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Might as well stay course on arms

Ken Davidoff

July 8, 2008

The tenor of this Yankees season was established on a cold January night at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Brian Cashman, with Boston counterpart Theo Epstein seated across from him, made the following declaration:

"My strong recommendation is that we stay with our young pitching staff, keep it in house. I'm married to that process. I want to see that through. I hope our ownership and fans can sit through what might be some growing pains."

That comment, referring to the still-active Johan Santana trade discussions with the Twins, generated the loudest ovation of the night. The Yankees fans devoured what Cashman fed them.

Nearly six months later, Cashman has passed on CC Sabathia, who is now a Milwaukee Brewer. Cashman's still married to that process, even though a) his marriage to the Yankees is official only through the end of this season, and b) that "young pitching staff" hasn't exactly conjured comparisons to Glavine-Maddux-Smoltz quite yet.

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Given that he has come this far, Cashman might as well keep the commitment going through the end of this season, even if it means closing Yankee Stadium without a playoff run. He shouldn't overpay for an A.J. Burnett or an Erik Bedard, or a Mark Teixeira, either.

If the price on someone such as San Diego's Randy Wolf or Cleveland's Paul Byrd drops to the point that those teams are merely looking to dump salary, then sure, they should consider it. But look at the type of seasons Wolf (4.59 ERA) and Byrd (5.53) are having. Would they be considerably better than what the Yankees have now?

If free agent Freddy Garcia, rehabilitating his right shoulder, shows he has something left in his upcoming audition - it should occur by the end of the month - then the Yankees should strongly consider the veteran. He would cost only money.

Yankees management understood going into the year that the 2008 club was winging it a little bit. It was a risk to rely so heavily on Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Although Chamberlain has developed nicely and silenced most critics who thought he should stay in the bullpen, Hughes is going to miss the bulk of the season with a fractured rib and Kennedy has regressed, pitching horribly in the big leagues and currently optioned back to the minor leagues.

But down in the minors, Dan McCutchen is turning heads and Humberto Sanchez, who had Tommy John surgery last year, has begun pitching in games. Andrew Brackman, last year's top draft pick, is rehabilitating in the wake of his Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees factory continues to churn out arms, even if two of the high-profile guys haven't advanced.

Baseball Prospectus projects the Yankees to have a 6 percent chance of qualifying for the 2008 playoffs. And before you ask, yes, the percentage was significantly higher at this time last year, because the Yankees had an easy July and August schedule awaiting them and because the Yankees had vastly underperformed their run differential.

So it would be folly to call an audible now and change the philosophy, even if it means leaving Yankee Stadium empty in October. The Yankees should be thankful that Sabathia went to the National League rather than the Red Sox and Rays, and should stay their course.