2006 Offseason- Pitching Staff

Well here we are again loyal Yankees fans, other winter with no 27th crown. The Yankees had a ton of problems during the playoffs, seems to be their motif these past couple of years, but all the Yankees really need to do is realize that there is no such thing as an impenetrable offense. There is however, such thing as an impenetrable pitching staff. Pitching wins ball games, period. Think about it, every year since '01, the Yankees have tried to get big name hitters, and it hasn't worked out. We need to tighten up on pitching this offseason, and we will. I know for a fact, Cashman will work his hardest on obtaining pitching, and ignoring all the big name bats out there this offseason. (Mostly because the Yankees can't fit anymore bats anywhere in the field). So here we go, with another offseason of rumors, free agents and trades, making it even harder to wait for Spring Training '07 to arrive.

What the Yankees have to do:

As explained before, they need pitching, and there are some huge names out there that are going to help their new ball clubs get to the post season. But which players will end up with the Yankees? The biggest names in free agent pitching are Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, Mark Mulder, Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, and two familiar ones, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. Lets just get this out first, they are not comming back folks, so get it out of your heads now. Pettitte has a confortable setting in Houston, he pitches where he lives, can't get much better than that. He is too confortable in Houston, and has gone as far to say that he could retire, but I don't think he will. Pettitte's only return to the AL might be to the Rangers, not the Yankees. Same thing with Clemens, they both made deals with the Astros mainly because of family concerns, so they are not coming back. Jason Schmidt seems to be a good fit, nice fastball, great control, but unfortunatly he has made it clear that he wants to either stay with the Giants, or pitching in his home state of Washington, with Seattle. Besides, I think the Yankees have experimented enough with pitchers comming from the NL to the AL don't you think? Mulder seems to be a pitcher with too high of a risk. I think he is going to sign with a team who is willing to take a chance on him, not a good fit for the Yankees, we still waiting on Pavano to make good on his 4 yr/40 mil contract. This leaves the two biggest names left, Zito and Japanese phenom Matsuzaka. Now these are the Yankees, highest payroll in baseball, but that doesn't mean they have unlimited funds. These two pitchers are going to command extremely high contracts, because they are young (Zito 28, Matsuzaka 26), they have both proved themselves to be winners, and maybe the most important, they both have the same agent, Scott Boras. This is the same guy who when Damon was on the market last year, started out with a 7 yr/90 mil dollor offer. Boras will squeeze every penny from the club who is willing to sign either of his clients. Now Zito, I have been following this kid ever since he came up in 2000 with the A's, and ever since them I have wanted to see him in pinstripes. In 2002 when he went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA, I knew the Yankees wanted him too. Zito has said that he has wanted to come to New York, either with the Mets, or with the Yankees. The reason the Yankees might have a competitive edge is that former teammates Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon are on the Yankees, making it easier for Zito to feel at home with the Yankees. On the other hand, the Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson was a former coach of Zito's on the A's, including during Zito's Cy young award winning year, giving the Mets an edge too. I feel Zito will most likely test the market, look at all the teams, and see how much he can actually make. He might be willing to take a pay cut to play for a team in New York and he might not, but if the Yankees can give him the money he wants, I am sure he will be a Yankee over being a Met. Strangely enough, a lot of Zito's decision of which team he will be on lies with Matsuzaka. Both the Yankees and Mets are bidding for Matsuzaka, along with the Red Sox. These three teams seem to be the front runners to get the negotiation rights for Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka was the inaugural World Baseball Classic's MVP, then went on to having a 17-5 season in 2006. Now the reason he will control Zito's fate, is because of the price of the auction is expected to reach at least 20 million. Now remember, the winning bid amount doesn't go towards Matsuzaka's contract, the money goes to the Seibu Lions, his former team, as compensation for losing their prized pitcher. The auction money is just so that the team who wins has the sole right to negotiate with Matsuzaka and his agent Scott Boras, and the team has 30 days to come to an agreement. Matsuzaka will most likely command a contract very similar to Zito, around 6-7 yr/90-100 mil. If the Yankees pick up Matsuzaka, expect Zito to be with the Mets, and vice versa. If Matsuzaka signs with the Red Sox...God help us. If the Yankees pick up Zito or Matsuzaka, they will most likely be their number one starter, making our rotation look almost bullet proof. 1. Zito or Matsuzaka, 2. Chien Ming-Wang, 3. Randy Johnson, 4. Mike Mussina, and 5. A healthy Carl Pavano....Yeah...We'll see about that. There has not been much news on Pavano's progress, but the Yankees have another out. Jeff Suppan, formally of the World Champion St. Louis Cardnals, has expressed interest in signing with the Yankees, and the Yankees have expressed interest in return. If the Yankees pick up Suppan, expect Jaret Wright to be playing somewhere else, since the Yankees can buy out his contract. Wright did well down the stretch last season, but it was too little too late. I don't expect him to be in pinstripes next season.

Well that does it for the rotation. Please comment on anything you would like talked about, or any questions you would like me to address in future blogs. I will have an E-mail specificly for this blog so there will be mailbags, a lot better than the one on Yankees.com. Personally I think their beat writer should be beaten with a stick.