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Phillip Joseph Hughes, better known simply as Phil Hughes, has had a very tumultuous career thus far and has hurdled many challenges on his way to his postseason starting debut tonight in the Bronx.

In high school, Hughes was a first team All-American pitcher, while posting a combined 21-1 record between his junior and senior years, including a perfect game.

Using their first draft pick in 2004, the Yankees selected Hughes 23rd overall out of Foothill High School in Santa Ana, California.

Coincidentally, New York was awarded the 23rd pick in that draft after losing Andy Pettitte to the Houston Astros, six years later and both pitchers make up two-thirds of the Yankees three man rotation in the playoffs. Personally, I think Houston got hosed on the whole deal.

In 2005, his first full year as a professional, he split the season between Class A Charleston and Advanced A Tampa, posting a 9-2 record with a 1.24 ERA, certainly showing the Yankees that they might have something special there.

In November of 2006, after another strong year in the minors in which he nearly threw two no-hitters, Hughes was ranked as the Yankees No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, calling him “arguably the best pitching prospect in the minors”.

Hughes was invited to Major League spring training camp with the Yankees in 2007, and after starting the season in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, he was called up to the majors and made his debut on April 26 in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

However, he would bounce back from his first career loss with a strong outing at Texas, where he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but was removed after pulling his hamstring with one out and two strikes on future teammate Mark Teixeira.

2007 also marked his first taste of postseason baseball, where he threw 3.2 scoreless innings in an emotional game, relieving Roger Clemens, who walked off a major league mound for the last time in his storied and controversial career.

After Brian Cashman refused to trade him and Joba Chamberlain for Johan Santana in the off-season, injuries plagued Hughes for much of 2008 and he spent most of the year rehabbing in the minors and Arizona Fall league to increase his innings total.

Hughes started a hand-full of games in 2009 before being temporarily moved to the bullpen, where he flourished and remained for the rest of the season, becoming the 8th inning man setting it up for Mariano Rivera.

Despite his struggles in the 2009 postseason, he got his first World Series ring as the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the fall classic.

Heading into 2010 the Yankees needed a fifth starter to slot in behind CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett, and Javy Vazquez. Hughes and Joba Chamberlain were the two most likely candidates for the job, and whoever pitched the best in spring training would get the job.

Causing much debate amongst Yankees fans as to who should be the fifth starter in the weeks leading up to the season, the competition was rather one sided. It was clear that Hughes had out pitched Joba and was named the starter by Joe Girardi.

After being named to the starting rotation, Hughes never looked back, going 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA and legitimizing his ability to be a starting pitcher in the big leagues.

Along the way, Hughes has benefited from playing alongside some of the best in the pitching business. His cutter has matured to become his most reliable pitch, no doubt a result of a few side sessions with Mariano Rivera in the bullpen during 2009.

His knuckle-curve is also a deadly pitch for opposing batters, certainly something he may have worked on with Mike Mussina early in his career.

Now at age 24 and six years since being drafted, Hughes has become a complete pitcher and is set to make his first career start in the bright lights of the postseason, as the Yankees look to sweep the Minnesota Twins in the Bronx tonight and pack their bags for the ALCS against Texas or Tampa Bay.

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The Minnesota Twins did not expect to find themselves in this situation again.

One year after a disappointing but somewhat foreseeable ALDS sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, the Twins entered this year’s rematch with high expectations. The team had not needed a tiebreaking 163rd game to reach the playoffs; they had sewn up the division with over a week left. They had a deep rotation, a strong lineup, and the chemistry brought to this year’s clubhouse by key offseason additions Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson.

Two games into the Series, though, not much seems to have changed. Despite scoring first and holding two leads in each of the first two games, Minnesota trails 2-0 and must now try to topple the Yankees twice on the road just to force a fifth and decisive game back in brand-new Target Field.

The story of the night may be the pitching match-up. After each team sent out seasoned veterans to toe the rubber in the first two contests, the young guns take over Saturday night in the Bronx. For the Twins, that means Brian Duensing, he of the 10-3 record and 2.262 ERA in a season split between the bullpen and the starting rotation. The Yankees send 18-game winner Phil Hughes, who pitched as a full-time starter for the first time this season.

