Yankees set to return to glory in 2011: A look at starting rotation

After failing to sign Cliff Lee during the winter, the Yankee off-season was fairly quiet. The only noise coming out of Yankee Stadium was the bizzare controversy, stirred up by management over Derek Jeter's contract.

It is no secret that Hal Steinbrenner is no fan of Jeter, he made it be known, by questioning whether the short stop should get a new multi-million dollar deal from the Bronx Bombers, but even questioned his place on the team. It was bizzare, but at the end of the day, Jeter is still a Yankee, and even though he is getting old is still one of the scariest batters in the game.

So begins another Yankees season. The Yankees didn't do a lot to improve the team, at least drastically. They did add Rafael Soriano, the former closer of the Tampa Bay Rays, as a set up man to Mariano Rivera, but that was really it.

The Yankees enter 2011 with a numerous questions regarding their starting rotation, especially with Andy Pettitte retiring to his home in Houston this winter.

First here is what the rotation looks like:
CC Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
Phil Hughes
Ian Nova
Freddy Garcia & Bartolo Colon.

Years ago having both Garcia and Colon in a rotation would make any team formidable, but both pitchers are have watched their skills decline rapidly, and in the case of Colon, watched his waste line get bigger and bigger.

In spring training both Garcia and Colon pitched fairly well. Garcia was 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA with four walks and 15 strikeouts. Colon, however, was better. 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA, one walk and 17 punch outs!

That being can we really expect either or both to solidify the bottom of the rotation for the next six months? Probably not, it's not their track record.

Then there is Ian Nova. Nova came on last year, and was a bit of a spark. Even though he was 1-2 with a 4.50 era and 17 walks. He showed great potential, his fastball is in the mid 90's and at age 24 is just starting to hone his craft. The Yankees, who are never patient with young pitching, will have to use the Phil Hughes experiment as an example and give Nova a chance to keep the fourth starters job.

Finally there is the big gorrilla in the room: A.J. Burnett. Burnett was a disaster in 2010 posting a 10-15 record with a 5.26 ERA. He was just awful. One day Burnett could be lights out, and the next he could get lit up for seven runs in a third of an inning.

For a guy making $87 million, Burnett has not lived up to the contract. Even though he is a defacto number two behind Sabathia because of experience, don't be fooled. Burnett has as much to prove to the Yankees as Colon, Garcia or Nova do. He is on a string.

This is not to say the Yankees will move him. He costs too much, but Burnett has to step up big time in 2011 and reclaim some of that 2009 magic that he once had. Throwing pies in the face of his teammates is great, but Burnett needs to do much more.