[新聞] Yanks' hopes rest on rookie arms and pitching by committee

看板NY-Yankees作者yyhong68 (come every now and then)時間17年前 (2007/09/07 17:31)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

留言0則, 0人參與討論串1/1

Yanks' hopes rest on rookie arms and pitching by committee BY ANTHONY McCARRON DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Friday, September 7th 2007, 4:48 AM The Yankees have used 13 different starting pitchers this season, including eight rookies, six of whom made their major league debuts, so they certainly know how fickle the fortunes of a rotation can be. Heck, Carl Pavano, of all people, started on Opening Day. But through 140 games, the Yankee rotation, long a benchmark of their playoff teams, has never stabilized. That could make their final push for the wild-card spot - can fans still dare to dream about the division with the Red Sox six games ahead? - difficult, or at least dramatic. And with only 22 games remaining, including the opener of a three-game set in Kansas City tonight, there's really nothing the Yankees can do except, as Andy Pettitte said, "hope this is good enough." "It's late in the season, so there's always concern," Pettitte added. "I'm concerned about myself. I don't need to have another start like I did against Tampa Bay (Sunday) where I give up five runs in seven innings (actually 6-1/3). I need to shut down the teams I start against and hopefully help this team win. "What we've got is what we're going with. This is it. I want to think it's all going to be good for us. I want to think that no matter how bad we struggle the rest of the way, we can get it done with this group of guys. There are no other options right now. Hopefully, we can ride this thing out and get to the playoffs and get everyone healthy." There have been glimmers of hope that the rotation will roll, like when Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Chien-Ming Wang combined for a 1.80 ERA in last month's sweep of the Red Sox. But three of the next four starts, including one apiece by Pettitte and Clemens, were duds. "It's amazing how quickly it can look ugly, right?" Pettitte said. But that downturn was followed by good outings from Wang and Phil Hughes. Tonight, Ian Kennedy, who had a fabulous debut last weekend against Tampa Bay, starts against the Royals. Kennedy and Hughes give the Yankees two rookies in their rotation, spots that used to be held by more experienced, playoff-hardened pitchers. Clemens is going to miss at least one start with an elbow problem. Mike Mussina, whom Kennedy replaced in the rotation because Mussina was awful for three consecutive starts, is likely to take Clemens' turn in the series in Toronto that begins next week. Wang had to come out of his last start because of lower-back stiffness, although he was running in the outfield and lifting weights the next day. Torre allowed that "there are a lot of unknowns right now" in the rotation, but he wouldn't admit to being uneasy about it. "Not really," he said. "I think curious is a better word." GM Brian Cashman wouldn't even admit to "curious." "At this time, we don't have time to be concerned," he said. "It's September, it's all hands on deck. We're in a sprint and we have to find a way." Torre says he is confident that Clemens will be back soon. "But," Torre conceded, "as we all point out, he is 45 years old." The manager has seen enough from Kennedy and Hughes not to be worried about them in the cauldron of a playoff race. The conversations Torre has had with the executives who work with the minor leaguers "are different than they've ever been," Torre said. Translated, Torre means that everyone, including himself, believes that pitchers such as Kennedy and Hughes can have long-term impact on the rotation and are not spot-start showcases or cannon fodder, to be replaced by an expensive veteran. Hughes' velocity is not yet what the Yankees expect, and his curveball hasn't been as "quick" as they'd like. But they still love the late movement on his fastball, and he shook off three straight poor outings to pitch well against Seattle on Wednesday. Kennedy displayed no nerves in his debut, impressing Torre. Dave Eiland, the Yanks' Triple-A pitching coach who is currently working with the Bombers, told Torre that Kennedy can be even better than he was against the Devil Rays, particularly his curveball. Kennedy's biggest problem might be explaining to his fiancee, USC basketball player Allison Jaskowiak, how they might have to move their Oct. 6 wedding in St. Louis because he'll be pitching in the postseason. "We just hope his prospective bride is very understanding," Torre quipped. Overall, Yankee starters are 54-45 with a 4.76 ERA. The ERA is 20th in baseball, and opposing hitters are batting .283 against them, which is 23rd. The average ERA for AL starters is 4.61, and hitters are averaging .275 against opposing starters. Without Wang and Pettitte - the likely 1-2 starters if the Yankees make the playoffs - it's scary to think where the Bombers' numbers might be. Yankee starters were 16-7 in August, with Wang and Pettitte combining to go 10-1. Together, they have 29 of the 54 wins by Yankee starters. Wang has developed into a real stopper, going 8-2 in 11 starts following a Yankee loss. Only five pitchers have more wins after their team loses. After being runner-up in the Cy Young voting last year, Wang is 17-6, although he missed at least four starts to injury at the beginning of the season. Pettitte says there isn't any more pressure on him or Wang. "I feel like I need to win every time anyway, like it's crucial, life or death, no matter the situation," Pettitte said. "We still have some young guys in our rotation and hopefully they can give us a chance to win their games. Really, you can't ask for more than that from them. "Moose was throwing the ball well and hopefully he comes back. I want to believe that Roger will come back and pitch well. He's done it before. "I want to believe everything is going to be okay." http://tinyurl.com/2gshwf -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.109.23.54