The Ghost of Playoffs Past

Duensing was 26 last season when he made his big-league debut, so he can hardly be painted as a wet-eared youngster in need of drastic maturation. Still, when he took the ball for Minnesota in Game 1 of last year’s ALDS, it was apparent that the rookie had much to learn about the high drama of October baseball and the Yankees mystique.

In the third inning that night, the Twins staked Duensing to a 2-0 lead on a series of hits and a Jorge Posada passed ball. In the bottom of the frame, though, Duensing made a rare mistake up in the zone, and Derek Jeter hit a two-run home run to tie the score.

From there, everything went downhill. Duensing gave up another run in the fourth, and another in the fifth before manager Ron Gardenhire pulled him—whereupon the Yankees promptly pushed across the runner Duensing had left on base. All told, the rookie left-hander allowed five runs and seven hits over four and two-thirds innings.

The Yankees clubbed 10 fly balls and four line drives off Duensing, who normally keeps the ball on the ground very well. Witness his 52.9 percent ground-ball rate, good for 15th among pitchers with 120 or more innings pitched in 2010, according to FanGraphs. Duensing simply wasn’t ready on that night one year and two days ago to stop the offensive juggernaut that was New York.

Let’s See How Far We’ve Come

Duensing pitched against the Yanks just three times this season, all in relief and for a total of only four innings. He lost one game, gave up another home run to Jeter, and seemed generally uncomfortable against the men in pinstripes.

He will have to prove that those days are behind him tonight. He has the stuff to do it: His slider ranks as the best among pitchers who used a slide-piece regularly in 120 or more innings of work this year, according to FanGraphs. The greatest obstacle for Duensing to clear may be the mental hurdle that stands between him and pitching well at the site of his worst big-league moment, in a game that means even more.

Matt Trueblood is a student at Loyola University Chicago and B/R College Writing Intern. Follow him on Twitter.

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The New York Yankees are riding a wave of momentum heading back home up two games to zero over the Minnesota Twins. After relying on veterans CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte the first two games, the Yankees will be throwing 24-year-old Phil Hughes in hopes of closing out the series.

Hughes had an up and down year in 2010, although his statistics may indicate a more successful season. He finished the season 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 176.1 innings.

The win-loss record jumps out first as 18 wins had him among the league leaders in the AL. However, Hughes benefited greatly from the Yankees offense and was able to win many games despite not having great outings.

Hughes began the year showing all the promise in the world as he carried a sub-three ERA into mid-June. After that his performance began to level off, whether it was a result of fatigue or adjustments made by opponents.

The Yankees were careful to watch his innings limit in his first full season as a starter. In April the Yankees certainly would have hoped to not use Hughes in the playoffs, instead opting for AJ Burnett or Javier Vazquez in this third starter role.

Unfortunately the poor performances by both of those players forced manager Joe Girardi to go with the young Hughes in the playoffs. I give Girardi a lot of credit for forgoing the veteran options and going with the pitcher who truly gives the team the best chance.

Now the pressure is on, Yankee Stadium in October and a spot in the ALCS on the line. For a young guy like Hughes the key will be his ability to control the emotions of the moment and focus them into his pitching. His fastball and curveball command must be spot on as the Twins hitters will no doubt be looking to take advantage of the friendly dimensions of Yankee Stadium.

Hughes is known as very laid back and that demeanor should help him here. There have been moments in the past where Hughes has seemed to be a little too amped up and he has lost control of the zone. In addition Hughes’ performance as a reliever in last year’s playoffs were shaky at best.

A good sign for Yankee fans may be Hughes’ last start against the Red Sox where he matched Daisuke Matsuzaka inning for inning in probably his biggest start of the year.

If Hughes can build on his last start and find his command early the Twins may be looking at another sweep at the hands of the Yankees.

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The pressure is on Phil Hughes, not Sabathia or Pettitte, as the Yankees seek the repeat.

Last season, during the playoffs and the World Series, the Yankees relied heavily, almost entirely, on the arms of Andy Pettitte and C.C Sabathia in their quest to obtain their 27th World Series title.

Girardi had little choice but to overuse Pettitte and Sabathia due to the ineffectiveness of A.J Burnett, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes. It was not exactly the blueprint for success the Yankees had in mind going into the postseason last year.

