YANKEES ROTATION WILL DETERMINE HOW SUCCESSFUL PETTITTE IS

Once Andy Pettitte announced his return to the Yankees, the whole dynamic of the starting rotation changed. The only things we know are that Sabathia, Pettitte, and Kuroda will start, but everything else is up for grabs. The way the rest of the rotation looks will determine how effective Pettitte will be this season.

Ineffective Scenario:

1.     CC Sabathia

2.    Andy Pettitte

3.     Hiroki Kuroda

4.     Ivan Nova

5.     Freddy Garcia

Effective Scenario:

1.     CC Sabathia

2.     Hiroki Kuroda

3.     Ivan Nova

4.    Andy Pettitte

5.     Michael Pineda

The only way Andy Pettitte will be successful is if he pitches from the back end of the rotation. He doesn’t put up numbers like he used to -- like 17 wins and pitching 200 innings per year -- which are needed from a number two. What can be expected, is a solid number four who can average 5-6 innings per start and allow about 3 runs in those innings.

The middle of the rotation should go to younger pitchers like Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda who have better stuff at this point in their careers, but they have had their own issues with fastball speed and control. The reason for saying this is that it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities that the Yankees will expect too much from Pettitte and play him in the number two  slot, the way he was able to do when he returned from Houston to the Yanks in 2007.  Five years later, he’s just too old to expect that much from.