You Can’t Count Them Out

I know everyone has been ripping on the New York Yankees all season long and everyone wants to see the first $200 million dollar team not make the playoffs, but any fan can’t help but think what might happen if the Yankees do pull it off this week and win yet another division title. Think about it; how many starters have the Yankees used this season? Probably enough to fill three major league starting rotations. It has been a combination of good and bad for manager Joe Torre this season, but don’t be fooled because come October things could start cooking in the Bronx, and the Yankees could become a very, very scary team in the playoffs.The Yankees already have one of baseballs best and most powerful offenses. So come October, offense should not be a problem now that Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, and other Yankees have experienced the post season; Yankee style. The Yanks may be old yes, and they may have some very shaky young players, but come October they could have the best pitching staff in the postseason.

In the regular season most teams go with a five man rotation and the pitcher rests every day except his scheduled start. But come October, pitchers can be used day after day if necessary. We’ve seen it before in 2001, with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, and then again in 2004 with Schilling, this time as a member of the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees have two proven post season pitchers in Johnson and Mike Mussina. They also have two pitchers who have basically saved their season, Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon. And then there is the rookie Chien-Mang Wang. None of those three pitchers have ever played in the post season, but they’ve all pitched in “playoff” type games for the Yankees this year. Then there is Al Leiter and Jaret Wright, two pitchers who have had awful season but have both proven themselves in the post season before.

The Yankees bullpen has been horrendous this season except for the fab-three; Tanyon Sturtze, Flash Gordon, and Mariano Rivera.

Going into the October, teams would like to carry more pitchers then extra bench/utility players and with the Yankees lineup, it shouldn’t be that hard of a decision for Torre. Who he brings is still up for grabs because none of the other members in relief (Mendoza, De Paula, Embree, Franklin, Proctor, and K-Rod) can seem to get the job done anymore.

But now as the Yanks get into October, they have all those starters and only a 3-4 man rotation at best. And as I mentioned before, these pitchers need to be ready at anytime. Going into October, the ideal pitching rotation would most likely be Johnson, Mussina, and a toss-up between Chacon and Small. That leaves you with either Chacon or Small, Wang, Leiter, Wright, and Sturtze, if things really got out of hand to spot-start at any given time. All these “relief” pitchers can provide great relief and the majority of them have already proven themselves as post season pitchers. Say Randy Johnson has a bad start, no problem. Just bring in Aaron Small.

Obviously if the chosen starters can get the job done, things will be a lot easier for Torre. However, if things backfire Torre will have so many options he’ll have fans and broadcasters guessing at all points and time during the post season. If the pitching staff can step it up for one more month, the most important month for the Yankees and all other teams, things could turn around for this once 11-19 team.

I know this is not as easy as I make it out to be. There are many, many factors that take effect when the post season comes around, but Joe Torre has been here before. He knows more then anyone but maybe Bobby Cox how to win, and unlike Cox, he wins Championships. Once they take care of the Red Sox in Fenway Park a year after the franchise’s first World Championship in 86 years, look out for the Yankees in October.

Copyright ©2005 Colin Cerniglia. All Rights Reserved.