The Yankees consider themselves most fortunate that the Philly offense failed to show for the majority of the 2009 World Series. If the Phillies had delivered as expected, the Yankees would have had no one fresh or reliable on the mound for a seventh game.

But it went six, and fortune smiled on the Boys from the Bronx. They locked up title number 27 and the hunt for number 28 is underway.

It’s not going to be easy.

This season the Yankees, much like the Phillies, Rays, and Rangers, have improved defensively and offensively. But unfortunately once again the starting pitching headache remains for Joe Girardi and company.

Sabathia, the anchor of the Yankees rotation last year, turned in a Cy Young-worthy performance this season. He seems ready, and quite able, to once again hoist this team on his back and carry them all the way to another title.

But no matter how well he wears the tights, no matter how long his cape is, Sabathia cannot pitch three games in a five-game series, or four games in a seven-game series. He’s going to need a lot more help behind him than what he had in last year’s postseason.

Andy Pettitte is a big-game postseason pitcher, and while he put in his best year statistically this season, he might not be as reliable, physically, as he was last season, due to back and leg issues that have come up recently.

Pettitte is a warrior on the mound, and will grind out every ounce of energy he has to get the job done, but one cannot grind away leg and back issues.

As mentioned at the start of this column, Sabathia and Pettitte carried the Yankees in the postseason last year with little help on the mound from anyone else.  If Pettitte physically fails, and that is a possibility, someone has to step up.

It’s not going to be Javier Vasquez, who lived up to his reputation of not being able to pitch in New York. It’s not going to be Sergio Mitre, a pitcher that gives his all but lacks the stuff to get it done. It’s not going to be Ivan Nova, who appears to have the stuff but lacks the experience or poise to make it work like he wants just yet. And it certainly will not be A.J Burnett.

Burnett has proved to be an $82.5-million head case. He thinks too much. His problem is not mechanical, it’s mental. Post-game interviews show a man that seems aloof, sometimes unaffected, in regards to his poor season.  

It is hard to tell what is worse, Burnett’s laid back “After the kinda season I am having, I am not going to let it get to me. I have had worse nights and I will have even worse nights in the future” sentiments or Girardi enabling Burnett’s denial by constantly telling the media that Burnett “…did not have his stuff tonight. There were times went he flashed what we want to see, but in a few situations he lost control…”

Excuse me, Joe. The $82.5 million investment as the No. 2 starter on the premiere team in the game is 25-24 with an ERA close to 4.50 in the two years since being signed. I would say that is something that should be getting to him, and a red flag that he did not have his stuff most nights over the last two years.

Burnett should have been yanked from the rotation at the midseason mark and replaced with someone, anyone. Even a bag of balls might have done better, instead of allowing him to continue to hurt the team. His poor performance directly prevented the Yankees from winning the East this year.

So if the Yankees are going to repeat this year, and it’s far from a lock, someone has to step up behind Sabathia and Pettitte.  Someone has to give them a rock solid third-man alternative.

That someone has to be Phil Hughes.

When Hughes, once the highest-rated rookie in the minor leagues, first came up with the Yankees as a starter he was brilliant. He showed poise and power in his rookie season before falling to injury while pitching a no-hit bid through seven innings.

Since then, Hughes has struggled with command and endurance. He was placed on inning restrictions and was regulated to the bullpen where he pitched very effectively.

This year in spring training he was giving a shot, challenged by Joba Chamberlain, to be the fifth starter behind Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, and the newly-acquired Javier Vasquez.

Hughes secured a spot in the starting rotation by beating out the extremely overrated and unreliable Chamberlain, and delivered a first half that was more than anyone could have expected. But his second half was a labored chore as fatigue set in and his control was challenged.

Overall he finished the year with No. 2 starter numbers. His 18 wins were second-most on the team and among the league leaders overall. His ERA was a bit high, at more than four per game, but it’s nice to have a team behind you that scores a full run more than that per game.

When Pettitte went down to injury late in the year, Hughes stepped up behind Sabathia and kept the Yankees in contention. He needs to do that once again for the Yankees to have any chance at all of repeating.

The Yankees, an improved team all-around from last year’s championship team, will score all the runs necessary to win it all this year.

However, scoring runs is only half the battle. Limiting the opposition in runs will be their challenge. It will all come down to pitching for the Yankees as they seek to repeat.

