenders (with a game in hand on CC and Kuroda) with 13.1, and he has been the most consistent pitcher of the group. He's the only one with a WHIP below 1.00, he's attacking hitters and throwing a lot of strikes, and if it wasn't for a poorly placed cutter to Matt Joyce yesterday he would only have 1 ER allowed on his ledger.

More important than that, though, is the fact that his stuff is back. Hughes' velocity on his fastball has been sitting 91-93 since the first time he took the mound, with a 94 here and there, which is right where he needs to live to be effective. His curveball has also looked much sharper than it did last year, and he's getting bad swings on it. And his changeup, a pitch that we've been waiting to see him use consistently for a couple years now, has evolved into a pitch that Hughes is confident in and willing to throw. I specifically remember him getting Evan Longoria to fly out weakly on a change yesterday as well as Joyce striking out swinging on it in the at-bat after his HR. He's working the cutter as well, but if Hughes can mix fastball-curveball-changeup consistently he can be very good.

This is the Phil Hughes we were expecting to see last year. He still has a lot to prove and it won't be fair to say he's "back" until he does it in the regular season, but the way he looks and the way he's pitching this spring certainly has to inspire confidence that he's on the right track. Freddy's hand injury probably sealed the deal for him, but even if he didn't get hurt it should be a no-brainer that Hughes gets a spot in the rotation to open the season.

Andy Pettitte And The Balance Between Nostalgia And Necessity

(Hopefully Andy-Wan Kenobi's presence doesn't disrupt the development of the young Padawans)

Let me preface this post by saying that this is not meant to be me taking a shot at Andy Pettitte. Andy is one of my favorite Yankees of all time and I'm happy that he's coming back for another go. I was bummed when he decided to hang it up after the 2010 season, especially when it was clear that he could still get the job done. If you're a believer in the "you can never have too much pitching" theory (and you'd be an idiot not to be), you have to be a fan of this move. Any time you can bring in the all-time leader in multiple postseason statistical categories who also happens to have won five championships as a member of your team as your de facto 7th starter, that's a good move. What bothers me about the situation, though, and has from the time I first heard the breaking news on Friday afternoon to right now, are the implications that this has been in the works for a while and that Pettitte deserves to be shoehorned into the rotation at some point simply because he's Andy Pettitte.

As more of the backstory leading up to the signing has come out, it has become clear that this wasn't so much Andy suddenly getting the urge to pitch again as it was a mutual back-and-forth discussion between him and Cash about the possibility of him coming back that goes back to last December. During last Friday's press conference, Cash stated that he offered Andy a $10-12 million deal as a way to force his decision and implied that had Andy accepted the offer, the Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda moves might not have happened. At the time, the Yankee rotation was CC, Nova, a recently re-signed Freddy Garcia, Phil Hughes, and He Who Shall Not Be Named. Pettitte likely would have been an upgrade over at least one of those options, but the idea that the Yankees were willing to throw 12 mil at him when he had been retired for a year and hadn't really been working out as a pitcher rather than pursue guys like Pineda and Kuroda is a little frightening. If you would have asked me back in December whether I would rather have a 39-year-old Andy Pettitte coming off a year away from the game for $12 million or Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda for less than that, I would have chosen Option B.

Once those moves were made, this behind-the-scenes story should have died. But because Pettitte kept working out and informed Cash that he wanted to pitch when he showed up at camp a few weeks ago as a guest instructor, here we are in mid-March with Andy Pettitte back in a Yankee uniform. In the time that has passed since he and Cash talked in December, the Yankees have put together a blueprint for their 2012 rotation (whether they publicly admit it or not) that includes both Pineda and Kuroda as well as a third consecutive ST competition for the 5th spot between Hughes and Garcia. In addition to those six, the Yankees have also gotten strong spring performances from David Phelps and D.J. Mitchell, guys who are close to banging their heads against the Triple-A glass ceiling and not getting any younger. On paper, they're as deep as they've ever been in the rotation and well-stocked with young talent to cover any injury or performance-related issues. If ever there was a season where the Yankees didn't necessarily NEED a cheap veteran starter, this was it. This is where my concern comes in.

