The foremost concern for the Yankees, of course, is pitching. Last season, the Yankees ranked sixth in the 14-team AL in starters' ERA, and they ranked eighth in bullpen ERA. So while the Yanks' pitching staff can't rightly be called a disaster, it was the soft underbelly of the AL East champs. (After all, the offense paced the AL with 930 runs scored, so that certainly wasn't the problem.)
On the rotation front, re-signing Mussina, who had a strong showing in 2006, was essential. However, that still leaves a decline-phase Randy Johnson (and his 5.00 ERA) in the mix, and there's also the forever-injured Carl Pavano as part of the current starting five. The addition of Igawa may help matters, but there's concern among some scouts we've spoken to that Igawa's lack of a reliable third pitch may relegate him to relief detail. Yet if the season opened today, either Igawa or — get this — Jeffrey Karstens would be in the rotation. Suffice it to say, that's not an optimal arrangement for the Yankees.
At the very least, they need another arm to hedge against Johnson's further collapse, an entirely unsurprising injury to Pavano or Igawa's inability to pass muster as a starter. To this end, Cashman is putting out feelers on Ted Lilly, Gil Meche and Vicente Padilla. Each makes a certain level of sense, but Lilly — because of his track record and left-handedness in Yankee Stadium — is the best option.
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金持ち球団のヤンキースでは、３０億円が無駄になることも多い。井川は最初から結果を出さなければ、控えに回る可能性も十分にある。
On the rotation front, re-signing Mussina, who had a strong showing in 2006, was essential. However, that still leaves a decline-phase Randy Johnson (and his 5.00 ERA) in the mix, and there's also the forever-injured Carl Pavano as part of the current starting five. The addition of Igawa may help matters, but there's concern among some scouts we've spoken to that Igawa's lack of a reliable third pitch may relegate him to relief detail. Yet if the season opened today, either Igawa or — get this — Jeffrey Karstens would be in the rotation. Suffice it to say, that's not an optimal arrangement for the Yankees.
At the very least, they need another arm to hedge against Johnson's further collapse, an entirely unsurprising injury to Pavano or Igawa's inability to pass muster as a starter. To this end, Cashman is putting out feelers on Ted Lilly, Gil Meche and Vicente Padilla. Each makes a certain level of sense, but Lilly — because of his track record and left-handedness in Yankee Stadium — is the best option.
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金持ち球団のヤンキースでは、３０億円が無駄になることも多い。井川は最初から結果を出さなければ、控えに回る可能性も十分にある。