It will come down to Phil Hughes stepping up or falling down. It comes down to his ability to live up to the hype or to be just another promising pitcher than cannot handle pitching in the pinstripes pressure-cooker that is New York.

How will he fare?  Stay tuned.

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You can say a lot of things about the New York Yankees.  They’ve got the most money, their offense is unbeatable, the list goes on and on.  However, one thing you can’t say is that their starters are a lock every time they take the mound. 

A.J. Burnett has been up and down, Hughes has been shaky but good for the most part, and Javier Vazquez was demoted to the bullpen.

This has arisen many issues like, “Who starts Game 2?  Well they go with three starters like last year, or four?” 

Joe Girardi, who has already received much criticism from New York’s fan base, will undoubtedly receive more once he announces his choice.  They will play game 162 still trying for the division win, and they can do so if the Rays lose and they win, but manager Joe Girardi will most likely be worrying about his playoff roster.

The Yankees will be trying for their 28th title, and this is the how the playoff rotation should look like for New York.

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The New York Yankees are sputtering down the stretch and could find themselves as the American League Wild Card team once the playoffs get underway.

A.J. Burnett struggled yet again as the Yankees suffered a 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto Monday night.

New York’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is still stuck at one following their fifth loss in six games.

Make no mistake, the reigning World Champions have big problems as the postseason rapidly approaches.

Here’s a look at 10 reasons why the Yankees won’t make it out of the ALDS.

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Via Chad Jennings:

To further limit his innings, Phil Hughes will take his next start on Wednesday. Dustin Moseley will start for the Yankees on Sunday.

Joe Girardi said there might be more changes coming as the Yankees setup their playoff rotation.

This change, though, Girardi said is strictly for Hughes’ workload. Girardi said he expects Wednesday to be Hughes’ last outing of the regular season.

Hughes was supposed to start two more times which potentially could have added 18 more innings to the 169.1 he’s already accumulated. Obviously it would have been more like 10-12 additional innings, but now it means he’s going to finish right around 175 which is pretty much the number that was rumored going back to spring training.

The biggest issue now is that Hughes will only have one more start to get ready for the playoffs.

If it’s a poor one there will be a lot of questions surrounding Hughes and the Yankees rotation. The front end of the rotation has strong potential, but without a strong third starter the Yankees are going to struggle to repeat as world champions.

Related Stories

• September 8, 2010 — Hughes to be Skipped, Aceves and Marte Done for 2010
• August 30, 2010 — Yankees: Worst Rotation, Best Bullpen Last 30 Days
• August 25, 2010 — Yankees Notes: Recap, Swisher, Hughes, and Aceves
• September 23, 2010 — Nova, Vazquez, Gaudin, Mitre, and Moseley Fight for 2 Spots

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The big series in the standings may be the Yankees vs. the Rays, but judging by the ticket prices on StubHub, the one the fans care about is Yankees vs. Red Sox and we have a good one tonight as Andy Pettitte goes up against Josh Beckett.

Here are some notes:

• The Yankees have begun making plans for the postseason, and those include plans for Phil Hughes. They won’t reveal those plans though.
• Brian Cashman confirmed what I thought yesterday, Royce Ring can pitch himself on to the playoff roster.
• Andrew Brackman has been activated and Cashman told Joe Girardi to feel free to use him. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will pitch though.
• Girardi gave us another Damaso Marte update, he isn’t likely to make it back this season after all.
• Last night Javier Vazquez became the first Yankee to ever hit three batters in a row.
• David Robertson‘s back is apparently feeling better after suffering spasms the other day. He could be back today, but Girardi will likely try to avoid using him.
• Austin Kearns has been dealing with a sore right index finger. It’s feeling better, but not yet 100 percent and is why he didn’t play against David Price last night, who is a lefty.

That sucks to hear that Marte is not making a comeback after all. I have a feeling we’re going to get to see Ring pitch quite a bit over the next nine games.

I would like to see Brackman pitch, but I’m not holding my breath.

I’m starting to think that the Yankees could carry Ivan Nova and Ring on the playoff roster and not Vazquez.

