Quote:
Originally posted by Long_Long_Name
I'd say the Yankees definitely need some more starters, it's obvious that it's their weak spot.
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Not terribly weak. The starters just had an off year last year.
Mussina's one of the great pitchers of the last decade. His 2001 and 2002 performances were both fine.
Pettitte's problem was his elbow, which put him on the DL for two months, after which he came out dominant. Keep in mind that over the last seven years, the only two lefties with more wins than he has are Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine... not bad. He's also the second-youngest starter on the Yanks at 30.
Clemens is getting old, but he's definitely still got it, and I'll assume he does until he proves he doesn't. And I'll also assume he learned his lesson and won't try to bare-hand any line drives with his pitching hand.
The old stuff mentioned for Clemens? Ditto Wells, who was an afterthought in the preseason and a 19-game winner when October rolled around.
Weaver's 25. Give him a while.
I'll give you Hernandez.
Would I like to see the starters improve? Sure. Just like if we went 161-1, I'd say "Well, I'd like to see them win that last one next season."
But until there's a serious, demonstrable problem in the rotation, I think they're OK for 2003.