When spring training opened, the buzz in the Yankees’ camp was about two left-handed starters who weren’t in Tampa.
Cliff Lee was with the Phillies after taking less money to be comfortable with a team he pitched for before instead of dealing with the white-hot spotlight of The Bronx.
Andy Pettitte was on a ranch in Texas, having decided retirement was a better option than having to be part of a Yankees rotation that didn’t include Lee.
The Yankees still had CC Sabathia on top of the rotation but a lot of holes behind the ace.
So, the Yankees went dumpster diving for Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon.
They had 18-game winner Phil Hughes coming back and A.J. Burnett, who promised a better 2011 than 2010.
Colon and Garcia far exceeded anybody’s expectations, going a combined 20-18 in 51 starts and posting 311 innings.
While that made for a nice story and certainly helped them win the AL East, the reality is this: Going into tonight’s Game 1 of the ALDS against the Tigers at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees don’t have enough starting pitching to win.
LACKING HEAT
Matched against AL Cy Young lock Justin Verlander, Sabathia can negate the right-hander who won 24 games.
After that?
The Yankees will go with 24-year-old Rookie of the Year candidate Ivan Nova in Game 2. In a decision he will likely regret, Joe Girardi went with Garcia for Game 3 despite the 35-year-old right-hander not pitching well in three of his last four starts.
“Power arms win in the postseason,” an AL talent evaluator said. “Garcia’s arm lost its power a long time ago.” Garcia relies on location, change of speed and experience instead of the 96-mph fastball he featured with the Mariners.
Granted, Girardi’s choices besides Garcia were Burnett, Hughes and Colon and none instilled overwhelming confidence.
Nova went 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA but tomorrow night will be his first taste of the postseason. And while he reaches 94 mph with the fastball, it is described as “light” by pitching gurus.
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild and Girardi did a wonderful job with a very flawed rotation for six months. Now, when they need it most, Lee is with the Phillies and Pettitte is retired in Texas.
MISSING POP
The Tigers don’t have three Cy Young winners behind Verlander in Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello.
However, Alex Rodriguez finished the regular season in a slump and with a sore right knee that forced him to be scratched 40 minutes before Wednesday night’s regular season finale. And he has been dealing with a sprained left thumb since Aug. 21.
If Rodriguez can’t be a run producer in the middle of the lineup, Robinson Cano won’t see many pitches to hit. That will leave it all on Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira, and it’s very difficult for two bats to carry a lineup in the postseason.
Don’t expect much from the very raw Jesus Montero, who will see a big serving of pitches away.
SHORT ON LONG MEN
No one can top the Yankee bullpen trio of Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera. Even with Detroit’s closer Jose Valverde going 49-for-49 in saves this season, the Yankees have a big edge late in the games.
Yet, what to make of Boone Logan, Cory Wade and Luis Ayala? Their numbers are very good but statistics don’t get outs in the postseason; good pitches do.
Can the Yankees feel good about any of them facing Miguel Cabrera or Victor Martinez in the fifth or sixth inning?
Or will Girardi call on Soriano and Robertson earlier to avoid matchups he doesn’t like? And will a heavier workload extract a toll on any of them?
george.king@nypost.com