Related Stories

• February 28, 2010 — 10 Problems the 2010 Yankees Could Face
• January 14, 2010 — Yankees Bullpen: Lefties should be all right
• September 23, 2010 — Nova, Vazquez, Gaudin, Mitre, and Moseley Fight for 2 Spots
• September 23, 2010 — Yankees Notes: D-Rob, Nova, Brackman, Crawford, and More

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This past spring the Yankees held a competition for their fifth starter spot that included pitchers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, among others. Hughes won the job.

He was pushed ahead of Joba even though Joba could finally pitch in 2010 without the infamous Joba Rules. The reasoning was because of the development of his changeup.

In 2009, coming out of the bullpen, Hughes was largely a three-pitch pitcher, throwing a fastball, a cutter, and a curveball. When his changeup showed improvement in spring training, they decided he had more value in the rotation than Joba did, and he took his place.

The funny thing is that once the season started, Hughes threw five changeups in his first start and didn’t throw another during the entire first month of the season. In May he never threw more than three in a game, and in June he didn’t throw more than two.

For the first three months of the season he threw just 20 changeups in total, according to PitchFX, and he pitched just fine. In 14 starts he had a 10-2 record with a 3.58 ERA.

Check out this chart I made up with information via PitchFX:

Essentially he had really hadn’t thrown his changeup much at all until the middle of August, except for one start on July 20th. In that start he allowed six runs in five innings.

Since August 31st he has thrown it a lot more, at least four times per start including 15 times last night alone. Has it really helped him out? In five appearances during that time he has gone 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA.

The changeup hasn’t really been that bad a pitch though. According to FanGraphs the pitch’s value is -0.5, which isn’t great, but it’s close to league average. It’s not even his worst pitch, as his curveball has been valued at -5.6.

My point is that Hughes’ changeup doesn’t even seem to be necessary. He was successful early without throwing it much at all and has struggled mightily while throwing it often despite the fact that it hasn’t been valued extremely poorly. In reality, it’s possible that he really only throws the pitch when he’s in trouble.

That doesn’t mean he should give up on the pitch. It does mean that people shouldn’t get so excited when he is or isn’t throwing it. If he does, however, learn the pitch to the point where it becomes a weapon, it will obviously improve his game at that point. It would probably improve his curveball as well, as batters will not have the ability to wait on that particular pitch.

That’s going to take time though, so just because he threw a season-high 15 changeups last night doesn’t mean it’s automatically become a weapon. Hughes is only 24 years old, which is still incredibly young. In fact, last night he became just the second Yankees starter to ever win 17 games by that age. He’s still a work in progress though—just something to keep in mind.

Related Stories

• September 22, 2010 — Yankees Notes: Teixeira, Marte, and More
• September 22, 2010 — Yanks Beat Rays, Increase Lead to 2.5 Games
• September 16, 2010 — Yankees Fall to 2nd Place After 8 Losses in 10 Games
• September 15, 2010 — Yankees Notes: Hughes, Teixeira, Pettitte, Swisher, Gardner, and More

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On the night that the New York Yankees unveiled a seven-foot tall monument of their late owner George Steinbrenner, the American League leaders won their 91st game of the season by beating the Tampa Bay Rays.

With 12 games to play, New York leads Tampa Bay by 1.5 games in the A.L. East and leads the Minnesota Twins by one game for the best record in the league. 

New York leads the league in runs scored, is third in homers, second in walks, first in OBP, and second in OPS.

On the mound, the Yankees rank in the upper-half of the A.L. in ERA, walks, and strikeouts.

So, what’s the problem?

Well, there is no problem exactly.

New York is a juggernaut, much like the team that beat the Philadelphia Phillies last year to win the World Series.

Prior to the season, the club made two moves that got The Bronx talking. One worked out OK, the other not so much.

New York traded for Curtis Granderson in hopes that he would help it upgrade defensively in centerfield as well as bring some additional pop to the top of the order.

Granderson has done that.

His 21 homers have been nice even if his OBP is lacking for a player with his skill set.

The other deal—bringing in Javier Vazquez—hasn’t paid off for New York. After having a tremendous 2009 with the Atlanta Braves, the Yankees thought they were getting an All-Star caliber pitcher, a guy they could lock into the middle of their rotation.

Vazquez hasn’t been that, but rather a weak link in a solid rotation.