2012 Storylines: Rotation (Over)Depth

(Pretty sure this guy is going to have a spot in the rotation.  Courtesy of The AP)

We're less than three weeks away from Opening Day, so rather than continue to look back at moves made or not made, look too far ahead to 2014, or spend too much time analyzing 20 plate appearances in Spring Training, it's probably best to start focusing on what the upcoming 2012 season has in store for the Bronx Bombers. Consider this the official kickoff of the 2012 AB4AR season preview series as we start broad, looking at the overall themes and storylines that will define the 2012 New York Yankees, and then narrow it down to the specific players once it becomes clear who will make up the 25-man roster. Pitching wins championships, and the Yankees find themselves with plenty of pitching right now, so after the jump I'll delve into the Yankees' suddenly overstocked rotation and how it could shake out over the course of 162 games.

A Double Dip Of Good Starts

It was a split squad day for the Yankees today, and CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes turned in a pair of matching solid 3-inning outings, both building on their first starts of the spring.  It was a 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K line for CC against the Phillies, and his fastball command was much better than last time out.  Hughes was even better, going for 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K and sitting in the low-90s all day with his fastball, hitting 92-93 with regularity.  His command of his fastball and curveball was much improved from his first start, and Phil gave Joe a good show after Girardi opted to travel to watch Hughes' start rather than CC's.

Add in three relatively clean scoreless innings from Cory Wade, Boone Logan, and Mo (who went 1-2-3 in his spring debut) backing up CC and the Yankees Major League pitching staff put up a fantastic combined performance today- 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K.  Two weeks in and guys are progressing exactly how you want to see them progress if you're a Yankee fan.

Spring Training Storylines: First Time Through The Rotation

Ivan Nova's start yesterday signified the Yankees completing their first cycle through the rotation this spring, and so far so good for the Yankee starters.  The two big themes since last Friday have been changeups and velocity.  Nova, Michael Pineda, and CC were all working on their changeups in their first outing; for Nova and Pineda that pitch will be important for them this year as they attempt to build on their strong rookie campaigns.  Velocity-wise, the big stories were how little Pineda had on Monday (high 80s) and how much Phil Hughes had in his first game action of the year on Tuesday (low 90s, hit 93 more than once), so expect everybody to be watching the gun during their outings this weekend.  First starts of the spring always come with little to no expectations.  Everybody is just working themselves into game shape and finding their stuff and that's what the Yankee starters did this week.

- CC: Allowed 3 hits and a run with one strikeout in 2 innings of work on Tuesday.  Wasn't particularly happy with anything but also didn't mention any glaring problems.  Just ST business as usual for the big man, who takes the mound again on Sunday as part of a split-squad game.

- Kuroda: Sailed smoothly through his first inning of work on Wednesday, throwing only 9 pitches, and then hit a few road bumps in the 2nd as he tried to work on some of his offspeed stuff.  Still needs to find his offspeed command a bit, but don't worry, he's definitely not Kei Igawa.

- Nova: Solid first start of the year last Saturday, save for some command issues and the HR allowed to Hunter Pence.  Different story yesterday, as Nova really struggled with his fastball command and gave up 6 hits and 5 ER in just 2.2 innings of work.  His fastball velocity has been sitting mid 90s, though, so no worries about lingering effects from his forearm injury that knocked him out of last year's ALDS.

- Pineda: Probably had the sharpest outing of anybody, giving up just a solitary hit and no runs in his 2 innings of work on Monday, striking out 2 and walking none.  He received plenty of praise from everybody for his changeup, which already looks like it has the makings of being a useful pitch for him.  All eyes will be on the radar gun during his next start on Saturday.

- Hughes: The man with the most to prove was up and down on Tuesday when he replaced CC, showing rejuvenated life on his fastball but also spotty command.  Hughes threw a lot of pitches, something that will happen when you give up 4 hits, and only made it through 1.1 innings because of his pitch count.  He pitches again on Sunday.

- Garcia: Rough first inning for him last Sunday, as he also gave up a homer to Hunter Pence, but he settled down in the 2nd and picked up a couple of strikeouts as part of a scoreless inning.  Like CC, Freddy was neither really good nor really bad.  For him it's just a matter of whether he'll be the 5th starter or bullpen longman.

The Only Thing That Mattered In The Hughes Outing Today

I gave him a little crap earlier on the AB4AR Page for his rough first outing of the season today, but really there was only one thing that mattered for Phil Hughes today and that was the number 93.  As in, his fastball regularly being clocked at 93 miles per hour.  The disaster that was his 2011 started off with him having nothing on his heater and never really finding it.  In 2012, he's coming out in his first start and hitting the mark on the gun where he needs to be to have success.  That's a damn good sign.