With the exception of 40-year old lefty starting pitcher Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.13 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP), the Yankees rotation has stunk things up so far this year.  32-year old lefty C.C. Sabathia (0-1, 7.20 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP), 38-year old righty Hiroki Kuroda (0-1, 13.50 ERA and a 3.75 WHIP), 26-year old righty Ivan Nova (0-1, 7.71 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP) and 26-year old righty Phil Hughes (0-1, 6.75 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP) were all lousy the first time around the rotation.  The Yankees’ starting rotation is a combined 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP so far this year.  The Yankees thought that the starting rotation was going to be a strength for the team in 2013, so they need these guys to turn things around in the very near future.

Last year, 35-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia turned in a rock solid year for the Yankees. He pitched in 26 games (25 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This year though, Garcia has been awful. He has started 4 games for the Yankees this year and he is 0-2 with a 12.51 ERA and a 2.20 WHIP. He has given up a whopping 25 hits (3 homers) in his first 13 2/3 innings this year! With that, the Yankees have stripped Garcia of his starting job and he will be the long man in the bullpen. 25-year old rookie righty David Phelps is going to take over in the rotation for him. Phelps has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Phelps pitched in 87 games (86 starts) in his four years in the minors for the Yankees and he is 38-15 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Phelps might get to keep his job in the rotation even when Andy Pettitte returns to action if he pitches well and Phil Hughes continues to struggle.

Joe Girardi erred in starting Sabathia last night against the Tigers. He was clearly tired after pitching 2 innings on Friday Night against the Tigers in the suspended Game #1. He has started 2 games against the Tigers in this series and he is 0-0 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He has give up 8 hits and 6 walks in his first 7 1/3 innings while allowing 5 earned runs against the Tigers. In his last five playoff starts, Sabathia is 2-0 despite having a 5.79 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. Sabathia needs to step up if the Yankees somehow come back and win this series.

The Yankees have not clinched a playoff spot yet, but things are looking good for them right now. The Yankees will likely go with the hot hand for the #3 and #4 spots in the starting rotation in the playoffs behind C.C. Sabathia and Ivan Nova. 38-year old righty Bartolo Colon could have the lead for the #3 spot as he has pitched decent baseball most of this year for the Yankees. Colon has pitched in 26 games (23 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 8-9 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. 25-year old righty Phil Hughes might be able to win a spot in the rotation if he finishes strongly in the last two weeks. He has pitched in 15 games (14 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 5-5 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. 34-year old righty Freddy Garcia seems to be running out of gas despite starting the season well. Garcia has pitched in 24 games (23 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 11-7 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. 34-year old righty A.J. Burnett just can’t be trusted despite having by far the best stuff of these four guys. Burnett has pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 9-11 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Yankees are probably going to wish they made a deal for a starting pitcher before rosters froze on August 31st.

34-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Burnett could be on the verge of losing his spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation when Freddy Garcia comes off of the D.L. Burnett has pitched in 4 games (all starts) so far this August and he is 1-1 with a 10.70 ERA and a 2.38 WHIP. He has given up 35 hits (3 of which are homers) in his first 17 2/3 innings this month. Burnett has now pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 9-10 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has given up 23 homers in only 156 innings this year which is amazing for a guy with the stuff that he has. Burnett has also walked 70 batters, hit 7 batters and he has uncorked 17 wild pitches this year, and all of those things have gotten him into some serious trouble this year. Burnett better be lights out in his next start because he’s starting to run out of time in the rotation.

31-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano was supposed to lock down the 8th inning as the set-up man for the Yankees in 2011, but it just hasn’t worked that way so far. Soriano has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 6.75 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. He has given up 13 hits and walked 8 batters so far this year in only 12 1/3 innings as he is having severe control issues. Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman didn’t want to sign Soriano but he was overruled by the Steinbrenner’s. Maybe in the future, the Steinbrenner’s should trust the GM.

The Yankees have five starting pitchers with double figures in wins this year. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be changes in the rotation come October especially if A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez continue to suck. 29-year old lefty C.C. Sabathia is the unquestioned ace of the starting rotation for the Yanks. He has started 31 games for the Yankees this year and he is 19-6 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. 24-year old righty Phil Hughes is the #2 guy right now but the Yankees are in a quandry with him. They want to watch his workload but they need him to keep taking his turn if they want to make the playoffs. He has pitched in 27 games (26 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 16-7 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Hughes does appear to be slowing down a bit and that’s not a good thing for the Yankees. 38-year old lefty Andy Pettitte is on a minor league rehab assignment right now with the hope that he’ll be ready to return to NY soon. He has started 18 games this year for the Yanks and he is 11-2 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Yankees hope he’s ready to roll when he comes back because they can’t afford to have him rusty. 33-year old righty A.J. Burnett has flat out sucked this year for the Yanks. He has started 29 games for the Yanks this year and he is 10-13 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He is pretty much pitching extended batting practice for the opposing team this year. 34-year old Javier Vazquez has not been that much better than Burnett. He has pitched in 28 games (25 starts) this year for the Yankees and he is 10-9 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

The Yankees really thought they could depend on A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez in the starting rotation this year but they were wrong. Burnett has started 25 games for the Yankees this year and he is 9-11 with a 4.80 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has given up 158 hits (19 homers) and he has walked 60 batters in only 148 innings this year. A guy with the stuff that Burnett has shouldn’t be putting up numbers like he does, period. Javier Vazquez has pitched in 24 games (23 starts) for the Yanks this year and he is 9-9 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has given up 130 hits (26 homers) and he has walked 53 batters in 130 innings for the Yankees this year. The Yankees are going to skip Vazquez’ next start giving it to rookie Ivan Nova instead. It’s amazing to me that the Yankees are 77-48 with Burnett & Vazquez starting 40% of the games for them so far this year.

37-year old righty reliever Chan Ho Park has been awful so far this year for the Yankees. He has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this year and he is 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. Park has given up 21 hits (5 homers) in only 15 1/3 innings this season for the Yankees. The Yankees had hoped that he would give them some good innings in middle relief but he’s quickly turning into a glorified mop up man.

Javier Vazquez was awful in his season debut for the Yankees last Friday Night. He was the losing pitcher working 5 2/3 innings in which he gave up 8 hits (2 homers), walked 3 batters and whiffed 5. I didn’t like the trade for Vazquez over the winter because he was awful in his first time around with the Yankees. In 2004, he started 32 games and was 14-10 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 33 homers that season and the new Yankee Stadium is a launching pad.