Vazquez’s walks are way up and his strikeouts are way down compared to a season ago. Sure, some of that has to be credited to moving from the National League to the A.L. East, but the point is that Vazquez isn’t who New York thought it would get.

And that’s the issue we are getting at with these Yankees. No, Vazquez isn’t the problem, he’s just part of the problem.

How Deep Is the Starting Rotation?

If there’s one thing that may stifle New York’s chances of repeating as World Series champions, it’s lack of depth in the starting rotation.

The rotation is the one where area that general manager Brian Cashman didn’t address at the trade deadline this summer.

Cashman wanted to upgrade his bench, and he wanted to get some bullpen help.

Adding Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns to the bench worked fine, although both of them have been relatively non-factors. Kearns has struck out in more than a third of his at-bats while Berkman has yet to hit a homer since coming to New York via Houston.

When the Yankees made their title run last year, a large part of it was due to Phil Hughes and his transformation of the bullpen.

Hughes became the set-up guy to Mariano Rivera, and he excelled in that role. Hughes pitched so well that he even hinted he would be open to becoming the closer when Rivera decided to walk away from the game.

No need for that.

Rivera has pitched as well as ever, and the Yankees put Hughes in the starting rotation full-time this season, a role that he has grown accustomed to and has had some early success in.

That left a void in the bullpen.

With Joba Chamberlain struggling and the Yankees not entirely comfortable with handing all of the responsibility to David Robertson, Cashman went and got Kerry Wood.

The epitome of a high-risk, high-reward move, Wood brought his power stuff to New York and has been phenomenal because he has been able to stay healthy. Wood has a 0.39 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 23 innings, his fastball and slider as toxic as ever.

But, boy, the bullpen may need to be that good if New York’s rotation can’t roll out four consistent guys come October.

Look, it’s not as if the Yankees rotation can’t dominate any team on any night. It can. The upside there is tremendous. But the questions, you may say, are plentiful.

CC Sabathia… Then What?

You have CC Sabathia. He’s a horse that manager Joe Girardi can count on for two or three times per series in the playoffs and a guy that you could stack up against any other pitcher in baseball and feel good about. So, the Bombers at least have that much.

But that’s where the certainty ends.

Andy Pettitte had a phenomenal first half but then missed extended time after the All-Star break due to a leg injury and is just working his way back now. How will his leg(s) and arm hold up when the furnace gets cranked up in the postseason? Is his body and arm in the proper condition to handle that stress?

We don’t know.

A.J. Burnett will get the ball, but that’s because of his upside, which is magnificent, and the fact that the Yankees need to justify the mega-dollars they handed him two winters ago along with Sabathia.

But which Burnett New York gets is anybody’s guess.

And then there’s Hughes.

Hughes has good stuff and looks like he has settled into being a starter, but there’s something entirely different about starting in the playoffs when your team is facing elimination, a level of nerves Hughes has never encountered.

That’s where Cashman may have whiffed at the deadline by not securing a Cliff Lee or a Dan Haren.

The Yankees went after Lee hard, but they reportedly didn’t want to empty the farm system for a guy they could go after five months later in free agency.

Yankees catching prospect Jesus Montero was the deal breaker, and then the Texas Rangers stepped up and offered the Seattle Mariners a package built around Justin Smoak.

With that, Lee went to Texas.

And what about Haren?

He would have been great, too, but it again came down to prospects versus dollars for New York.

Cashman didn’t want to split with many premier prospects if he had to pay Haren’s contract entirely, which would have been in excess of $30 million.

Cashman reportedly was willing to part with Joba Chamberlain, but only if the dollars made sense.

It didn’t happen, and now Chamberlain is back to throwing bullets out of the bullpen.

Some shine came off Lee when he got hammered around during August, and some people questioned his health and whether or not he was “breaking down.”

I don’t buy it. I’d still love to lead my rotation with Cliff Lee in the postseason.

The Yankees have the talent to win a title again this year.

Who knows, maybe their starting rotation will be the cog that gets it done?

Or maybe New York will just hit its way to victory?

But unless Pettitte pitches like he did in the first half and Burnett pitches up to his ability, Cashman may have plenty of time to wonder this winter why he didn’t pull the trigger on another starting pitcher.

Follow Teddy Mitrosilis on Twitter. You can reach him at tm4000@yahoo.com.

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